Does My Desire for Having the Same What Others Have Constitute Jealousy?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

If I see something with someone that I like and I ask Allah to give me the same blessing as well without having any ill feelings for that person. Is that considered jealousy? Is having such desires haram?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Jealousy, in Arabic “hasad,” is when one holds ill feelings due to another receiving a blessing, even if they do not desire that blessing for themselves. [Ghazali, Ihya ‘Ulum al-Din]

If one has no ill feelings towards another, however, they would like to have that blessing as well – this is not the jealousy that is prohibited by Allah and His Messenger (may Allah bless him and give him peace). [Ibid.]

Hope this helps
Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani  

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.