Advice on Dealing with Anger

Anger is one of the evil whispers of Shaytaan, which leads to so many evils and tragedies, of which only Allaah knows their full extent. For this reason Islam has a great deal to say about this bad characteristic, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) described cures for this “disease” and ways to limit its effects, among which are the following:

1. Seeking refuge with Allaah from the Shaytaan:

Sulayman ibn Sard said: “I was sitting with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and two men were slandering one another. One of them was red in the face, and the veins on his neck were standing out. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘I know a word which, if he were to say it, what he feels would go away. If he said “I seek refuge with Allaah from the Shaytaan,” what he feels (i.e., his anger) would go away.'” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, 6/337)

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If a man gets angry and says, ‘I seek refuge with Allaah,’ his anger will go away.” (Saheeh al-Jaami’ al-Sagheer, no. 695)

2. Keeping silent:

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If any of you becomes angry, let him keep silent.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, al-Musnad, 1/329; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 693, 4027).

This is because in most cases, the angry person loses self control and could utter words of kufr (from which we seek refuge with Allaah), or curses, or the word of divorce (talaaq) which would destroy his home, or words of slander which would bring him the enmity and hatred of others. So, in short, keeping silent is the solution which helps one to avoid all that.

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Uncertainty of the Final Destination

Do not bear witness for any of the people of Islaam (i.e. that he is a person of Paradise or of the Fire) due to a good or bad deed, since you do not know what his final action before his death will be.

You hope for Allaah’s Mercy for him and you fear for him because of his sins.

You do not know what has been destined for him at the time of his death as regards repentance and what Allaah has destined for that time if he dies upon Islaam.

You hope for Allaah’s Mercy for him and you fear for him because of his sins.

Sharhus-Sunnah | Imaam al-Barbahaaree

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How Does One Attain Sincerity? | Ibn Al Qayyim

Sincerity cannot coexist in a heart that contains the love of praise and commendation and the yearning to possess that which is owned by the people save in the manner that fire and water or a lizard and fish may coexist.

If your soul directs you to seek sincerity then first turn your attention towards your yearning and slaughter it with the knife of renunciation. Then turn your attention towards praise and commendation and forsake it with the asceticism of those who loved the world for the sake of the Hereafter. When your slaughtering of your yearning and the renunciation of praise and commendation becomes firm then attaining sincerity will become easy for you.

If it is asked: What may facilitate the act of slaughtering ones yearning and renouncing the love of praise and commendation?

I would reply:

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‘Fear Your Lord’

Indeed the advice, which Allaah has given to His servants from the time of Aadaam (‘alayhis salaam) up until now, has been to have taqwaa (fear) of Him. Glorified and Exalted be He.

 The Mighty, the Majestic says:

 And verily, We have recommended to the people of the Scripture before you, and to you (O Muslims) that you (all) fear Allâh, and keep your duty to Him, But if you disbelieve, then unto Allâh belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth, and Allâh is Ever Rich (Free of all wants), Worthy of all praise. (An-Nisa 4:131)

 It is also the advice of the Messenger of Allaah subhaana wa ta’alaa to his nation:

Abu Umamah Suddi Ibn ‘Ujlan al-Bahili (radiallaahu ‘anhu) reports: I heard the Messenger of Allaah salAllaahu ‘alayhi wa salaam giving a sermon in the farewell Hajj saying:

 “ Fear your Lord, pray your five prayers, fast the month of Ramadhaan, pay your zakaah and obey your leaders, in doing so, you will enter your Lord’s Paradise”

[reported by at-Tirmidhee]

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Repelling Shaytaan Through Congregation

Islaam as a way of life strives towards performing certain actions in the congregation with other Muslims because this serves as a repellent for Shaytaan.  There are several forms of the Jamaa’ah, which are favored so that actions such as prayer are performed collectively.

(i)  The Prayer in congregation (Jamaa’ah)

The Prophet (sallAllaahu alaihi wa sallam) said,

“If there are three men (or more) in a town or in the desert (open space) among whom prayer is not established in Jamaa’ah (congregation), except Shaytaan will overcome them.  So cling to the jamaa’ah for indeed the wolf devours the lone sheep.” [1]

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Ask Those Who Know

Question: Some who are seeking knowledge are very hasty in giving rulings in matters of halaal and haraam, and this is a common noticeable defect. What is your advice to such people?

Reply: “We have spoken on this issue long before, and we said that Allaah the Wise has divided the Muslim community into two types of people: the Ahl adh-Dhikr, and those that depend on the Ahl adh-Dhikr. As Allaah says to the ordinary people: “Then ask those who possess the Message (Ahl adh-Dhikr) if you do not know.” (Soorah 21:7 and 16:43)

 

The Ahl adh-Dhikr are, as we all know, are the Ahl al-Qur’aan and the Ahl al-Hadeeth, those who know the authentic from the unauthentic, the general from the specific, the abrogating from the abrogated, and other such principles of Fiqh and Hadeeth.

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