Most people are caught up in the lives of others and derive pleasure from vain talk, gossip, and backbiting. One of the first signs of a believer’s progress toward Allah ﷻ is the removal of speaking ill of others. The next stage of progress is that the believer’s heart no longer harbors any ill feelings toward others, nor their mind any ill thoughts. The third and final stage is that the believer becomes so consumed with his or her own actions that they completely stop paying attention to the state of others, and genuinely begin to believe that there is no one more in need of Allah ﷻ’s mercy them themselves.
