Anger - An Islamic Perspective

Adapted from an article by Dr. Shalid Athar

When God created human beings, He created many emotions and desires within them, which we call human instincts. These include positive qualities such as recognizing truth and expressing it, love, compassion and pure physiological desires such as thirst, hunger and sexual desire.

Then there are some negative qualities such as hate and anger, with resultant violence and dejection. The angels who were the witnesses to Adam's creation knew about some of the negative qualities of man and questioned the creation of this new being who was to create "mischief on earth". (The People of Israel - Chapter 2, Verse 30)

However, at the same time, the Creator also instilled some protective mechanisms for fighting these negative instincts.

"Man was created weak," says the Qur'an. During moments of weakness, we succumb to the designs of our enemy, that is, the Devil, who "will attack us from front, from behind, from the side" in order to divert us from God and tempt us toward our animal nature.

Thus, anger by itself is not unnatural. It is the expression of anger that, if wrongfully indulged in, can lead to problems.

When a beast is angry, it does not think; it reacts according to its desire to lash out. When a man becomes angry, he has a choice of either controlling his anger and responding to it as taught by prophets and saints or forgetting all this and reacting like a wild animal. The latter implies a shift of control from our selves to the Devil.

Losing Your Cool

Anger is the most common dividing emotion between friends. It takes away judgment, leads to impulsive actions we often regret later and can be depressing. So why do we get angry to begin with? Normally, because of an unexpected provocation or a frustrating situation.

When angry, people physically or verbally abuse their victims and, in the aftermath, may even inflict pain on themselves.

When anger is directed towards a group of people, it can manifest itself in terrorism, whether against people of other faiths or nations, or against even one's own government as is seen in the case of the Oklahoma City bombing.

However, all anger is not of satanic origin. How can we blame the Devil for a child who is angry because he does not get his toy or when he is hungry?

The point I am making is that the fulfillment of normal desires is a prerequisite for prevention of anger. There are many chemicals and hormones that affect our moods and behavior. It is well-known that hypoglycemia and hyperthyroidism precipitate irritability and anger. If deficiencies are dealt with, many instances of anger may be prevented.

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