Why am I down for no reason? Why did I suddenly lose all my spark? Psychologists are still researching what Islam revealed 1,500 years ago!
- Umm-e-Sidrah
- Aug 8
- 8 min read
Updated: Nov 1
Related Posts:
The saying of the Prophet (PBUH) is:
"People will remain in goodness as long as they do not envy one another."
(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 23408 — Hasan chain)
Zoya stood in front of the mirror, her eyes clouded with frustration. She was deeply troubled; nothing like this had ever happened before. Lately, every day felt the same: exhaustion weighing on her body and mind.
Her mother noticed her staring into the mirror and asked, surprised, “What’s wrong, Zoya? Why are you looking at the mirror like that?”
Startled, Zoya turned to her mother, her face lined with worry.
“Sweetheart, why are you so upset?” her mother pressed.
Zoya didn’t answer. Instead, she said, “Mom, I’m getting late for college. I should go.”
Her mother whispered a prayer for her safety. “Alright, love. Go with Allah’s protection.”
After her first class of the day, her friend Ramsha nudged her. “Why so quiet today?”
“It’s nothing,” Zoya said.
Ramsha grinned. “Okay, fine. But tell me, are you ready for tomorrow’s competition?”
Zoya gave a small, humble shrug. “I’ve done my best. The rest is up to Allah.”
Ramsha laughed. “No doubt about it! Everyone knows you’ll win.”
At dinner, her father noticed Zoya was barely touching her food.
“Eat up, dear. Don’t let your food go cold,” he said.
"Yes, Dad," she had just lifted a bite to her mouth when suddenly she felt nauseous, collapsed, and fainted. Her mother and father were stunned. What had just happened? They rushed her to the hospital immediately, and treatment began right away.
When the reports came, they found out she had severe diarrhea. Her parents spent the entire night praying for her recovery. Finally, their prayers were answered, and with grateful whispers of "Alhamdulillah," Zoya opened her eyes. The Fajr adhan was echoing in the distance.
Panicked, she asked, "Where am I?"
Her father gently stroked her head. "Sweetheart, you're in the hospital. You fell very ill, but thank God, you're better now."
"But Dad, I have to go to college! Today’s my competition!"
"My dear, your health won’t allow it. The doctors say you’ll need to stay in the hospital for a few more days."
Her heart sank like a knife had pierced it. "Dad, no! I worked so hard for this competition!"
"Allah knows what’s best, my child. Nothing is more important than your health and life. We’re just grateful we got you to the hospital in time. You were burning up!" He sighed. "Rest now. I’ll go pray."
Three days later, she returned home. When she checked her college online group, she couldn’t believe her eyes; her friend Ramsha had won first place in the competition.
The shock hit her hard. Ramsha hadn’t even told her.
When she finally recovered and went to meet Ramsha, her friend averted her gaze as if she didn’t know her. The hurt cut deep. Zoya wasn’t jealous of her friend’s success, but this cold behavior felt like a betrayal.
Some things are beyond understanding—the people we trust as true friends sometimes turn out to be slowly killing us.
But Zoya couldn’t figure out why Ramsha had acted that way. One day, her mother noticed her sadness and said, "Sweetheart, I’ve been watching you for days-you’re so quiet. First, your illness shook us, and now this unexplained sadness… What’s wrong?"
Unable to hold back her tears any longer, Zoya broke down and confided in her mother. "I don’t understand why Ramsha changed. She won the competition and now acts like she doesn’t even know me."
Her mother comforted her with patience, but that night, she mentioned it to Zoya’s father. He was deeply concerned about his daughter’s well-being. After Isha prayers, he met with Scholar Saeed Ullah and shared Zoya’s struggles; her mental distress, declining health, and withdrawal from studies.
The scholar listened intently and said, "I’ll give you the solution tomorrow."
The next day, after Fajr prayers, her father approached him again. The scholar's words were grave: "The real problem is far more serious. The one who is truly ill doesn’t even realize their own sickness."
Confused, Zoya's father asked, "What do you mean?"
The scholar replied, "Understand this: Your daughter has been afflicted by the evil eye—someone’s envy has touched her."
"Who would do such a thing?"
"Knowing who isn’t necessary. Focus on the cure. Allah has given solutions in the Quran." He advised:
- Recite Surah Al-Falaq, Surah An-Nas, and Ayat-ul-Kursi- morning and evening.
- Blow (Ruqyah) on yourself and the afflicted one after recitation.
- Increase in charity (Sadaqah).
"In sha’Allah, Allah’s mercy will bring relief."
Zoya's father had now made it a daily routine to recite the prescribed surahs and blow them over Zoya without fail. Within a few days, the results became evident as Zoya suddenly became lively and energetic again. Her smile had returned, and remarkably, she even started topping her class in academics. When the next college competition came around, she won first prize. Everyone was happy and congratulating her - everyone except Ramsha.
Zoya approached Ramsha with the hope of rekindling their friendship; however, Ramsha boldly said, "I can't bear to see you succeed." With a heavy heart, Zoya asked internally, "Weren't you my friend? Friends are supposed to be happy for each other's success. Why aren't you happy for me? What did I do to hurt you?"
Envy is a Heart Disease?
Ramsha's face began to change color, her eyes burning with embers of anger. Finally, she confessed: "If you want to hear the truth, then listen. Your popularity poisons me." Tears welled up in Zoya's eyes as she asked in shock, "Your face and behavior never showed this before..."
Ramsha snapped, "Why would I reveal it to you? Your constant laughter, cheerfulness, and being everyone's favorite used to destroy my peace. I never criticized you, but the truth is, I lost sleep over it. I writhed in agony seeing you praised by everyone. You were the college's golden girl. Outwardly, I showered you with compliments, but it was all lies."
With a sarcastic laugh, Ramsha added, "Let me tell you a secret. When you were sick, I felt I had achieved my goal. I seized the opportunity and submitted my name in your place. I wish I were in your position today, too, but alas, this day is ruined. I will never forgive you."
Blinded by hatred, Ramsha didn't realize that their conversation was being overheard by their teacher, Sir Rehan. He interjected, "Ramsha, the pity isn't about today being ruined - it's about your petty mindset. You're suffering from a disease called envy."
"A disease of the soul, the heart, and the conscience."
Just as cancer is a deadly disease, envy is also a festering wound. This poison eats away at one’s faith. Its effects are not limited to the one consumed by it—it also deeply harms the one being envied, leaving a negative impact on every aspect of their life, physically and psychologically. This fire doesn’t just burn the envier; it reduces the envied to ashes as well.
"Envy is symbolically compared to a leech."
Have you ever seen a leech? It silently clings to the skin of an animal or human. It makes no noise, leaves no obvious wound—it just slowly sucks the blood. From the outside, everything seems fine, but inside, it weakens its host.
Envy is the same. It quietly takes root in the heart. Outwardly, a person may smile and converse, but in some hidden corner of their heart, another’s happiness or success gnaws at them. This gnawing slowly steals their peace, destroys love, and burns away their good deeds.
The longer a leech remains attached, the more harm it causes. Similarly, the longer envy stays in the heart, the sicker the soul becomes. There’s only one cure: remove it immediately, through prayer, gratitude, and goodwill.
Ramsha’s head bowed in shame—these emotions had often stirred in her heart whenever she saw someone surpassing her or found someone else happy. Sir Rehan noticed the look on her face and said with a gentle smile:
"The cure for the disease of envy was given to us by our beloved Prophet (PBUH) 1,400 years ago."
Hazrat Abu Huraira (رضی اللہ عنہ) narrates that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:
"لا يَزَالُ النَّاسُ بِخَيْرٍ مَا لَمْ يَحْسُدُوا، وَإِذَا كَانَ فِيهِمُ الحَسَدُ، نَزَعَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمُ الْبَرَكَةَ، وَلاَ يَتَرَاكَبُونَ عَلَى نَفْسٍ، وَلاَ يَتَشَاوَرُونَ عَلَى مَعْصِيَةٍ"
"People will continue to live in goodness and blessings as long as they do not envy one another. But when envy arises among them, Allah removes His blessings from them. They then neither oppress one another nor conspire in sin."
References:
- Sahih al-Bukhari (Book of Heart-Softening Traditions, Hadith 6068)
- Sahih Muslim (Book of Virtue, Good Manners, and Ties of Kinship, Hadith 2564)
This means:
As long as people rejoice in each other’s happiness, the rain of Allah’s mercy will continue to shower upon them. But the heart of an envious person becomes empty of faith, filling instead with hatred, malice, resentment, and distance from the religion.
The Destructive Effects of Envy:
Envy is a disease of the heart. One that makes a person resentful of others' success and blessings. When this disease spreads, it leads to:
Broken relationships
Increased lies, backbiting, and plotting
Cooperation turns into vengeful competition.
The envier only promotes their own interests– selfishness reaches its peak. They find peace only by destroying the one they envy in every possible way.
As stated by Researchers:
Modern scientific research shows that envy activates a small part of the brain called the amygdala, which controls fear, stress, anxiety, and panic (Takahashi et al., 2009; Xiang et al., 2016). Just as we get startled by a sudden scary noise, an envier's repeated negative thoughts about others trigger the amygdala, creating mental tension and emotional turmoil. This negativity doesn’t just harm the envier; it also affects the person being envied, like an arrow striking its target. Just as Ramsha’s jealousy made Zoya physically ill, the poison of envy can manifest in real suffering.
But when Zoya was treated with reciting Quranic verses and prayers, Allah granted her healing and protection from the envier’s harm through her focusing on herself. Envy triggers the release of cortisol, also known as the "stress hormone." Meaning, the negative thoughts make the envier restless and lead to overthinking, which equally affects the envied. The lack of gratitude for what is available only increases the effect and burden on mental health. Thankful people have 25% less cortisol compared to the enviers.
References:
Takahashi, H., Kato, M., Matsuura, M., Mobbs, D., Suhara, T., & Okubo, Y. (2009). When your gain is my pain and your pain is my gain: neural correlates of envy and schadenfreude. Science, 323(5916), 937–939. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1165604
Xiang, Y., Kong, F., Wen, X., Wu, Q., & Mo, L. (2016). Neural correlates of envy: regional homogeneity of resting-state brain activity predicts dispositional envy. NeuroImage, 142, 225–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.08.004
That’s why the Prophet (ﷺ) clearly stated:
"The secret to success lies in wishing well for others. So, avoid envy at all costs."
The Cure for Envy in the Light of Prophetic Medicine and Modern Psychology:
✔ Rejoice in others' success.
✔ If envy arises, immediately pray:
"O Allah, bless my brother/sister’s blessings, and grant me too through lawful means."
✔ Spread love, prayers, and goodwill to strengthen society.
✔ Acknowledge your insecurities and accept yourself as you are.
✔ Be grateful for what you have
Quran 14:7 "If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]"
Envy brings nothing but ruin.
Sir Rehan said, "See how envy poisoned your relationship? Where there was once love, now hatred has settled."
Ramsha apologized to Zoya for her past behavior, and the two began healing with hadith.
Repent sincerely and recite this prayer:
- "O Allah, purify my heart from envy."
Have you had such an experience? Did you suffer from envy, too? How did you get through? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
جزاك اللهُ خيراً
Such useful information is hard to find...🙌 Keep it up
This answers my concerns 😓🥺
It was well written ❤️🩹
Wooooooooooo 😲😌
MashaAllah, nice content👍