How Can We Control Anger?
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch
Question
How can we control anger?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) has not only encouraged us to control our anger but has given us some efficient advice as well.
Prevention
The best cure for anger is to avoid situations that cause anger.
Post-Anger Cures
After anger comes about, one should treat it with the following six treatments related to one’s perception:
- Reflect on the virtues of swallowing anger and pardoning.
- Reminding one’s self to fear Allah’s punishment.
- Reflecting on the consequences of acting on one’s anger.
- Reflecting on how ugly, vile, and crazy others look when angry.
- Reflect on the Hereafter and how the person you harm due to your anger will seek retribution for your actions from Allah Most High.
- To know that things only go according to the decree of Allah Most High and that your anger is an objection to Allah’s decree.
As for treating anger with action following the following six treatments:
- Seeking refuge with Allah by saying,
أَعُوْذُ بِاللّٰهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيْمِ (I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan.)
- To recite the following supplication taught to our Mother ‘Aisha by the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) –
اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّ النَّبِيِّ مُحَمَّدٍ، اغْفِرْ لِي ذَنْبِي، وَأَذْهِبْ غَيْظَ قَلْبِي، وَأَجِرْنِي مِنْ مُضِلَّاتِ الْفِتَنِ مَا أَحْيَيْتَنَا
O Allah, Lord of the Prophet Muhammad! Forgive me my sin, remove the anger of my heart, and protect me from misguiding tribulations as long as You keep me alive.” [Ahmad]
- If you are standing, sit!
- If you are sitting, lie down
- Perform ablution (wudu)!
- Remain silent! [Ghazali, ‘Ihya Ulum al-Din]
Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh]Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.
