According to search-discovered classical Islamic scholarship, Al-Hasad (الحسد), translated as malicious envy, is a major spiritual disease of the heart condemned in the Quran and Sunnah. It is defined as the desire for a blessing—whether religious or worldly—to be removed from another person. Imam An-Nawawi clarifies this as being fundamentally an objection to Allah's divine decree and apportionment of His favors. This destructive emotion is identified as the first sin ever committed in the heavens by Iblis against Adam and on earth by Cain against Abel. The Quran explicitly warns against the envy of the People of the Book, who wished to turn believers back to disbelief after the truth was made clear to them (Quran 2:109), and identifies mutual envy (baghyan) as the reason communities divided after receiving clear proofs (Quran 3:19). Islam differentiates Hasad from Ghibtah (emulation), which is the permissible wish to have a similar blessing without desiring its removal from the other, especially in matters of knowledge and charity. The primary protection against the evil of an envier is to seek refuge in Allah, as commanded in Surah Al-Falaq (113:5).