enter Islam, but his people would not go along with him. Fearing them (1) for his own safety, he opted for disbelief over Islam after guidance had become manifest to him, as his story will be related, if Allah wills (2).

Among the greatest of these impediments is envy. It is an ailment lurking within the soul: the envier sees the one he envies preferred above him and granted what his like has not been granted, and envy will not allow him to submit to that person or join his followers.

Was it anything but envy that kept Iblīs from prostrating to Adam? When he saw Adam favored above him and elevated over him, he choked with resentment and chose disbelief over faith after having been in the company of the angels.

The same disease kept the Jews from believing in Jesus son of Mary. They knew with unshakable certainty that he was a messenger of Allah who had come with clear proofs and guidance, yet envy drove them to choose disbelief over faith and to persist in it, though they were a nation that counted among them rabbis, scholars, ascetics, judges, kings, and princes.

This was despite the fact that the Messiah came ruling by the Torah and did not bring a law (3) that contradicted it, nor did he fight them. Rather, he lifted some of what had been forbidden (4) to them as a relief, a mercy, and a kindness, and he came to complete the Law of the Torah. Even so, they all chose disbelief over faith.