THE CONTROLLER OF ANGER

THE CONTROLLER OF ANGER

The beloved Prophet Muhammad was the most patient and forbearing of people.¹ He would always control his anger and never let his anger get hold of him. He would never get angry over worldly matters but he would show his anger only for just causes and for the sake of defending victims.² He taught his followers to control their anger and not to get angry except for the sake of God, such as fighting against oppression and injustice.

If something annoyed the Prophet he would walk away from it and avoid it.³ He would never get angry for personal reasons, and he was never vindictive or sought revenge. On one occasion, a Bedouin asked the Prophet for assistance, and after assisting him with his need, the Prophet asked, “Have I been good to you?” The Bedouin out of his ingratitude replied ‘No.’ This angered the Muslims and they got up to deal with him, but the Prophet gently replied to them to leave him alone and not to say anything to him.4

I Set forth by Abū al-Shaykh al-Aṣbahānī in Akhlaq al-Nabi wa Ādābihi, 1:468 $175.

2 Set forth by al-Tirmidhi in al-Shama’il al-Muḥammadiyya, p. 185 S226. •al-Ṭabarānī in al-Mu’jam al-Kabīr, 22:156 $414. 3 Ibid.

4 Set forth by Abu al-Shaykh al-Aṣbahānī in Akhlaq al-Nabi wa Ādābihi, 1:472 S177. al-Ghazālī in Iḥya’ Ulūm al-Dīn, 2:379. •al-Haythami in Majma al-Zawa’id, 9:16. •Ibn Kathir in Tafsir al-Qur’ān al-Azīm, 2:405.