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| Anger: Causes and its
Medicine al Ghazâlî From "Ihyaa Ulum ad Din" (The Revival of Religious Teachings) Know, O dear readers that the medicine of a
disease is to remove the root cause of that disease. Things that 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 ang So these things should be removed by their
opposites. The prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) 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. Medicine based on Knowledge: (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 (pbuh). 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 (pbuh) ordered us to say thus. When Ayesha (RA) got angry, he said: " O dear Ayesha, say: O God, you are the Lord of my prophet Muhammad, forgive my sins and remove the anger from my heart and save me from misguidance." If anger does not go by this means, 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 (pbuh) 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 (pbuh) 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." Hazrat Ali (RA) said: The prophet 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. |