Magic and Envy

By Nasmira Firdous

Bismillah

“Satan said, "I am better than him. You created me from fire and created him from clay." (Surah Al-'A`rāf 7:12) 

All of us are familiar with this statement made by the Shaitan when Allah subhaanahu wa ta'aala asked him to bow in front of Adam alayhi salaam. If you are wondering why I’m linking up this statement with envy, read the proclamation by Satan again. Apart from being a statement of disobedience and defiance, it is a statement filled with pride and ego. Because Adam alayhi salaam was given a higher status, Iblees fell into the depths of envy, leading him to question Allah subhaanahu wa ta'aala’s wisdom and command. What happened next was history.

Amongst the attributes of being successful and happy in this life and benefiting ourselves in the Next, is to negate some dangerous qualities and characteristics that are quite natural to humans. These qualities include jealousy and envy we tend to harbor towards our fellow brethren. Bred from low self-esteem, envy and jealousy are equivalent to you questioning Allah subhaanahu wa ta'aala’s infinite wisdom. How, you may ask.

Say, for example, Sara is envious of Mariam. She yearns for Mariam’s beauty, envies her wealth and her loving family. Not able to withstand Mariam’s good fortunes, Sara is often found cursing Mariam. She sometimes secretly wishes that Mariam loses it all.

Apart from being desperately envious, the above example shows that Sara is not willing to accept Allah subhaanahu wa ta'aala’s blessings. It shows that she is questioning Allah subhaanahu wa ta'aala’s hikmah and asking “How could Mariam be bestowed with so much good? Why she, why not me?”

Who is Sara to ask these questions to the All-Knowing, the All Wise? Does Sara think that she knows better than Allah subhaanahu wa ta'aala? On the other hand, if Sara had accepted Mariam’s good fortunes as Allah subhaanahu wa ta'aala’s way of blessing His slaves with what He thought was appropriate, Sara could have earned tremendous rewards in this world and the Next. Not to forget the amount of peace her heart and soul could have attained.

Although the characters above are fictional, many of us can relate to it in one way or the other. Ever felt envious when your friend wore a pretty dress? Felt envious when you saw your friend get more number of ‘likes’ on Facebook than you did? Ever felt envious that your teacher praised your friend more than you, even if she seemed less deserving of it? If you answered yes to the above questions, then know that tiny seeds of evil in the form of envy are being planted subconsciously into your heart.

Envy Leads To Disastrous Consequence

• It was envy that made Satan think of himself as being superior to Adam alayhi salaam, earning Allah subhaanahu wa ta'aala’s wrath and displeasure. 

• It was envy that drove Satan away from paradise for eternity. As a point of reminder, Iblees was one of the most loyal and pious servants of Allah before committing his act of foolishness by refusing to accept Allah’ subhaanahu wa ta'aala s wisdom. Therefore, we should never be held off guard into thinking that we may not fall into that same level of foolishness or pride and envy that Satan fell into. 

• It was envy that made the brothers of Yusuf A.S throw him into the well. 

How NOT To Get Envious:

So how does one remain happy and satisfied without getting jealous of others? Read the following hadeeth.

Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said that when he was sitting with the Messenger of Allah sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam, he said: “Coming upon you now is a man from the people of Paradise.” So, a man came from the Ansar whose beard looked disarrayed by the water from Wudu (ablution), and he was carrying both of his shoes with his left hand. The next day the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam repeated the same words, and the Ansar came in the same condition. The third day the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam repeated the same again, and the Ansar man showed up in the same condition. When the Messenger of Allah sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam stood up to leave, Abdullah ibn Umar ibn Al-’As (may Allah be pleased with him) followed the man and asked him, “I have quarreled with my father and I have sworn not to enter my home for three days. May I stay with you?” He said: “Yes.”

Abdullah ibn Umar ibn Al-‘As stayed three nights with him but never saw him praying at night, and whenever he went to bed, he would remember Allah and rest until he woke up for Fajr prayer. Abdullah said that he never heard anything but good from his mouth. When three nights had passed and he did not see anything special about his actions, Abdullah asked him, “O servant of Allah! I have not quarreled with my father nor have I cut relations with him. I heard the Messenger of Allah sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam say three times that a man from the people of Paradise was coming to us, and then you came. So, I thought I should stay with you and see what you are doing that I should follow, but I did not see you do anything special. What is the reason that the Messenger of Allah spoke highly of you?” The man said: “It is as you have seen.” When Abdullah was about to leave, the man said, “It is as you have seen, except that I do not find fraud in my soul towards the Muslims, and I do not envy anyone because of the good that Allah has given them.” [1]

We could be prone to envying others, intentionally or otherwise but we must remember from the aforementioned hadeeth that the reward for freeing our hearts from jealousy is PARADISE, an abode for eternity! How excellent the reward!!

• Accept Allah’s decisions without coming up with ‘logical’ questions of hows and whys like the Satan. 

• Do not burn your good deeds. Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said: "Beware of jealousy, for verily it destroys good deeds the way fire destroys wood."[2]

• Do not become enemies. The Messenger of Allah sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said: "They are enemies for Allah's bounties." They asked: "Who are they?" He said: "Those who envy people for what Allah has given them of Bounty.” [3] 

Protect Yourself From Others’ Envy:

• Envy is so dangerous that Allah has sent down last two chapters of the Glorious Quran to be recited to protect us. 

• Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam asked us to recite, “A’oodhu bi kalimaat Allaah al-taammaati min sharri maa khalaq (I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from the evil of that which He has created).” [4] 

• Recitation of ayatul kursi is powerful too.[5] 

How Envy And Magic Are Related:

Magic and envy seem to go hand in hand. Envy could make the person wish for others downfall. Throughout history, in extremely evil cases, people have sought help from the evil jinns (Shayateen) to cast magical spells on others, leading to a deadly chain reaction of envy and magic.

Magic or sihr, as is proven to exist in the Quran and Sunnah, includes witchcraft, divination and necromancy and is one of the most dangerous acts to fall into. Anyone seeking the help of a magician or performing magic has committed kufr [6] and is to be killed according to the Shari’ah, highlighting the seriousness of the sin being committed.

Protect Yourself From Magic:

• Saad radi Allah Ta'lah Anhu narrated that Allah's Apostle sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said, "He who eats seven 'Ajwa dates every morning, will not be affected by poison or magic on the day he eats them." [7]

• Recite ayatul Kursi regularly because it acts as direct shield from the Satan’s evil.

• Moisten your tongues with constant dhikr. This will keep Satan and evil at bay and also add up a lot of hasanat into your book of deeds.

• Do not forget to recite your morning and evening adkhaars.

• You can read more in the following link: http://islamqa.com/en/ref/12918/protection%20from%20magic

References:

1. Musnad Imam Ahmad, #12286
2. Abû Dawûd
3. at-Tabarânî
4. Narrated by Muslim, al-Dhikr wa’l-Du’aa, 4881
5. http://islamqa.com/en/ref/11359/protect%20from%20envy
6. Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam says: “Whoever blows on knots practices magic, and whoever practices magic is a mushrik (polytheist).” (At-Tabarani)
7. Sahih Bukhari Volume 7: #356.

Posted in: ayatul kursi,envious,envy,jealousy,magic,nasmeera,Nasmira Firdous,protection from envy,sihr