Controlling Anger
Controlling Anger
By Imām Ghazālī (rahimahullāh) Summarised by Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā Ashraf ʿAlī Thānawī (rahimahullāh)
You Have Two Duties Concerning
Feelings of Anger
The First Duty:
To break it through discipline, and by breaking it, I do not mean eradicating it; for its root does not disappear, nor should it. Indeed, if it were to disappear, it would be necessary to acquire it again, for it is a tool for fighting against the disbelievers, preventing wrongdoing, and enabling many good deeds.
It is like a hunting dog; its discipline lies in training it to obey reason and the Shariah, to be stirred by their signals and to control oneself by their signals. It must be trained to not oppose reason and the Shariah, just as a dog is trained to obey the hunter. This is made possible through struggle, which is to create a habit of forbearance and tolerance while exposing oneself to things that cause anger.
The Second Duty:
To control anger when it surges by swallowing it. This is achieved through knowledge and action:
1) Knowledge:
- As for knowledge, it is knowing that the only reason an angry person feels anger is because he disapproves of Allah Almighty’s will, annoyed that matters do not align with his own wishes, which is the height of ignorance. It is also knowing that Allah’s ﷻ anger upon him is greater than his anger, and Allah’s favour upon him is greater than his favour. He should consider how often he disobeys Allah ﷻ and contradicts His commands, yet Allah ﷻ is not angered with him, even though Allah’s command is more binding on him, his family and companions than the command of any other person who contradicts him.
2) Action:
- To say:
أَعُوذُ بِاللّٰهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ
“I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shayṭān.”
- while understanding that the anger is from Shayṭān. If one’s anger does not subside, he should sit if he was standing, and lie down if he was sitting, as is mentioned in the hadith. Changing one’s physical state results in calmness, and if it that is not effective, he should perform ablution.
