evil doer
(202) Abu Hurairah
relates that the Apostle of God said: “You should never be envious
of an evil-doer [an Infidel or a pervert] because of a blessing or prosperity.
You do not know what suffering he is going to endure after death. At
Allah’s place [i.e., in the Hereafter] there is a killer for him
that will not die.” [The narrator, Abdullah bin Abi Mariam who
related it, on the authority of the Abu Hurairah, says that] “by
‘killer’ the Prophet meant the Fire of Hell [i.e., the evil-doer
is going to live in Hell forever]. [To be envious of such a man is rank
foolishness and ignorance].”
-Baghwi
Commentary.-Often when a truthful Believer, who is spending his days
in pain and poverty, sees some wicked and godless persons surrounded
with comforts and luxuries, the Devil puts various doubts into his heart,
or, at least, he begins to feel envious of his happy circumstances.
But it is the height of ingratitude to God. The Prophet, in this Tradition,
has warned that no believing person should grudge the short-lived happiness
and prosperity of those who are devoid of the blessings of Faith and
good-doing because, after all, they are going to undergo the torment
of Fire in the Hereafter. If the bitter end which is awaiting those
unfortunate men can be known, the material comfort and physical pleasures
they are enjoying will appear to be no better than the special consideration
that is shown in those who are sentenced to death a few days before
their execution. This, exactly, is the nature of the prosperity and
bodily enjoyment of the rebels against God in the sight of the bondmen
who are blessed with faith in the reality of the Hereafter, as related
by the Apostles. They do not view with envy their wealth and comfort
but are thankful to God that by endowing them with Faith He has saved
them from the frightful chastisement that is in store for the impudent
slaves of the flesh.
The humble writer has known faithful bondmen who, on seeing godless
men of the world, spontaneously recited the prayer of gratitude and
thankfulness to the Lord the sacred Prophet used to say when he saw
anyone in distress: Praise be to the Lord who saved me from that with
which He hath afflicted thee, and made me better than many of His creatures.