Sayyid Adil al-Alawi narrates:
‘Ayatullah Mar’ashi Najafi was speaking to us about ethics and spirituality. One day, he spoke about envy. He said envy in its primary stage is like a black dot in the heart of the envious one. It is necessary for the envious person to cure himself through different methods mentioned by the scholars of ethics.
‘[Ayatullah Mar’ashi Najafi] narrated that firstly, the envious person should ask Allah to remove the envy from his heart and he should contemplate on restraining himself from indulging in this habit. And he should contemplate on why he wishes blessings should leave the brother whom he envies. He should consider that Allah is the One who gives and withdraws blessings and He is the source of both benefit and harm. He should seek to receive from his Lord the same blessings that have reached the person he is envious of. And through these methods he should cure himself. If the seed of envy is not removed from its inception, it will grow into a dark tree shadowing the whole existence of that person. He [Ayatullah Mar’ashi Najafi] then related:
‘“My father used to attend the lessons of al-Muhaqqiq al-Akhundi4 and I used to travel with him when he went to these lessons. On the road, he used to see somebody wearing scholarly garments. Whenever he used to see him, he used to pray against him saying, ‘O Allah, remain far from him in this world and the next.’ I heard this statement from him many times. So one day, I asked my father what the reason for this prayer was. My father told me, ‘This person you see used to attend the lessons of al-Akhundi with another Shaykh. Al-Akhundi used to praise his friend for his intelligence and understanding and so he became envious of his friend and the seed of envy began to grow in his heart. One day, his friend became sick and I went with him to visit his friend. When this Shaykh entered to meet his friend, he said, “I have your medicine,” and gave it to him to drink. After a little while, this poor man began vomiting and his colour changed and after some hours he died and I realised that he had been given poison. That deed was motivated by his overpowering envy and because of that crime, four of his children became orphaned.5 This is what envy did to him; it [envy] will erase faith just as the fire consumes fuel.’”’
The Ways Of The Righteous Vol. 1