There was a rich man. When he married, he begot from his wife two sons. He continued to raise them, oversee their upbringing, and spend upon them until they grew up and became men capable of bearing responsibility. Then after a period of time, the man fell severely ill. He continued to suffer from this illness until he died from the severity of the effects of that disease. He left his two sons a tremendous fortune.
Each Chooses His Path
The two sons divided that fortune. The younger son engaged in trade and was sincere to God in his work. He worked hard and strove that this trade might flourish. He was very charitable, never stingy toward the servants of God with His bounty. His trade grew and his wealth increased, and he acquired a tremendous fortune. He had no enemies around him, so his wealth was secure, not affected by the envy of malicious souls that envy people.
As for the older son, he chose for himself another path. He continued to spend his fortune in ways not pleasing to God the Exalted. He had no awareness except that his wealth had been exhausted. The older son’s wealth was exhausted to the last. He became poor, finding nothing to spend on himself nor to sustain his livelihood. Despite that, his younger brother did not leave him to poverty. He continued to show compassion to him from what he possessed, sheltered him, and presented him with sufficient food and clothing.
The Envious Brother Shows His Malice
But the older brother was not pleased with whatever his younger brother gave him. Rather, envy began to eat into his heart with hatred and resentment toward his brother. He thought of a way to destroy his brother’s wealth, until he became like him in poverty, and thus his heart would be at ease, so people would not reproach him with his poverty and boast of his brother’s fame.
He strove to achieve his vile aim. Finally, he was inspired by a suggestion from Iblīs to an envious man known for his envy, and few are the people who escape his envy. The envious man was weak of sight, hardly able to see except from near. The older brother went to the man famous for envy.
He Who Dug a Pit for His Brother Fell into It
He agreed with him to envy his younger brother’s wealth in exchange for a handful of money, which he would give him when he had achieved his aim and freed himself from his younger brother’s wealth. The two set out on their way to accomplish what they had agreed upon. When his younger brother’s wealth approached, he pointed to it, saying: “Consider these my brother’s old trade, for I see it as old from afar.”
The envious man said: “O master, how do you see it when it is at all this distance? Would that I were like you.” At that moment the brother felt severe pain in his head. The light of his eyes was extinguished, and he was blinded immediately. His younger brother’s wealth and trade were gone without this man touching them with any harm. How repulsive is the outcome of greed and envy.
Lessons Derived from the Story:
If a Muslim is rich or poor, he must strive to teach his children the Book of God and the Sunnah of the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, and teach them asceticism in this world and desire for the Hereafter, so that if wealth is left to them, none of them covets what is with his brother, and none of them uses wealth in disobedience to God, glory be to Him and exalted.
If a Muslim inherits wealth, he must make good use of this wealth in his religious and worldly interests. He must not spend wealth in disobedience to God, glory be to Him and exalted, nor be wasteful when spending, but be moderate in spending.
A Muslim should not envy anyone for his wealth or his car or anything of the affairs of this world, for this world is not worth to God the wing of a gnat. Rather, he should compete with others in preserving the Qur’ān, seeking knowledge, and worship, so that he ascends to the highest degrees of Paradise on the Day of Resurrection.