A one line instruction for envy
It names both things people compare.
إِذَا نَظَرَ أَحَدُكُمْ إِلَى مَنْ فُضِّلَ عَلَيْهِ فِي الْمَالِ وَالْخَلْقِ، فَلْيَنْظُرْ إِلَى مَنْ هُوَ أَسْفَلَ مِنْهُ
Idhā naẓara aḥadukum ilā man fuḍḍila ʿalayhi fi-l-māli wa-l-khalq, fa-l-yanẓur ilā man huwa asfalu minh
When one of you looks at someone given more than him in wealth and in appearance, let him look at the one who is below him.
Where this comes from
Wealth and appearance are the two named, which are the two people actually compare. The instruction is not to stop looking. It is to look in the other direction as well.
The full narration
Narrated Abu Huraira:Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "If anyone of you looked at a person who was made superior to him in property and (in good) appearance, then he should also look at the one who is inferior to him
Source
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · 6490
- Agreed upon as authentic (al-Bukhārī / Muslim)