Reflecting on Anger

Peace, one and all…

On a course I took some years ago, Shaykh Haitham Tamim (the most worthy founder of the Utrujj Foundation, may Allah preserve him) made one of the most profound observations I’ve ever encountered.  The more I reflect on this pearl of wisdom, the more I realise just how deep it is.  And from Allah al-Hakim comes all wisdom.

As he was explaining Imam al-Nawawi’s 40 Hadith (very ably too I might add, ma sha Allah), he stopped and said, ‘frequent anger is a sign of sin’.  Subhan Allah!  It hit me like a thunderbolt!  In fact, it felt like you could still see my smoking boots!  At the time, there was a lot of unexplained anger  in my life (and God’s forgiveness is to be sought).  I’d been mistakenly looking for the source of this anger in the outside world.  What an error!

In many ways, this immediate rush to externals is a feature of the Muslim community today (and humanity in general).  How many times have we heard someone blame their personal problems on the malignant influence of jinn or kala jadu (black magic)?  Well, I don’t wish to pursue this important topic here today (though in the near future I may write something on this topic, insha Allah).  What I would like to concentrate on is exploring anger itself, and what it can (potentially at any rate) teach us.  And God’s aid is to be sought in all things.

Ya Rabb! Grant me Your aid and Your rehmat; without Your mercy, I will never find my mark!

What, then, is anger?  And what does it do to us?  Well, we all know perhaps that intense feeling of anger when it comes upon us.  It can make us do strange things, as this hadith of the Prophet (alaihi al-salatu wa al-salam), recorded by Imam Muslim, underlines:

‘Abu Mas’ud al-Badri reported: I was beating my slave with a whip when I heard a voice behind me: Understand, Abu Masud; but I did not recognise the voice due to intense anger. He (Abu Mas’ud) reported: As he came near me (I found) that he was the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and he was saying: Bear in mind, Abu Mas’ud; bear in mind. Abu Mas’ud. He (Aba Maslad) said: threw the whip from my hand. Thereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said: Bear in mind, Abu Mas’ud; verily Allah has more dominance upon you than you have upon your slave. I (then) said: I would never beat my servant in future’ (Sahih Muslim, Book 015, Number 4086)

Why do we get angry when we sin?  Why should wrongdoing make us angry?  Well, I believe, this works on a number of levels.  Firstly, it’s easier to get angry with others than to admit that you’ve made the mistake yourself.  In other words, the source of the problem itself (the ego) inhibits our understanding. 

Secondly, given that we are muslims in more than the sociological sense, our very bodies revolt against sin; it’s as if our limbs become angry at our poor conduct!  Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (may God be pleased with him) reports a very interesting saying of the Prophet (alaihi al-salatu wa al-salam) in this regard:

‘Every morning when a person wakes up the whole body begs the tongue, ‘Fear God for our sake, for our salvation depends upon you!  If you are true, we will be truthful.  If you are false, we are doomed’ (Tabarani)

On some level, we know when we’re doing wrong.  We know when our egos are getting the better of us.  We can see this spiritually, in terms of our conduct, and even physically, in terms of health and general well being.

We also get angry when we don’t get what we feel we should have.  This idea lies behind much of this way of thinking.  Indeed, how often have we found ourselves disappointed at the actions/inactions of others?  When we’re focusing solely on ourselves, we tend to get carried away with the idea that people are there to serve us (rather than to serve God).  When we reflect deeply on such thinking, we can begin to see it as disatisfaction with God’s decree (qadar).  That is, when we’re all about me, me, me and why we haven’t got this thing, or that car, we’re actually angry at Allah for not giving us our ‘due’ (Ya Rabb)!

If our anger makes us dishonest (and I direct this at myself before others), we become angry when the actions of others uncover our selfish schemes and plots.  But, we should remember that God says in the Quran:

‘They plot and plan, and Allah too plans; but the best of planners is Allah’ (8:30; cf 3:54).

If, however, we can look beyond ourselves and realise our own, direct culpability in our misdeeds we’d be able to see that anger can be positive.  That is, if used correctly (with the right intent) it can force us beyond blame by removing (even if only temporarily) the ego’s iron grip on our souls.

Moreover, to be truly beneficial, anger has to go beyond the personal (beyond the ego in other words).  That is, we have to get angry for others too.  When someone else’s rights are being trampled upon, then our anger should make us resist such wickedness.  After all, this is when God’s rights are most assuredly trampled upon.

[My apologies for the length of this post].

wa akhiru da’wana an il hamdu lillahi rabbil alameen…

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman