Thus, they harbour no resentment over either the wealth or the status others have been given; envy may concern either of these.

The Aws and the Khazraj used to compete in religious devotion. Whenever one group did something that earned them distinction before Allah and His Messenger, the other wished to do likewise. This was competition in what would bring them closer to Allah, as He says:

“So let those who compete compete for this.”

As for envy in its wholly blameworthy form, Allah Most High says concerning the Jews:

“Many of the People of the Book wish they could turn you back to disbelief after you have believed, out of envy arising within themselves, after the truth has become clear to them.”

“They wish” means that they desire your return to disbelief out of envy. He thus identifies envy as the cause of that desire, after the truth had become clear to them. For when they saw the blessings you had received—indeed, blessings the like of which they had not received—they envied you. Likewise, in the other passage:

“Or do they envy people for what Allah has given them of His bounty? We have certainly given the family of Abraham the Scripture and wisdom, and We gave them a great kingdom. Some of them believed in him, while others turned away from him. Sufficient is Hell as a blazing fire.”

Allah Most High also says:

“Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak,
from the evil of what He has created,
and from the evil of darkness when it settles,
and from the evil of those who blow on knots,
and from the evil of an envier when he envies.”

A number of Quran commentators have mentioned that it (was revealed because of the Jews’ envy of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, which led them to bewitch him: Labīd ibn al-Asam, the Jew, bewitched him. Thus, the envious person