Undoubtedly, being able to restrain one’s self when stirred by anger is true heroism that no one but a person of strong faith, high caliber, and strong will can do. It is not easy for an angry person to control himself, restrain his anger and refrain from punishing the one who enraged him. Therefore, the Prophet, , indicated that real heroism is when a person restrains himself from being enraged even though there are reasons for the anger. The Prophet, , said: “A strong man is not the person who overpowers others; rather, he is the one who contains himself when he is angry.”
The Arabs would call the person who always defeated others in wrestling “Sur‘ah”. They would think highly of such a person, but the Prophet, , drew their attention to the nature of the real hero. Who ishe? Consider this Hadeeth carefully. The Prophet, , said: “Who do you call ‘Sur‘ah’ among you?”People said, “He is the one who is undefeated.”Then, the Prophet, , said:“Rather, he is the one who restrains himself when he is angry.”
The Harm of Anger
Anger is the key of every evil; it results in enmity and grudges that can spoil one’s life. It also gives the devil the chance to control the angry person and make him do and say things that he will later regret when the anger subsides. Mujaahid said, “Iblees, may Allah curse him, said, ‘Sons of Aadam can overcome me except in three things: when one of them is intoxicated, we hold his rein and lead him where we wish so that he will do whatever we like; when he gets angry, he says what he does not know and does things that he will regret…” One of the evil consequences of anger is that it leads its doer to apology. Some sages said, “Beware of the pride of anger because it leads to the humiliation of apology.” If an angry person looks at himself while he is angry, he will see the ugliness of anger.
Intense anger is one of the widest paths that lead people to Hell. Some sages said, “If a person obeys his desires and anger, they will lead him to Hell.” Ibn Al-Qayyim said, “People enter Hell through three doors: the door of doubt that results in suspecting the religion of Allah The Almighty, the door of desires that leads to preferring desires to obeying and satisfying Allah The Almighty, and the door of anger that results in oppressing the creation of Allah The Almighty.”
We see how the Prophet, , directed his Ummah (nation) to every good act and warned them against every evil, and anger is one of these evils.
There is an important question here: Are all kinds of anger dispraised? The answer is that anger is either praised or dispraised. Anger which is not for the sake of truth is dispraised. Anger for the sake of Allah The Almighty, religion and truth is praised.
People vary in their degrees of anger:
First, some people have weak anger, or lack it altogether, which means they have no zeal. This is dispraised because it leads to bitter consequences like humiliation, lowness and weakness of fervor.
Second, others have it in excess. This occurs when anger overtakes a person so that he goes beyond the limits of reason and religion, and loses his reasoning, insight and choice. This is dispraised under all conditions.
Third, yet others possess it in moderation, and this is the praised degree. It occurs if anger is aroused when zeal and pride are due, and is abated when forbearance is the right choice.
Treatment of Anger
When anger is aroused, a person can treat it through the following ways:
1- Seeking refuge with Allah The Almighty from the accursed Satan. When two men began to curse each other and the face of one of them turned red and the veins on his neck became swollen with rage, the Prophet, , said: “I know a word, which, if he utters it, his rage will vanish. That is: ‘A‘oothu billaahi minash-shaytan nir-rajeem [I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan.]’
2- Changing one's position: meaning, a person should sit if he is standing and recline if he is sitting.
3- Ablution: anger is from Satan, and Satan is created from fire, and water extinguishes fire.
4- Remembering the power of Allah The Almighty over a person and people’s need of His forgiveness. A person should bear in mind that Allah The Almighty might effect His anger upon him on the Day of Resurrection if he were to punish the person with whom he is angry.
5- Remembering the reward of forgiveness and restraining anger. Allah The Almighty Says (what means):
· {Who restrain anger and who pardon the people - and Allah loves the doers of good.}[Quran 3:134]
· {But whoever pardons and makes reconciliation - his reward is [due] from Allah.} [Quran 42:40]
6- Thinking about the harm of anger that was previously mentioned.
7- Supplicating Allah The Exalted to grant a person forbearance, restraint and generosity; and training oneself to forbear harm and adopt good manners. Indeed, forbearance is attained by accustoming oneself to it.
8- Reading the biography of the Prophet, , and the righteous predecessors of his Ummah who followed his way. They never got angry except for the sake of Allah The Almighty and they were rewarded for their anger.
We ask Allah The Almighty to protect us from the evil of anger, grant us good-heartedness and perfect our manners. Truly, He is Able to do all things.