Envy is to begrudge the blessing Allah has granted someone else; and even if you do not wish that blessing to be taken away, the mere dislike is still envy. Should you go so far as to wish for its removal, the sin is even more severe—Allah be our refuge.

Those who envy, may Allah grant us well-being, scorch no one but themselves. Whenever Allah bestows a favor upon any of His servants, the envier’s heart catches fire. At times, that inner blaze drives him—God forbid—to transgress against others. Picture a man to whom Allah has given wealth, and who then spends it in Allah’s cause; along comes a resentful onlooker whose heart burns with jealousy. Or Allah grants someone knowledge and he wins the people’s acceptance, and again—God forbid—the envier is consumed by the same illness, and so it continues.

Envy, God protect us, is counted among the major sins. Allah rebuked the Jews on this very account, saying, “Or do they envy people for what Allah has given them of His bounty?” (Q 4:54). Bounty belongs solely to Allah; He bestows it upon whom He wills. By envying, you wrong those whom Allah has favored and, more gravely still, you infringe upon Allah’s own prerogative.