On ghazab, anger and wrath, Allah proclaims in the Quran, “Those who control their wrath, and are forgiving towards mankind, Allah loves the doers of good.” A man once asked Prophet Muhammad for advice. He said, “Do not become angry.” The man asked again and the Prophet repeated his advice. The man went on to ask for the third time, and the Prophet repeated, “Do not become angry.” This illustrates the importance of this advice. Unless anger is turned into a motivating factor, it is a destructive emotion. It can possess, overwhelm and consume a person completely. In a fit of rage, some people set out to destroy the other completely.
In a state of anger, one loses the ability to reason, to follow good judgement or accept advice. This is why the Prophet once said to a companion, “Anger is a form of unbelief .” We only have to look around us to realise how mobs or individuals can violate the life and property of others due to uncontrollable anger. Relatioships can get destroyed because of angry outbursts and using hurtful words with one another. Irrational anger also leads to creating oppressive environments in societies. Without thinking of the consequences, people kill, loot and plunder in fits of rage. They ruin their lives along with the lives of others. We have to learn never to lose control of ourselves.
An essential part of human nature, anger is not always negative, but needs to be trained so that it can be directed towards making positive changes in society through legitimate and rightful methods. One must courageously respond to oppression, wrongdoings and injustice with courage and wisdom. The great Muslim thinker Imam Ghazali wrote that anger is acceptable only at the right time, for the right reasons, at the right place, with the right intensity. Giving into one’s base desires can offer instant gratification, but it harms the soul and puts hurdles in the path of spirituality. People become angry because of their egos, since they are full of themselves. Many of us get angry when our position, honour, wealth or dignity is threatened. One has to learn to let go, not allowing insult to penetrate our emotions.
Acting with humility and forbearance is required to maintain calm. Sufi scholars say that one must control anger by realising that there is no power except God, that nothing takes place without His command. Prophet Muhammad said, “The strong man is not the one who can wrestle people, but the one who controls himself when angry.” He also said that if one wishes not to incur the wrath of God, then s/he should not be wrathful with people.”
Sadia Dehlvi is a Delhi-based writer and author of Sufism: The Heart of Islam. She can be contacted at sadiafeedback@gmail.com
