Nafsiya Reflections: Anger Management

Assalamo alikum and welcome to today's episode ‘Anger Management’.

As human beings, we show various emotions while interacting with others . Anger is one of them. We show our anger mostly when we don't approve of someone’s mannerisms, or when our pride is hurt.
You may have witnessed family discussions in the lounge where a disagreement over a political or religious issue leads to a display of anger by some individuals.
Unfortunately, this anger is sometimes for the sake of our own egos, rather than for the sake of Allah swt.

So - the anger which is not for the sake of Allah, can be purely for our own selves. This may sound okay, and fair, to many. However, any human emotion cannot be left to be channelled according to man’s limited mind.

If you happen to live in a major city, you will most likely have witnessed instances of exaggerated bouts of anger, over minor issues - possibly on the road, or even just waiting in line in supermarkets.

Sadly, where there are unfortunate stories of anger-related incidents, there are also instances where there should have been a display of emotion or anger from people, over something that happened publicly, but there was nothing. Rather there was silence, and a complete lack of emotion or reaction. This is called ‘bystander apathy’ which is specific to westernised societies.

You see, capitalist societies give rise to individualism, whereby the people are driven by benefits them. Obviously, this value then affects the manner in which they interact with each other in society.

So a person might display anger if someone verbally abuses them, but not move a muscle if they see a stranger’s honour at stake.

Hence this is proof, that anger, like all other emotions, requires organising by the Creator of mankind.

So what is Islam’s opinion regarding ‘anger’?

You see, feeling angry is a natural phenomenon. Contrary to the popular belief of many in muslim community - it is not forbidden in Islam to feel angry.

Unlike secular capitalism, where values revolve around self-interest, Islam makes the pleasure of Allah swt the centre of all actions. The Quran makes clear which actions bring reward, and which incur the wrath of Allah.

We see in the sunnah of Muhammad (saw) that there were many instances where he became angry for Allah’s sake.

When the Prophet (saw) would see the Sahabah engaging in matters which went against the Shara’ he would admonish them and show his annoyance. For instance, when he’d see them disputing over issues to do with the Decree of Allah (Qada wal Qadar), or when he saw signs of nationalism in them, or even when he (saw) saw pictures of animals on a curtain in Aisha (ra)’s house - all these instances show examples of when Rasulallah disapproved of the actions of the people around him.

In fact, his wife Aisha (ra), once said regarding the Prophet saw:

‘He never took revenge on his own behalf for anything unless of which Allah has forbidden, has been transgressed, in which case he took revenge for it for Allah’s sake.’

This shows us that the value that was being sought, when the Prophet became angry - was never of a personal nature, but rather it was as she (RA) said ‘for Allah’s sake’.

So, in islam, anger is contextualised.
Showing anger towards your Muslim brother because he failed to understand your point of view is discouraged in Islam, while becoming angry at the oppression caused by the Kuffar and their allies upon our Ummah is obligatory.

The cries of our Ummah, fill our hearts with grief and fury.
Day after day, we see children being pulled out of the rubble and mothers holding their famished offspring in their arms.

However, let’s not lose our ideological thinking while we lament over our situation.

The root cause of the corruption and bloodshed in the Muslim lands is none other than the absence of the Khilafah ruling system.

It has caused the implementation of kufr laws, the corruption of the Muslim rulers, and the spread of the kufr culture in our lands.

As Muslims, we must correct our values according to Islam, not only must we restrict our anger to matters which anger Allah swt, but we must also think ideologically about the real cause of the plight of our Ummah. Let’s not waste our emotions blindly, rather let’s follow the Sunnah and work to unite the Muslim Ummah under the banner of Islam, which will liberate humanity from the misery and oppression that it currently lives under.

Jazak Amullah khairan for joining us, until next time,
wslm wrwb.