a person loves to outstrip others in acts of righteousness, that is not envy in the least; real envy is to hate for someone else to receive any good.

Be aware that envy has tell-tale signs. One of them is that the envier always tries to hide other people’s merits. Imagine a wealthy man who spends his money on charity, builds mosques, repairs roads, buys books and endows them to students of knowledge, and so forth. When people begin praising this benefactor, the envious man remains silent, as though he had heard nothing at all. That silence is unmistakable proof of envy, for whoever truly loves goodness loves to publicize goodness in others. By contrast, when you hear a man speak fairly about the righteous—saying, for example, “So-and-so is virtuous, generous, a benefactor”—this shows the purity of his heart and his freedom from envy. We ask Allah to protect us and you from envy and from every reprehensible trait and deed.

Now to his words: “wa la tanajashu” (do not practice najsh). Najsh means raising the price of a commodity against one’s brother while having no intention of buying it—doing so only to harm the buyer, to benefit the seller, or to accomplish both at once. For instance, an item is put up for sale in the market and people begin bidding on it. Someone then steps forward and keeps increasing the bid even though he does not wish to purchase it: the price stands at one hundred, so he offers one hundred and ten. His only aim is to drive up the price on the buyer, or to secure a higher return for the seller, or both. This is unlawful and impermissible, for it constitutes aggression.

If, however, a person raises his bid because he genuinely wants the item but withdraws when the price rises beyond what he considers reasonable, there is no sin in that, for many people bid up the price of