(202) Abu Hurairah relates that the Apostle of God said: “You should never be envious of an evil-doer [an Infidel or a pervert] because of a blessing or prosperity. You do not know what suffering he is going to endure after death. At Allah's place [i.e., in the Hereafter] there is a killer for him that will not die.” [The narrator, Abdullah bin Abi Mariam who related it, on the authority of the Abu Hurairah, says that] “by ‘killer' the Prophet meant the Fire of Hell [i.e., the evil-doer is going to live in Hell forever]. [To be envious of such a man is rank foolishness and ignorance].”
-Baghwi
Commentary.-Often when a truthful Believer, who is spending his days in pain and poverty, sees some wicked and godless persons surrounded with comforts and luxuries, the Devil puts various doubts into his heart, or, at least, he begins to feel envious of his happy circumstances. But it is the height of ingratitude to God. The Prophet, in this Tradition, has warned that no believing person should grudge the short-lived happiness and prosperity of those who are devoid of the blessings of Faith and good-doing because, after all, they are going to undergo the torment of Fire in the Hereafter. If the bitter end which is awaiting those unfortunate men can be known, the material comfort and physical pleasures they are enjoying will appear to be no better than the special consideration that is shown in those who are sentenced to death a few days before their execution. This, exactly, is the nature of the prosperity and bodily enjoyment of the rebels against God in the sight of the bondmen who are blessed with faith in the reality of the Hereafter, as related by the Apostles. They do not view with envy their wealth and comfort but are thankful to God that by endowing them with Faith He has saved them from the frightful chastisement that is in store for the impudent slaves of the flesh.
The humble writer has known faithful bondmen who, on seeing godless men of the world, spontaneously recited the prayer of gratitude and thankfulness to the Lord the sacred Prophet used to say when he saw anyone in distress: Praise be to the Lord who saved me from that with which He hath afflicted thee, and made me better than many of His creatures.