Know,
O dear readers, that the medicine of a disease is to remove the
root cause of that disease. Isa (Jesus Christ) (p.b.u.h.) was
once asked: "What thing is difficult?" He said: "God's wrath."
Prophet Yahya (John the Baptist) (p.b.u.h.) then asked: "What
thing takes near the wrath of God?" He said:" Anger". Yahya (p.b.u.h.)
asked him:" What thing grows and increases anger?" Isa (p.b.u.h.)
said:" Pride, prestige, hope for honor and haughtiness."
The
causes which cause anger to grow are self-conceit, self-praise,
jests and ridicule, argument, treachery, too much greed for too
much wealth and name and fame. If these evils are united in a
person, his conduct becomes bad and he cannot escape anger. So
these things should be removed by their opposites. Self-praise
is to be removed by modesty. Pride is to be removed by one's own
origin and birth. Greed is to be removed by remaining satisfied
with
necessary things, and miserliness by charity.
The
prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) said: "A strong man is not he who
defeats his adversary by wrestling, but a strong man is he who
controls himself at the time of anger."
We are
describing below the medicines of anger after one gets angry.
The medicine is a mixture of knowledge and action. The medicine
based on knowledge is of six kinds:
1) The
first medicine of knowledge is to think over the rewards of
appeasing anger, that have come from the verses of the Quran and
the sayings of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.). Your hope for getting
rewards of appeasing anger will restrain you from taking
revenge.
2) The
second kind of medicine based on knowledge is to fear the
punishment of God and to think that the punishment of God upon
me is greater than my punishment upon him. If I take revenge
upon this man for anger, God will take revenge upon me on the
Judgment Day.
3) The
third kind of medicine of anger based on knowledge is to take
precaution about punishment of enmity and revenge on himself.
You feel joy in having your enemy in your presence in his
sorrows. You yourself are not free from that danger. You will
fear that your enemy might take revenge against you in this
world and in the next.
4)
Another kind of medicine based on knowledge is to think about
the ugly face of the angry man, which is just like that of the
ferocious beast. He who appeases anger looks like a sober and
learned man.
5) The
fifth kind of medicine based on knowledge is to think that the
devil will advise by saying: "You will be weak if you do not get
angry! "Do not listen to him!
6) The
sixth reason is to think: "What reason have I got to get angry?
What Allah wishes has occurred!"
Medicine based on action
When
you get angry, say: I seek refuge in God from the accursed evil
(A'oudhou billaahi min as shaytaan ir rajeem). The prophet (p.b.u.h.)
ordered us to say thus.
When
Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) got angry, he dragged her
by the nose and said: " O dear Aaisha, say: O God, you are the
Lord of my prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.), forgive my sins and
remove the anger from my heart and save me from misguidance."
If
anger does not go by this means, you will sit down if you are
standing, lie down if you are sitting, and come near to earth,
as you have been created of earth. Thus, make yourself calm like
the earth. The cause of wrath is heat and its opposite is to lie
down on the ground and to make the body calm and cool.
The
prophet (p.b.u.h.) said: "Anger is a burning coal. Don't you see
your eyebrows wide and eyes reddish? So when one of you feels
angry, let him sit down if standing, and lie down if sitting."
If
still anger does not stop, make ablution with cold water or take
a bath, as fire cannot be extinguished without water.
The
prophet (p.b.u.h.) said: "When one of you gets angry, let him
make ablution with water as anger arises out of fire. "In
another narration, he said: "Anger comes from the devil and the
devil is made of fire."
Ali
(May Allah be pleased with him) said: "The prophet (p.b.u.h.)
did not get angry for any action of the world. When any true
matter charmed him, nobody knew it and nobody got up to take
revenge for his anger. HE GOT ANGRY ONLY FOR TRUTH."
