Anger is a flame of fire, and when man is angry he has some relation to the accursed Satan who said, as the Qur’an tells, [… Thou didst create Me from fire, and him from clay.] (Al-A`raf: 12)
Anger is condemned in Islam because it produces malevolence and envy. Once a man said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “Advise me!” and the Prophet said, “Do not become angry.” The man asked (the same) again and again, and the Prophet said each time, “Do not become angry.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari)
Causes and Remedy of Anger
The remedy of any defect mainly depends on the elimination of its causes. Self-admiration, joking, argumentation, and betrayal are among the primary causes of anger. Undoubtedly, these are ill morals that the Shari`ah condemns, and in order to get rid of them, people should treat each of them with its opposite.
To remedy the habitual anger, the Muslim, male or female, should do certain things, as follows:
First: He should become well acquainted with the virtues of forgiveness, forbearance, endurance, and restraining anger.
Second: He should frighten himself with the punishment of Allah the Almighty by saying to himself, “Allah’s might over me is much greater than my might over that person (who has enraged me), so if I punish him now, I cannot be sure I will be safe from Allah’s punishment on the Day of Resurrection, and I am much more in need of His forgiveness (than His punishment)!”
Third: He should warn himself against the consequences of enmity, revenge, and glee at the misfortune of his disputants, for, like them, he is not free from calamities that may afflict him at any time.
Fourth: He should meditate on how ugly his image seems when he is angry and on that he should not lead himself to such a terrible image.
Fifth: He should think over the cause that invites him to take revenge. For example, the cause of his anger may be because Satan says to him, “You should not stand still after hearing such humiliating words (that he may have just heard from someone), otherwise you will become humble in the sight of people.” At that moment, he should say to himself, “Do you fear that you should become humble in the sight of people and do not fear of being humble in the sight of Allah, the angels, and prophets?” In this way, he may restrain his anger and escape from the destructive traps of Satan.
Sixth: He should remember that his anger has been caused by something that happened according to Allah’s will and not his own will, so how can he comply with his own will other than the will of Allah the Almighty?
This is how the Muslim should act when he has the flaw of anger so that he may avoid its ruinous and baleful consequences.
