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Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Don't be the incredible Hulk!!! Cure your Anger


"The strong man is not the one who is the wrestler [or body-builder] but the strong man is the one who holds himself back at the time of anger."


Several Cures for Anger from the Sunnah!!

1. To say "Audhu billahi minashaytan nirajim." 
The first cure for anger was to say ta'wwudh [ie "audhu billahi minashaytan nirajeem". ] 
This cure was given by the Prophet (saw) when a man showed anger in a situation where he was in front of the Prophet (saw). The Prophet (saw) said "I know something that if he says it, his anger will go away and this is "audhu billahi minashaytan nirajeem." What does this have to do with curing anger? Since anger comes from shaytan, you should seek refuge with Allah from the accursed shaytan.
[Bukhari, Muslim]

2. If he is standing, then he should sit. If the anger fails to subside, then he should lie down. 
[Abu Dawood]
The Scholars say that the reason that the Prophet (saw) gave this cure is because that when a person is angry and he is standing he is more capable of taking revenge whereas if he sits down, he will be less able and if the anger still does not subside, then he should lay down which will prevent him from acting out in a manner that he will regret later one.

3. A person should remain silent. [Imam Ahmad]
Ibn Rajab (RA) declared this to be a very great cure that Rasulollah (saw) has mentioned since it is in the state of anger that a person states a lot of things that he or she may regret later on. Sometimes, regretting one's actions will not help since once words are spoken, the damage will take effect. For example, a person in anger may question Allah (swt) or raise an objection (may Allah (swt) forbid this). In anger, a husband may divorce his wife. In anger, people say things that destroy relationships and may take years to rebuild. Breaking one's heart is very easy while joining the hearts is very difficult. Damaging a relationship can be done with one word while building relationships may, in some cases, take years. That is why it is best to refrain from speaking when in anger and to wait until the anger subsides and speak in a calm manner so that a person does not regret what he is saying.

4. Make wudhu. [Abu Dawood] and  Make ghusl [Abu Nuaim]
 Both of these things have to do with using water because some narrations indicate that anger is from shaytan and shaytan has been created from the fire and the way to extinguish this fire is to use water whether it is in the manner of making wudhu or taking a bath. Someone's anger may go away by just making wudhu and someone else might have to take a bath in order for his anger to subside. A person can see also through experience that when he is angry, his body is very hot so that the way to cool him down is to put water over his body either through wudhu or through a bath.


We must remember one thing that what has been mentioned here  is the type of anger that is disliked in Islam since there are two types of anger. 

1)  The anger which is disliked is the one where a person takes revenge from someone because of himself or herself. The Prophet (saw) never did this and provided the cures for this type of anger which are  mentioned above.

2) The type of anger which is liked is the type of anger when a person sees a commandment of Allah (swt) and His Rasul (saw) being broken. This is not only a sign of iman [faith] and liked but is also at times necessary. The Prophet (saw) became angry like this many times to the degree that his complexion would change. This is the type of anger that Imam Shafi'i (ra) was referring to when he said that "whoever does not get angry, he is a donkey."

In our Race to Jannah Let us learn to control our anger because Allah Most High says that He has prepared His Paradise for those who are able to swallow their anger and forgive the ones who did them wrong.  

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