NOT Rejoicing Over People’s Troubles

Reported by Wasila bin al-Asqa’i (r) that Muhammad (S) said:

“Do not rejoice over the troubles of your brother/sister, lest God might have mercy on him/her and involve you in this trouble.”

Source: Tirmizi

Transliteration: “La Tuzhirish Shamatata Li Akhika; Fa Yarhamahullahu Wa Yabtaliyak.”

Note: We all, at one point in time or another, face challenges and hardships in our lives.

As coronavirus pandemic is spreading panic and impacting negatively on many, we Muslims, as good human beings, must humble ourselves and realize that we are all together in this. We are all vulnerable!

Rejoicing over anyone’s trouble is indecent according to Islam.

For a believer such behavior would be utterly unacceptable and unethical.

This type of rejoicing indicates a substandard attitude and may earn displeasure of God.

Moreover, God may turn the situation around and place the person rejoicing over other peoples’ troubles in the similar situation.

A believer’s conduct toward others–Muslims or non-Muslims– (all brothers and sisters in humanity) can be only something as follows:

Rejoice over others’ happiness and feel sorrow when others are sad or troubled…and ease their conditions if they could be eased by using all possible material resources as well as spiritual ones.

That is a sublime teaching of Islam.

The aspect of Muslim personality that is emphasized here also reinforces another general point.

Islam is not merely a matter of rituals, form and legal codes.

For example, a person may offer Salat (prayer) most meticulously but may not strive to stay clean from indecency (Fahisha) and vices (Munkar) including rejoicing over peoples’ troubles.

There is no legal code to stop this kind of attitude of a person who simply does not know how to benefit from the value system of faith that he/she understands only in terms of rituals, form or legal codes.

He/she cannot, however, avoid the Just-God’s judgment on such conduct that is renounced in our faith — the faith of compassion, mercy, ease, moderation and inclusiveness.