Anger

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Anger is a human emotion that Allah Most High has placed inside us for a wisdom. Scholars understand hadiths that censure anger to mean, "anger for the sake of one's nafs." As for anger that is for the sake of Allah, it is a praiseworthy quality and should be inculcated in every Muslim's heart.

Anger for the sake of Allah is anger that is inspired by a sense of slavehood and love of Allah. One gets angry, in other words, because one's Master is being disobeyed and His commands flouted. Someone whose entire life is for the sake of their Master will inevitably be moved to anger by such acts.

Someone who just watched the news of a ruthless massacre of Muslims in Gaza and is pent up with rage--angry at the whole world, snapping and frowning at everyone he meets; keeping a blog on the Internet, and writing post after post expressing his frustrations about the ineptness of the Muslims governments all over the world; telling people about how cruel the oppressors are, how biased the media is, and how worthless the Muslims are--this anger is not for the sake of one's Lord because a slave who is angered for the sake of his Lord will be moved to do what his Lord tells him to do, not to have a temper tantrum.

All he wants to do is vent his anger, and Shaytan is making him imagine that he is doing everything for a religious motive. Frowning at people on the street only perpetuates the image of Muslims as angry, irrational people, reinforcing media stereotypes in the minds of non-Muslims, and reducing their sympathy to Muslim causes.

We are living in difficult times and we hear all kinds of heartbreaking stories. Many Muslims are being oppressed. The ability of people killing other human beings has grown exponentially. Religious ignorance sets in people to do aweful things. These are just some of the Signs of the Hour, to remind us to behave responsibly. Sincere pure hearted people see the Signs and they will go against their own desires to obey Allah.

See how Prophet Musa (for example), peace be upon him, dealt with difficulties and the oppression of Fir'aun.

قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِ ٱسْتَعِينُوا۟ بِٱللَّـهِ وَٱصْبِرُوٓا۟ ۖ إِنَّ ٱلْأَرْضَ لِلَّـهِ يُورِثُهَا مَن يَشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِۦ ۖ وَٱلْعَـٰقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ ﴿١٢٨

Said Moses to his people, "Seek help through Allah and be patient. Indeed, the earth belongs to Allah. He causes to inherit it whom He wills of His servants. And the [best] outcome is for the righteous." [Qur'an Al-Araf 7:128]

Before one become irrationally angry for what's happening in our lives and around us, reflect on this advice of Prophet Musa, peace be upon him, to his people in far more difficult time.

There will never be complete justice in this world because there is the Hereafter. If there is complete justice then they is no need for the Hereafter and the Day of Judgment. We must have certainty in the Day of Judgment. Justice will be dealt in the end by Allah.

أَلَيْسَ ٱللَّـهُ بِأَحْكَمِ ٱلْحَـٰكِمِينَ ﴿٨

Is not Allah the wisest of Judges? [Qur'an At-Tin 95:8]

لَا يَغُرَّنَّكَ تَقَلُّبُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ فِى ٱلْبِلَـٰدِ ﴿١٩٦﴾ مَتَـٰعٌ قَلِيلٌ ثُمَّ مَأْوَىٰهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ ۚ وَبِئْسَ ٱلْمِهَادُ ﴿١٩٧

Be not deceived by the [uninhibited] movement of the disbelievers throughout the land. (196) [It is but] a small enjoyment; then their [final] refuge is Hell, and wretched is the resting place. [Qur'an AleImran 3:196-197]

We should not feel desperate, angry, despair, bitter or resentful. If we are angry and frustrated, we won't be able to think right and can only make things worse. We should do something to the best of our ability but not out of resentment, selfishness or self righteousness, but out of slavehood to Allah and with patience and confidence that Allah will win. Sometimes there is nothing we can do other than make du'a.

Someone with religious conviction who has developed a spiritual relationship with his Lord through worship will have at the forefront of his mind that (a) Allah is in complete control and things are going according to plan, (b) there is a wisdom in what is going on that we don't understand, and (c) Allah will make His religion dominant and this is just a temporary setback. Any sense of bitterness, resentment, and sense of victimhood and accusation all arise because someone doesn't have the religious conviction.

Any sense of disgust at everyone except oneself is a common ploy of the Shaytan to lay responsibility at everyone's door except one's own. A slave will be moved by such situations to worry about his own shortcomings before his Master, not to think that he is OK and everyone else is not.

May Allah guide the Ummah and grant us patience and steadfastness. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam