Recently a 48 year old unmarried man, George Sodini from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA walked into a gym aerobics class and began shooting, killing three women and wounding nine others before turning the gun on himself. What police initially believed was a random ‘murder-suicide’ was soon discovered to have been the carefully pre-meditated action of a man who felt spurned by women for decades. Sodini left behind a nine-month diary chronicling his grievances in being unable to find love: "The biggest problem of all is not having relationships or friends, but not being able to achieve and acquire what I desire in those or many other areas." He lamented how the “type of life I see is a closed world with me specifically and totally excluded.”It appears that Sodini, who was financially stable and not a complete recluse felt embittered by what he could not have in life; his resentment thus drove him to destroy himself and what he so eagerly sought.

Envy is one of the human being’s most destructive characteristics. It exists in all levels of human society and has the intensity to blind one from the inanity of his or her disposition; the good in others is a cause of lamentation and the envious sees only what is enviable and is unable to see the other’s many shortcomings. As the proverbs explain, “envy can see the ship well enough, but not the leak” and “envy sees only the bridge, not the swamp it crosses” and most tragically, “envy looks at the swamp and sees a sea.”

The effects of envy have had devastating consequences for millennia.  In his book The Boat,Walter Gibson recounts an incident in the Second World War after the torpedoing of the Dutch ship Roseboom in the Indian Ocean, carrying 500 evacuees from Malaya. Gibson, one of the 135 survivors, testifies that in one of the lifeboats, five soldiers banded together one night and murdered and threw overboard twenty of the survivors; what made the event so hauntingly unforgettable was the fact that even those who were driven by hunger and thirst to jump overboard envied those who wished to remain in the boat – those who still had a chance of survival which the others themselves had relinquished. Gibson recalls:

That was a strange feature of every suicide. As people decided to jump overboard, they seemed to resent the fact that others were being left with a chance of safety.

The envy of those who had jumped overboard was further evident when they would try to seize rations and fling them overboard. They would try to make their last action in the boat the pulling of the bung which would let in the water; “their madness always seemed to take the form that they must not go alone, but must take everyone with them.” [1].

In 1953 a middle-aged woman in Munich took her friend’s baby out for a walk in its pram. Whilst walking she pushed the baby and pram into the Isar river. It was revealed that the culprit was overcome with envy of her friend’s happiness which the child symbolised [2]. Furthermore, in a story published in the New York Times, December 16, 1963, ‘Youth is Accused of Killing City College star with Car’ a man drove his car at the hero of a basketball team who had won the game, standing with his parents and friends. The murderer was a supporter of neither team but stated that he could not stand seeing the glamour of the handsome athlete [3]. Knowing full well the repercussions of his actions, the man could not however overcome his instant impulse. He had certainly injured himself because of all the loss he subsequently incurred in his life but he was perfectly prepared to do that if by doing so he could also injure or hurt the object of his envy. Most recently, on 15th August 2009, a Kuwaiti woman confessed to setting alight a wedding tent that killed 41 people. She was the bridegroom’s ex wife, and overcome with envious rage poured gasoline on the tent and set it alight; according to the English-language Kuwait Times a “‘Scorned’ Woman Unleashed Fury.” Envy is thus “a beast that will gnaw at its own leg if it can’t get anything else.”

The Shari’ah (Islamic law code) is a comprehensive system that seeks to address the root causes of problems rather than secondary and tertiary matters – for which it also has solutions. The Prophet was particularly considerate about teaching children, our most valuable natural resource, about the values of altruism, belief in divine decree, self reflection and contentment, and sympathy for others. He once told one of his young companions:

“Young boy, I will teach you some words: Be careful regarding Allah and He will take care of you. Be careful regarding Allah and you will find Him in front of you. When you ask, ask Allah and when you seek refuge, seek refuge with Allah. Know that if the whole community were to gather together to help you with something, they would not be able to help you in any way unless Allah had written that for you. And if they were to gather together to harm you in some way, they would not be able to harm you except with something which Allah had written for you. The pens have been lifted and the pages are dry.”

In a variant tradition he is reported to have said:

"Be careful regarding Allah and you will find Him before you. Recognise Allah in ease and He will recognise you in hardship. Know that whatever misses you could never have hit you and what hits you could never have missed you. Know that victory comes with patience, rescue with constriction, and ease with hardship."

The tradition of the Prophet is monumental in its comprehensiveness, bringing together advice and instruction that, if considered and implemented will certainly transform the wanton envy that creeps upon an individual. Muslims are taught that the good that is bestowed on a person is through the favour of God alone, that fatalism is not only the most correct viewpoint but one that will create less voracity and envy and more appreciation for one’s self and others. Acknowledgment of the fact that we will all have our fair share of hardship and that periods of adversity are followed by ease of whatever sort will lead us not only to persevere but adopt a more caring approach towards others – those who suffer more, in greater degrees and against greater odds. The Prophet reminded us to “look to the one who has less than you, not to the one who has more than you – because then you would undervalue the favour of Allah upon you.” George Sodini cocooned himself into a world where only his problems dictated his thoughts and behaviour. He was unable to look to his stability in so many other areas in his life and show appreciation; he could not compare his difficulty with the plight of so many others. Sodini was a victim of envy who taught us all that envy really does cut its own throat. 

It is essential in the competitive climate within which we live that we look to those who have far less that we have, that we teach our children to express gratitude for what they have – however meagre, because there are always those who have far less. A regular introspection to discern the abundant blessings we have in our lives will protect us from harbouring resentful feelings towards others. We must see the working of Allah’s wisdom in His distribution of provision to His creation. The Qur’an calls attention to Allah’s power, wisdom and authority that we can never question, but we should instead remember that no one person will have absolute happiness in his life, or absolute wealth or health; behind every joy there is a tear, behind every healthy state there is a sickness and behind every wealth there is a problem. We are thus encouraged to compete instead for the lasting abode of the hereafter by expressing gratitude in happiness and also by bearing patiently in adversity. The Prophet would often visit the sick, the orphans, widows and the poor to encourage them with patience and to show them mercy and kindness. Let us emulate him, and teach our children to do the same, so that we learn the meaning of compassion, see the infinite wisdom in the Shari’ah and work to cultivate the model of behaviour that we should aspire to see in ourselves and in others.

"Do not be envious of one another; do not artificially inflate prices against one another; do not hate one another; do not shun one another; and do not undercut one another in business transactions; and be as fellow-brothers and servants of Allah". (Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him))

Footnotes:
[1] W. Gibson, The Boat (London, 1952), p. 35.
[2] Helmut Schoek, Envy: A Theory of Social Behaviour (New York, 1996), p. 130.
[3] ‘Youth Is Accused of Killing City College Star with Car’, New York Times, December 16, 1963.