al-Ayn Haqq - Muhammad ibn Abd al-Mu'ti - (117)

al-Ayn HaqqMuhammad ibn Abd al-Mu'ti

Conclusion

Know—may Allah teach me and you—that envy is produced by rancor, while rancor is produced by anger. Thus envy is a secondary branch, while anger is its ultimate root, as al-Ghazālī explained in al-Ihyā (1). How greatly the envious person needs to address this matter so as to rectify his heart, thereby reforming himself and restoring harmony between people. The matter is indeed grave. It was said long ago:

Every enmity may yet be made to die ...
Except the enmity of one whom envy made your foe.

Although this verse is also transmitted as, “…except the enmity of one who opposes you over religion,” it is enough for us that envy destroys harmony between people. Such discord is the shaver that shaves away religion, as stated in the report.

Envy arises from hatred and anger. When a man hates something, his heart grows dark where the object of his hatred is concerned, and he comes to hate everything resembling it. Thus, when a fool envies a jurist, you see him envying every jurist on that account. Likewise, one who hates a ruler because of his injustice will hate every unjust person, even if that person is not a ruler, and will perceive in him what others do not. Conversely, when a man loves, he becomes deeply attached: he strives to obtain what he loves and, out of love for it, loves everything resembling it. As it was said:

For love of her, I loved even black people ...
Until, for love of her, I loved black dogs.

I ask Allah Most High to make this humble effort a remedy for the envier before the envied, for the reason I have mentioned; prevention is better than cure. I ask Him to set our hearts aright and protect them from rancor, envy, hatred, and loathing. I also ask Him Most High to benefit through it everyone who compiled it, wrote it, read it, or helped publish it; to accept it from me; and to place it in the balance of my good deeds on the Day of Resurrection. He alone is the One who can grant this and has power to do so.

I composed it as sincere counsel, as an injunction to what is right, and as a prohibition of what is wrong. Nor was I unaware of what the author of Kashf al-Zunūn said: “A person enjoys latitude with respect to his intellect and remains safe from the mouths of

(1) Consult this book—though it would be better not to do so—for its discussion of envy, as it is among the most beneficial works written on rectifying the heart. If you do read it, however, read alongside it al-Irāqī’s *al-Mughnī an Haml al-Asfār* to verify the sources of its hadiths, or rely on a critically edited edition. *Al-Ihyā* is replete with weak and fabricated hadiths, many of which support Sufi doctrine and contradict the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah.

* خاتمة إعلم علمنى الله وإياك أن الحسد من نواتج الحقد والحقد نتاج الغضب فهو فرع فرعه والغضب أصل أصله كما حرره الغزالى فى الإحياء (١) وما أحوج الحسود إلى معالجة هذا الباب لإصلاح قلبه ومن ثم صلاح نفسه وصلاح ذات البين ذلك أن الأمر خطير وقديما قالوا: كل العداوات قد ترجى إماتتها ... إلا عداوة من عاداك من حسد فهذ البيت وإن كان يروى. . . إلا عداوة من عاداك فى الدين. لكن حسبنا أن الحسد يفسد ذات البين وهى الحالقة التى تحلق الدين كما فى الخبر. فالحسد ناتج عن الكراهية والغضب والرجل إذا كره أظلم قلبه من جهة ما يكره فكره كل ما يشبهه فترى السفيه إذا حسد فقيها حسد لأجله كل فقيه وترى من يكره حاكما لظلمه يكره كل ظالم وإن لم يكن حاكما ويرى منه ما لا يراه غيره. وبالعكس تماما إذا أحب كلف فسعى فى تحصيل ما يحب وأحب لحبه كل ما يشبهه كما قيل: أحب لحبها السودان حتى ... أحب لحبها سود الكلاب. وأسأل الله تعالى أن يكون هذا الجهد المتواضع علاجا للحاسد قبل المحسود لما ذكرت فإن الوقاية خير من العلاج. وأن يصلح لنا قلوبنا ويحفظها علينا من الحقد والحسد والكراهية والبغض كما أسأله تعالى أن ينفع به من جمعه وكتبه وقرأه وساعد على نشره. وأن يتقبله منى ويجعله فى ميزان حسناتى يوم القيامة إنه ولى ذلك وحده والقادر عليه. فقد وضعته نصيحة وأمرا بالمعروف ونهيا عن المنكر ولم يخف على ما قاله صاحب كشف الظنون حيث قال: الإنسان في فسحة من عقله، وفي سلامة من أفواه

(١) وراجع هذا الكتاب - والأولى أن لا تراجعه - فى موضوع الحسد فإنه من أنفع ما كتب لإصلاح القلوب لكن اقرأ معه المغنى عن حمل الأسفار للعراقى لتخريج الأحاديث أو اعتمد على نسخة محققة فإن الإحياء ملئ بالأحاديث الضعيفة والموضوعة وفى كثير منها نصر لمذهب المتصوفة ومخالفة لعقيدة أهل السنة.