REMEDIES OF ANGER

One of the practical remedies of anger when it is provoked is to restrain it and calm it down in the earlier phase when one’s intellect is still in control.  Imam al-Baqir (a) said “..whosoever is angry with someone let him sit down immediately if he is standing; for, indeed, doing so will repel from him the uncleanliness of Satan. And whoever gets angry with his family member, let him approach and (gently) touch him; for the feeling of family affiliation, when stimulated by touch, induces calmness.” [Al‑Kulayni,al‑Kafi, vol. 2, p 302, hadith # 2]

 Imam Ali (a) said “When a person gets angry, if he is standing, he should immediately lie down (sit down) on earth for a while as this removes the filth of Satan from him at that time." [Al-Rayshahri, Mizan al-Hikmah, hadith # 15059]

 

Advice to Cure Anger

A person with the habit of often getting angry should know that anger is the faculty that is granted by God Almighty for the sake of the preservation, continuity and survival of human species and for the discipline and order of the family system, protection of human rights and safeguarding Divine laws. If he acts contrary to this divine purpose and makes use of power of anger against the design of God, it will be a breach of trust that deserves severe punishment from Him. What an act of ignorance and injustice it is not to live up to Divine trust and to incur His Wrath! He should therefore seriously think about the moral vices and vicious deeds that are the outcome of anger, and try to remove their evil effects, each one of which is capable of afflicting a person till eternity, causing many problems in this world as well as punishment in the Hereafter.

Among the fundamental remedies of anger is to get rid of the factors responsible for its provocation. These factors include self‑love, which in turn causes love of wealth, glory, and honour, and the desire to impose one's will and expand one's domain of power on the creatures of God. These inherently excite the fire of anger, as the individual infatuated with them tends to hold them in high regard. When someone loves these things, he gets excited and angry if any one of his aspired goals is not achieved. Another factor that sometimes arouses anger is that it is imagined to be a merit and confused with bravery due to one’s ignorance. Anger is thus the product of spiritual weakness, insufficiency of faith, immoderation of character and soul.

A wise person thinks carefully of the evil consequences of anger and the benefits of restraint, thus making it incumbent upon himself to stamp out this fire from his heart with every possible effort. He clears from his heart the love of wealth, honour and the like that provoke his anger. If he resolves to act against his inner self and its worldly desires, with the help and blessings of God, his attachment becomes less intense and he gives lesser importance to them. His inner calm and contentment, caused by giving up the love of wealth, honour and the like, will not allow his self to act unjustly. Gradually, he will not lose the grip of self‑restraint at times when anger is provoked in his heart. Finally, he will achieve complete control over his anger. [Adapted from Al-Khumayni, Forty Hadith, chapter 7, ‘Ghadhab’]

 

Conclusion

 

 Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (a) said: “A mu’min (believer) is the person who when angered, his anger doesn’t lead him away from that which is true...” [AKulayni, al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 186, hadith # 11]