"Do not get angry."

Is Anger Sinful?

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate

May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon His Messenger Muhammad, his folk, companions, and followers

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said repeatedly to the one who asked him for advice,

“Do not get angry.” [Bukhari, from Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him)]

In his commentary on Imam Malik’s Muwatta’, Imam Suyuti quotes Imam Baji as saying,

“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gathered all good for this man in one short _expression, because anger causes great harm to both religion and worldly life as a result of what one says or does when angry.

“‘Do not get angry’ means: do not act in accordance with what your anger makes you incline towards, and restrain yourself. As for anger itself, a human can’t prevent it; rather, what they can prevent is acting in according to what anger calls one to do….” [Suyuti, Tanwir al-Hawalik, 1.212]

Imam Ayni said in his commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari that,

“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘Do not get angry,’ because he had direct knowledge (kashf) of the states of people and would thus command them to do what was best in their state. It may well have been that this person was given to anger, so he (Allah bless him and give him peace) counseled him to leave it.

Baydawi said, ‘It may well be because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw that all harm that occurs to a human only occurs because of their passions and anger…. Thus, if one controls one’s anger, one has overcome one’s strongest enemy—and this is why the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) counseled him to control it.’

Khattabi said, ‘The meaning of ‘Do not get angry’ is: don’t fall into those matters that cause anger and those matters that stir one’s anger—because anger itself is an intrinsic human trait and one can’t get rid of it…’” [Ayni, Umdat al-Qari Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari, 22.164]

Imam Ibn Rajab said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)’s words, “Do not get angry,” can mean one of two things:

“First, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was calling to the means of acquiring good character, such as benevolence, generosity, forbearance, modesty, humility, bearing the harm of others, not harming others, overlooking, forgiving, restraining one’s anger, cheerfulness, smiling, and the like of these beautiful traits. This is because if one characterizes themselves with these traits and they become one’s habit, then this results in warding off anger when its causes are found.

Second, that the meaning is not to act according to what anger entails… Rather, that one strive against one’s lower self by not acting on one’s inclinations call to….” [Ibn Rajab, Jami` al-Ulum wa’l Hikam, 1.145]

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Forbearance (hilm) is the best of traits.” Forbearance is for one not to be moved by one’s anger and emotions; rather, one acts in accordance with the dictates of Revelation and reason.

And Allah alone gives success.

Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Uthman Dan Fodio on the Ashari aqeedah

The purpose of this thread is to refute the claims of a certain group that the Ashari (and Maturidi) aqeedah is an aqeedah based on innovation. The rational proofs utilized in these two schools of thought are based on ayat of the Quran and Hadeeth.

The following is an excerpt from Chapter Four of "The Revival of the Sunnah and the Destruction of Satanic Innovation". This chapter is entitled "On the Explanation of the Path of the Muhammadan Sunna concerning Iman and an Explanation of What hte People have Invented in it of Satanic Innovation."

Divinity ('ilahiyyaat):

Allah ta'ala has established the creation of the universe by his words, "Allah is the Creator of everything". He has established that His existence is necessary (waajib 'l-wujuud) by His words, "Is there any doubt that Allah is the Originator of the heavens and the earth?" He has established that His existence is pre-existent before time (qadeem) by His words, "He is the first." He has established that His existence is eternally continuous after time (baaqi) by His words, "And rely upon the Living who will never die." He has established that His existence is unlike in-time creation (mukhaalif li'l -khalqih) by His words, "There is nothing like Him." He has established that His existence is independent (ghaniy) by His words, "Allah is the independently rich." He has established that His existence is One (waahid) by His words, "Say: He Allah is one." He has established that His existence is omnipotent (qaadir) by His words, "Verily Allah has power over all things." He has established that He is willing (mureed) by His words, "He does whatever He wills." He has established that he knowing ('Aalim) by His words "Verily Allah has knowledge of all things." He has established that He is living (hayy) by His words, "He is the Living." He has established that He is hearing (sami'u) and seeing (baseer) by His words, "I hear and see." He has established that He is speaking (mutakallam) by His words, "Allah spoke directly to Musa." He has established that He has complete choice (mukhtaar) in doing a thing and leaving it undone by His words, "And your Lord creates what He wills and He chooses."

1. This proves that the universe did not come into existence by itself or by anything other than Allah ta'ala.
2. This proves that non-existence ('adam) is impossible to Him.
3. This proves that coming forth in time (huduuth) is impossible to Him.
4. This proves that extinction (fanaa') is impossible to Him.
5. This proves that resemblance to creation (mamaathala) is impossible to Him.
6. This proves that being in need (iftiqaar) is impossible to Him.
7. This proves that plurality (ta'addad) is impossible to Him.
8. This proves that incapacity ('ajz) is impossible to Him.
9. This proves that being compelled (mukrah) is impossible to Him.
10. This proves that ignorance (jahl) is imposible to Him.
11. This proves that death (mawt) is impossible to Him.
12. This proves that deafness (samam) and blindness ('amaa) is impossible to Him.
13. This proves that dumbness (bakam) is impossible to Him.
14. This proves that being obligated (muujib) is impossible to Him.