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Don’t open the door of Hasad

ByShaykh Haytham Tamim

Surah Yusuf is the longest story in the Quran that is all told in one continuous stream. There are other long and detailed stories in the Quran, such as the story of Prophet Musa (peace be on him), but it is split up into many pieces in different surahs.

The dangers of hasad

One of the lessons of Surah Yusuf is that your beauty can be used against you. Prophet Yusuf (peace be on him) was so beautiful, both outwardly good looking and inwardly pure. Because of this image, his brothers were extremely envious – they had hasad towards him. Later in life his beauty lead to temptation and to prison.

Other people’s hasad can affect you, although not to the extent that you can blame it for everything that goes wrong around you – such as failing an exam, or your business failing. Allah had His plans for you, and you don’t know your qadar until it happens. You can protect yourself from hasad by reciting Surat al-Falaq.

Nevertheless, hasad drove Yusuf (peace be on him)’s brothers to almost kill their own brother. When you read the surah, it’s almost unbelievable that brothers could treat their own family this way. Hasad eats you up inside – they couldn’t tolerate seeing Yusuf (peace be on him) being more beloved to their father than them. The quickest way to get rid of the pain in their hearts was to get rid of him.

How to avoid bad hasad

Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

Do not hate one another, do not envy one another. (Bukhari and Muslim)

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

Beware of envy, for envy consumes good deeds just as fire consumes wood. (Abu Dawud)

Hasad contaminates your heart, and we see plenty of narrations in the sunnah on how to get rid of it. When you see someone who has something good, say ‘Allahumma barik lahu’ – Allah bless him – and ask Him for something better.

Aamer ibn Rabi’ah narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

If one of you sees something he likes in himself, his wealth, or his brother, let him pray for blessings for it, for the evil eye is real. (Nasa’i in Amal al-Yawm wa’l-Laylah and al-Hakim)

Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

Whoever sees something that pleases him and says: “Ma Sha’allah La quwwata I’ll billah What God wills, there is no power except with God,” it will not harm him. (Al-Bazzar in his Musnad and Ibn Al-Sunni)

There are two types of hasad. The forbidden type is when you want someone else to lose something good they have, and for yourself to get it – or for no one to have it at all. On the other hand, there is also good hasad, known as hasad ghibta, or hasad having a good intention. This is when you wish to have something someone else has, but also want Allah to bless them with it at the same time. When Shaytan’s whispers of hasad come to you, say a’udhubillah and ask Allah to bless their health and wealth.

Don’t think you know better than Allah

Rizq is determined by Allah; He is the one who decides how wealth will be distributed. Having hasad means you are indirectly thinking you know better than Allah – thinking you would have distributed things better than He did. Don’t put yourself in the position of Allah.

It’s very easy to fall into this trap, so make sure you understand that this is Allah’s plan, and are satisfied with what He has given you. You can always ask him to increase your rizq, but not at the expense of anyone else. Remember that rizq isn’t just wealth, but also encompasses things like health, beauty, and knowledge.

Keep your affairs private

You can also avoid people having hasad towards you by keeping your affairs private and not publicising them. Everyone who is given any provision is envied by others.

Seek help in achieving your needs by keeping them secret, for every person who has a blessing is envied. (Bayhaqi and Tabarani.

This also goes against the social media trends of these days, where people are constantly taking photos of everything they eat, and everywhere they go. Especially in these times when so many people are dying of hunger, it’s not right to be posting about food and how exciting your life is.

On the other hand, some people try to avoid hasad by constantly complaining and downplaying what they have, even when they are doing well and have everything. Both extremes are wrong. Say alhamdulillah and be grateful for the favours of Allah.

The people of Jannah have pure hearts

There is a hadith that Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) was in a gathering with some companions, and told them, ‘today you will see a man from the people of Jannah.’ Everyone was excited to know who it would be: and in walked a man fresh from his wudu, beard full of water and carrying his sandals in his left hand.

The companions were amazed to see this person being so singled out. On the second day, the same thing happened, and in came the same man in the same state. And again on the third day.

One of the young companions asked this man if he could stay with him for three days. For three days and three nights he shadowed him everywhere, and watched everything he did, wanting to copy him to also be among the people. On the third night, he told the man why he had wanted to stay with him – but he hadn’t seen anything extraordinary that would explain why this man was so special.

The man said that before he went to sleep every night, he made sure to clear any envy, rancour or hatred from his heart. He went to sleep with a pure heart – and this is what made him among the people of Jannah.

We also see this in the Quran – Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) is also described as having qalbun saleem, a pure heart.

Salim ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated from his father, who said:

“We were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) when he said: ‘A man from the people of Paradise will come through this door.’ Then Sa’d ibn Malik came in. We looked at him and were pleased for him. The next day, the same happened, and Sa’d entered. On the third day, the same thing happened again, and Sa’d entered. We had no doubt about him. Abdullah ibn Umar said: ‘I will not leave until I visit this man and observe his actions.’ So, I went to him after the last part of the night and knocked on his door. He came out to me, welcomed me, and said: ‘O nephew, what brings you here?’ I said: ‘A need.’ He asked: ‘Shall we take care of it, or would you prefer to come in?’ I said: ‘I will come in.’ He then spread a cloak for me, and I lay down on it near him, observing him for the entire night. Whenever he woke up, he would glorify Allah, say Takbeer (Allahu Akbar), say the phrase “La ilaha illallah” (There is no deity but Allah), and praise Allah, Blessed and Exalted. When it was time for the dawn, he performed Wudu (ablution) with water, then entered the mosque and prayed twelve rak’ahs, reciting twelve short Surahs from the Quran. He did not pray long ones or very short ones. In each set of two rak’ahs, after the Tashahhud and sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace be upon him), he would make three supplications: ‘Our Lord, give us goodness in this world and goodness in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire. O Allah, suffice us with what concerns us from our affairs in both this world and the Hereafter. We ask You for all good and seek refuge in You from all evil.’ I was amazed at his prayer, recitation, and supplication, and I thought he had been prevented from doing something he used to do because of my presence, so I was determined to visit him again. I returned to him at the same hour as the previous visit. He welcomed me again and said: ‘O nephew, perhaps there is something between you and someone from your family?’ I replied: ‘No, by Allah, uncle, there is nothing but goodness between me and my family.’ He then asked: ‘So, what is your need?’ I replied: ‘Yes, I will tell you.’ He asked again: ‘Shall we take care of it, or would you like to come in?’ I replied: ‘I will come in.’ He did as he did the previous night, with his supplication, Quran recitation, and prayers. My soul would not settle until I visited him for the third time. He did the same again, with his supplications, recitation, and the same number of rak’ahs. Then he said: ‘Time for prayer.’ I got up, and we both went to pray Fajr with the Prophet (peace be upon him). After the people dispersed, I went to him and said: ‘O uncle, the matter I stayed with you for last night.’ He said: ‘Yes, what is it?’ I replied: ‘I stayed with you in order to gain more knowledge from you, and from your prayer and supplication. I have found your actions to be fewer than what I expected, and I thought you were prevented from doing something you used to do.’ He said: ‘I only stayed with you for that purpose, and I am not weak or deficient. What you saw is what you saw.’ I said: ‘I remind you of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, and the ethics of Islam. Has my presence prevented you from doing anything you used to do?’ He said: ‘By Allah, no.’ When I stood up to leave, he called me back and said: ‘Come back, O nephew. There is one more thing. I take my rest, and I have no hatred in my heart for any of the Muslims.’ Ibn Umar said: ‘This is what I learned from him.’ (Musnad of Abu Ya’la al-Mawsili)

Purify your heart with istighfar

Diseases of the heart are more deadly than cancer, and the only medicine that can cure them is istighfar and seeking Allah’s help. Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) used to do one hundred istighfar every morning and evening. Seeking forgiveness is like a cleansing agent that washes away the diseases from your heart, and makes it a heart that is able to receive mercy and light from Allah. We ask Allah to give all of us pure hearts, clear of any envy or arrogance, or other diseases.

Delivered by Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 27th Ramadan 2024. Transcribed by H Khan.

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