According to our traditions...
According to our traditions, Surat al-Ikhlas was often recited by the blessed Prophet, salla-llahu 'alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, for the Imams Hasan and Husayn. These surahs remind us to strive for an inner state of i'man, to walk straight ahead toward our objective, to the wahad al-ahad, the Single and Unique One, to sing nothing but the song of the One.
If we do this, we will have no interest in dabbling in these other phenomena, because the gross phenomena will not be viewed by us as having any intrinsic reality. It must be remembered that however powerful a magician may be, there will always be another magician who will overcome him. In the case of Sayyidna Musa, `alayhi-s-salam, it is well known that the muwahhid (the man of unity), overcame all the Pharaoh's magicians by another power which had nothing to do with the play of magic.
5 And from the evil of the envier when he envies. Hasad means "envy," which is considered to be one of the worst afflictions of the nafs and one of the worst self-inflicted troubles for man, because it can grow rampant. The fire of envy will fuel itself constantly and can never be put out, because there will always be someone else who will have something that we cannot have. Amir al-Mu'minin 'Ali, `alayhi-s-salam, was asked about Hasud, a man whose envy was causing havoc among the people.
"What can we do with him?" they asked, "He should be punished!" Amir 'Ali answered, `Ma fihi yakfihi," "What is in him is enough of a punishment for him." The hasid (envier) will never win nor will he ever profit. Keep us safe, O Lord, from the evil of this attitude which has its seed in every heart! If it were not in our hearts right now, we would be unable to understand it.
We all have felt a spark of it in our life, but if we are fortunate, it remains a spark which can be smothered and covered over with generosity and other positive attributes. If we do not fight against envy at all times, it will constantly be inflamed and will take us over completely. Previous…