Rancor—O you who seek its elucidation— is when the heart is
bound to treachery,
betrayal, or some trickery. The knot binding it to the heart is
resentful malice.
Show kindness toward the object of your rancor, and you will
cause your enemies to despair. Keep also in mind the
forgiveness, as mentioned in the sound tradition,
promised twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays.
Definition and Treatment
Ghill is a malady of the heart that is closely related to
rancor, extreme anger, and malice. It comes from the same Arabic root from
which the word aghlal originates, which is used in the Quran to mean yokes around
the neck (QURAN, 36:8), as if to say that rancor dwells in a heart bound to
rancor and treachery. Rancor is a pungent emotion that is rooted in being
extremely angry at a person to the point that one wishes harm to come to him.
But the ultimate victim of rancor is its carrier. For this reason believers
pray, "Our Lord, forgive us and our brethren who came before us in faith,
and do not place into our hearts rancor for those who believe! Our Lord, You
are kind, compassionate" (QURAN, 59:10). One of the great blessings of
Paradise is that God will completely remove any semblance of rancor from one's
heart (QURAN, 7:43,15:47).
Imam Mawlud says that if a person feels rancor toward a
particular person, he should show that person goodwill. By nature, people are
naturally inclined to love those who do good to them. And if one shows a person
good, feelings of rancor will fall to the wayside. Satan rejoices when
believers fight with one another and bear negative thoughts. There is an
authentic hadith about Mondays and Thursdays being special days on which God
forgives people. When the angels come to God and say that two believers are
wrangling with one another, God the Exalted says, "Leave them until they
set things aright between themselves." The implication is that if a person
has rancor toward another believer, God shall not forgive that person until he
forgives his brother, for rancor is a serious affliction that festers in one's
heart and blocks good things from coming to one.
Heedlessness is being careless concerning what God has
commanded one to do and has prohibited.
Scholars of this science consider [heedlessness] to be the
source of all wrongdoing. Its cure is to be found in four deeds,
all of which possess rectifying qualities:
seek forgiveness from God; visit the righteous; invoke
benedictions upon the Prophetand recite [God's] Book.
Definition
Heedlessness (ghafl) is a terrible lack of attention to what is
infinitely more important in one's life than material goods. Heedlessness is a
key concept often discussed in Islamic spiritual treatises and is referred to
in many passages of the Quran. Imam al-Junayd (a 9th-century scholar) said that
heedlessness is the one pathogen that breeds all the diseases of the heart. His
argument is compelling. The Arabic word for a simpleton is mughaffal, a person who
is easily fooled. In our context, it is a person who is diverted away from what
is essential and consequential toward what is ephemeral and ultimately
pointless.
According to some linguists, the Arabic word for human being,
insan, comes from the worduns, which refers to intimacy, for the human being
needs close companionship. Other linguists, however, believe it comes from the Arabic
word nasya, which means to forget, implying that one of the characteristics of
human beings is forgetfulness, which further implies that we need to be
reminded often, hence the centrality of repetition in spiritual practices.
The heedlessness that Imam Mawlud speaks of here is its most
menacing form: being heedless of divine purpose, accountability, and the
resurrection, ultimate standing, and judgment in the Hereafter. The full
manifestation of these events are veiled to us now by the thin wall of death,
the timing of which is the secret that hovers above the heads of all men and
women. Even though the reality of these things is hidden in the realm of the
unseen, what is expected of us is to receive and accept what the Prophet pbuh came with.
This was the duty of all the prophets—to call people to believe
in the unseen, to trust what they say, commit to their teachings. There is a
well-known allegory of people in a cave, at the entrance of which was a lamp
that cast shadows the people in the cave believed to be realities. When one
person left the cave and saw the real world—the sun, the stars, and the
trees—he raced back in the cave to tell the others that there was much more to
their world than what they saw in their cave. But the people feared what he said,
causing them to deny, ridicule, and then physically attack him. The prophets
came to rouse people from their stupor, to take them from delusional lives and
heedlessness to awareness. Many of the prophets were slain; all faced harsh
opposition.
In the Quran, you will find ghafla mentioned several times in
different forms, but almost invariably referring to unawareness. The Quran uses
other words to refer to unawareness. Those who laugh at the Quran are samidun (QURAN,
53:61); they are so immersed in amusement they are oblivious of reality. On the
Day of Reckoning, the heedless will be driven to their chastisement and be told
along the way, "You were once heedless of this. Now We have removed your
veil [ghita'] from you, so your sight this day is sharp!" (QURAN, 50:22),
God speaks of the disbelievers impervious to the message of the prophets as
having a cover (ghishawa) over their eyes (QURAN, 2:7).
The ultimate trauma of heedlessness, then, is not seeing things
the way they truly are. It is choosing a way of living that allows divine signs
to pass one up without notice. The Prophet pbuh supplicated that God the Exalted
show him things in their reality, distinguished and clear: "Show me the
truth as truth and give me the ability to follow it; and show me falsehood as
falsehood and give me the ability to avoid it." Imam Mawlud says ghafla is
also heedlessness of what God has commanded and what He has prohibited, or
seeing the difference between the two as irrelevant.
One of the cures for heedlessness is keeping good and sincere
company. It is recognized in virtually all traditions and cultures that the
company one keeps has inroads to one's heart and morality. When someone is
surrounded by people who are sincere and trustworthy, he only stands to benefit
from them. Even when a person errs, good companions remind the person and set
him right.
Treatment
The cure is in four things that possess authentic rectifying
qualities. The first is repentance and seeking forgiveness. As a matter of
regular worship, one should ask for forgiveness (istighfar) at least 70 or 100
times a day, according to the Prophet's teachings, which were closely followed
by our righteous forebears (salaf). The practice is connected to accounting for
one's deeds. At the end of the day, the merchant looks at his ledger to
calculate his earnings, to see what "the scales say," so to speak.
The moral scales are no less important, and each of us is a merchant with
regard to what we lost or gained with respect to God's pleasure. When there is
loss, which is a frequent occurrence, seeking God's forgiveness balances things
out.
Second is visiting (ziyara) righteous people, who enjoy rank
with God the Exalted, Classically, the ranking of humanity proceeds as follows,
as evinced in the verse of the Quran (4:69): prophets (al-nabiyyin); truthful
ones (alsiddiqin); martyrs (al-shuhada'); and the righteous (al-salihin). The word
salih conveys the notion of soundness of heart and excellent character. More specifically, it refers to one who gives God His due right, who fulfills
His commandments andavoids what is prohibited.
This is haqq al-ibada, God's rightto be
worshipped, which includes rites of worship as well as excellent behavior towards
other people. So a righteous person does not cheat or lie. He or she is the kind
of person whom one should seek out as company. Scholars have always encouraged visiting
righteous people as part of the protocol of the spiritual ascendancy. These people
include the living as well as the dead. If one goes to Madinah, it is recommended
to visit the graves of the great Muslims and convey salutations of peace to them.
The Prophet pbuh visited the grave sites of his fallen Companions. (Early on, the Prophet pbuh
forbade the visiting of graves but later encouraged it. In pre-Islamic times the
visiting of graves was a kind of idolatry. When the young community was purged of
that, the Prophet pbuh was permitted by God to abrogate the previous command.)
Visiting graves is a poignant reminder of death and the
Hereafter. It is an armament against heedlessness. There is a hadith in which
the Prophet pbuh passed by a grave and saw a woman there weeping. He said to her,
"It is better to be patient." She replied, not recognizing the
Prophet pbuh "You haven't been afflicted as I have." The Prophet pbuh then left her. When someone had told her that
she had spoken to the Prophet pbuh, she went to the Prophet pbuh and explained that she
did not realize who she had spoken to. The Prophet pbuh said that true patience
(sabr) is the patience shown when a trial first afflicts one. If one shows
patience a year after losing someone dear, that is not the patience the Quran praises.
So visiting graves of righteous loved ones requires control over emotions.
It is excellent to visit the righteous among us who are alive—
those who are truly righteous and knowledgeable. One cannot judge another
person by title. In modern times in many Muslim countries, men are presented
with the title of "shaykh" as inherited from the father. As a result,
there are people with that title who are ignorant. There are charlatans in this
world, and none is more dangerous than a religious charlatan.
A learned man in Fez, Morocco, said, "God has made the ways
of gaining lawful provision innumerable. Someone who uses religious pretension
in order to profit is especially wicked." This is not to say that earning
a living by teaching religion is wrong. This is entirely permissible, according
to the scholars (although the very early forebears of Islam objected to this, a
position that was changed later by scholars who saw that earning a living
through teaching the Quran, for example, was honorable, especially as the
demand for religious instruction grew exponentially and teachers, like anyone
else, were in need of a livelihood). We know that Imam Malik was given a good
sum of wealth, but he was also known to spend freely for the benefit of the
needy. He was knowledgeable as well as judicious and generous with his wealth.
One must combine knowledge of the outward Islamic sciences with
inward spiritual experience to be truly considered a teacher. Unfortunately in
our age, we often impose a chasm between inward and outward aspects of
Islam—two camps postured against one another. There is, though, the middle path
of the Prophet pbuh—the best one to take.
When visiting a righteous person, the discourse should be
substantive and not one of idle talk. The benefits one should seek are gaining
knowledge and the supplication of the righteous person. In fact, ask that they
remember you in their prayers, for their prayers might be more acceptable to
God than your own.
Just as one is recommended to visit the righteous, one should
strive to be the righteous person that others seek out to visit. Imam Ibn Ata
'illah said, "If you do not believe that God can take you at this moment
and make you one of His saintly believers (awliya), then you are ignorant of
His power."
The third cure is to invoke benedictions on the Prophet pbuh. This
is, in fact, a command from God the Exalted Himself: 0 you who believe, invoke
benedictions upon [the Prophet] and salutations of peace (QURAN, 33:56).The Companion
Ubay ibn Ka'b once asked the Prophet pbuh how much of his litany of remembering God
(dhikr) should be benedictions on the Prophet pbuh. He said that a fourth would be
good, and "If you add more, it is better." Ubay than asked, "And
if I were to make it half?" The Prophet pbuh
said it was good, and "If you add more, it is better." Ubay than
asked, "And if I were to make it three-quarters?" The Prophet pbuh said it was good, and "If you add more,
it is better." Ubay then declared that he would make all of his dhikr this
way; the Prophet pbuh said, "That is
good." There is great light associated with invoking prayers of
benediction upon the Prophet pbuh. Sidi Ahmad al-Zarruq once said, "If you do
not have a murabbi [a spiritual mentor], then say prayers of blessings upon the
Prophet pbuh, which acts as a murabbi." Many scholars have attested to the
fact that prayers of blessings upon the Prophet pbuh
purify the soul. (Some recommend that one repeat it at least 500 times a
day. Others themselves would repeat it 5,000 times a day.) Imam Malik was
always making prayers of blessings for the Prophet pbuh. The muhaddithin (scholars
of prophetic traditions) are well known for this practice.
The fourth cure for heedlessness is the recitation of the Quran.
Reciting it with tadabbur (reflection) awakens the heart. But plain recitation
is beneficial as well. Learned Muslims have recommended that a person recite
one thirtieth of the Quran (juz') every day. If this is difficult, then reciting
Surat Ya Sin (36) after Dawn Prayer, Surat alWaqi'a (56) after Sunset Prayer, and
Surat al-Mulk (68) after Evening Prayer would greatly benefit the soul. (New Muslims
should strive with their utmost to learn how to read the text of the Quran. Meanwhile,
one is advised to listen to the well-known Quran reciters on tape or read a good
English translation until one is able to read the Arabic. It is important for one
to be regularly engaged with the Book of God.) The actual sounds of the language
of the Quran—the breathtaking rhythms and words—are like medicine. From the perspective
of energy dynamics, every substance has a resonance at a specific wavelength. A
medicine resonates in order to cure the disease. So too the sounds of the Quran:
O humankind, there has come to you from your Lord counsel and healing for what is
in the breasts, and a guidance and a mercy to the believers (QURAN, 10:57). When
one recites the Quran, one moves his or her tongue pronouncing revealed words of
the Lord of the heavens and the earth. And these words have a sound. People are
often amazed when they hear the Quran for the first time—amazed at the sound. So
it is important to know that the beauty of the Quran comprises the meanings as well
as the sound.
These are the four cures that Imam Mawlud offers for
heedlessness. God warns the Prophet pbuh
himself from conforming to those whose hearts are in the state of
heedlessness (QURAN, 18:28). People who turn away from the truth, God increases
their heedlessness.
What is interesting about heedlessness is that everyone will
eventually be cured of it, no matter the extent of this disease. The challenge
is to be cured in this life, when it counts—when our obedience in the arena of
tests and trials holds out meaning. The moment a person dies, veils are let
down. Even the denizens of Hellfire will no longer live in the Hell of
heedlessness. We were created to remember God, and if it takes the heat of Hell
to remind some, then so be it. We ask God to make us among those who remember
Him in this life and among those who are saved in the Hereafter.
As for the swelling ocean of all of these diseases, I mean
anger; if you come to its shore, you'll see great astonishments.
Its waves and everything else about it are overflowing. So say
of it what you will without constraint.
It has two treatments: one of them removes it altogether
without trace. The other suppresses it should it manifest
itself.
To be adorned with the ornament of its cure, remember the
extensive praise lavished upon forbearance and humility
in Sacred Law, as well as in the poetry and prose of the wise.
Indeed, remember that all of the prophets have been depicted
as having both qualities.
Repel [anger] by perceiving at its onset that there is no one
doing anything in reality except the Almighty;
also by performing ablution with cold water, keeping silent,
lying down (if one is sitting)
and sitting (if one is standing). It will pass by doing these
things, and also by seeking refuge in God as was mentioned in
the tradition.
Definition
Imam Mawlud says of the next disease that it is a "swelling
ocean." He refers to ghadab, intense anger or wrath, which aptly compares
with a swelling mass of emotion that is difficult to hold back once it is
unleashed. Anger is truly an amazing phenomenon if one reflects on its nature
and presence in human life and character, its peril and liability, as well as
its utility and necessity. According to a hadith, a man asked the Prophet pbuh
"What is the worst thing that one incurs concerning God?" And the
Prophet pbuh said, "His wrath." The man asked, "How do we avoid
it?" The Prophet pbuh said, "Do not
become angry." This statement reveals a fascinating reality in which we
live and informs a good portion of the Muslim religious perspective: there is a
correlation between what a person does and what he receives from God in kind—a
correspondence that our all-wise Lord has placed in the workings of creation.
If one wishes not to incur the wrath of God, then this person should not be
wrathful or angry with people unjustly. Similarly, the Prophet pbuh said that
whoever makes one's path to knowledge easy, God will make his or her path to Paradise
easy. And whoever covers the shortcomings of his brother, God will cover his
shortcomings in the Hereafter.God the All-Wise placed this special reciprocity
in this world.
A man asked the Prophet pbuh, "Give me advice." The
Prophet pbuh said, "Do not become
angry." The man asked again, and the Prophet pbuh repeated his advice. For a
third time, the man asked the question, and the Prophet pbuh said again, "Do not become angry."The repetition of this counsel stresses the importance of the Prophet's admonition
about anger. Scholars agree, however, that this hadith does not prohibit anger
per se, for even the Messenger of God pbuh became angry at times. He once said,
"I am a human being and I become angry like you." The Prophet's anger
could be seen on his face. But his anger was always in response to an
aberration in human character and behavior offensive to God. So anger is not a
negative emotion in and of itself. It is part of the human creation as our
flesh and limbs are. Without anger, there are many things that would not have
been achieved. Anger can be a positive motivator.
But there is another side to anger that we must guard against.
If it is not guided to something useful, it can possess, consume, and
ultimately destroy a person. How many times have we seen or heard of a person
who ruined his or her life because of a rash act or statement made in a fit of
rage? How many people do we know who are entirely estranged and avoided because
of their inability to corral their anger? How many times have people been deeply
offended and unjustly violated by the anger of another? How many people create
oppressive environments because of the fear they instill in others because of
irrational and feral anger? (Mawlana Jalaluddin al-Rumi locates the wisdom of
the Islamic prohibition of alcohol in the peril of anger. When people drink,
even if they are not visibly inebriated, they become easily angered and
belligerent. What is mercifully veiled in human beings is exposed when alcohol
enters the picture.)
According to scholars, like Imam al-Nawawi and others, when the
Messenger of God pbuh said, "Do not become
angry," he meant do not allow anger to lord over oneself and cause the
loss of one's comportment. In other words, do not become anger, its embodiment,
such that people only see your rage. Instead, control anger and never lose
control. Scholars have likened anger to a hunting dog: without training, it
will never retrieve what its owner needs nor will it point a person in the
right direction. So anger is something that needs to be trained, not abolished,
for if people completely suppressed their sense of anger, many of the
injustices of the world would not have been opposed and tyranny would have gone
unchecked. Without anger, people would go around with complete impunity and
commit heinous acts without resistance from the people. Corruption would cover
the face of the earth.
Muslim scholars have identified four essential qualities in
human beings, which have been identified in earlier traditions as well. Imam
al-Ghazali and Fakhruddin al-Razi adopted them, as did Imam Raghib al-Isfahani
in his book on ethics. The first of them, according to al-Ghazali, is quwati'l 'ilm, which is known in Western tradition as the rational soul, the human
capacity to learn. The next is quwati'l-ghadab, which may be called the
irascible soul, the capacity that relates to human emotion and anger.
Quwati'l-shahwa is the third element, known as the concupiscent soul, which is
related to appetite and desire. The fourth power is quwati'l adl, which
harmonizes the previous three powers and keeps them in balance so that no one
capacity overtakes and suppresses the others.
In Western tradition, these capacities correspond to what are
known as cardinal virtues. Muslims call them ummahat al-fada'il They are
wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice (hikma, shaja'a, 'iffa and 'adal).
When the rational soul is balanced, the result is wisdom,Whoever is given
wisdom has been given much good (QURAN, 2:269),Wisdom, according to
al-Ghazali, is found in one who is balanced, who is neither a simpleton nor a shrewd, tricky person. If there is a deficit
in the rational soul, the result is foolishness. When the rational soul becomes
excessive and inordinately dominant, the result is trickery and the employment
of the intellect toward the exploitation of others.
Courage is when the irascible soul—anger—is under control, when
a mean is struck between impetuousness (irrational behavior that people
ultimately regret) and cowardice, which is marked by fear overriding the anger
required to courageously respond to exploitation, oppression, personal threats,
and wrongdoing. There is a middle path between these extremes, as the
Prophet pbuh said, namely, a middle way of
wisdom and courage.
Temperance ('iffa) is a balance within the concupiscent soul,
which is related to appetite and desire. The ignorant, when they see the
indigent believers, think they are rich because they have this 'iffa, this
dignity in their soul (QURAN, 2:273), which causes them to abstain from trying
to attain wealth through ruse and fraud, but also through begging. Attaining
things through illicit means is working from a posture of imbalance with regard
to one's desire. It is a suspension or retraction of balance resulting in
defrauding people and, ultimately, one's own soul. This is the irony of giving
in to one's base desires, which offers some immediate gratification but harms
the soul and dampens its spirituality.
The topic of anger is usually treated as a matter of balance and
is closely associated with those deeds and habits that either throw one's
balance off or guard it. As it is traditionally understood, imbalance in one
realm of life cannot help but touch other aspects of human behavior. The
Prophet pbuh said, for example, "The
worst vessel the son of Adam fills is his stomach." We understand from
this that there is a relationship between character and consumption, a dialogue
that the modern marketing mentality desperately wants us to discount. It is
oppressive to fill our stomachs for health considerations, but also because of
the connection between excessiveness in one area and the corollary damage it
brings about in others. Muslim scholars throughout our history have pointed
this out and have relied on sound statements of the Prophet pbuh for proof, for he prayed against a stomach
that is not easily satisfied. He recommended that the stomach be filled
one-third with food, one-third with water, and one-third free.
The same ethic applies with sexual appetite, which is required
for a healthy state. It is discouraged to completely ignore one's desire. But
if one transgresses and goes beyond what is permissible, this is oppression and
wrongdoing. Popular culture has placed an emphasis on illicit sexual intimacy
and recklessness, making it seem normal and acceptable. Sexual relationships
between unmarried partners, who neither commit their lives to each other nor
feel any necessary emotional ties, is made to seem the summit of sexual
excitement.
According to Imam al-Ghazali, the one who perfected the balance
between these forces was the Messenger of God pbuh, for he was the most just of men.
The more one emulates him in his behavior, the greater balance one will achieve. The way of the Prophet pbuh was the middle way, the way of moderation.
With regard to anger, Imam al-Ghazali says that it is acceptable
only at the right time, in the right place, for the right reasons, and with the
right intensity. The Messenger of God pbuh never allowed his anger to get the best
of him. He was in control of himself, secure, and always in the state of
spiritual certainty. Out of the thousands of reports about the minutest details
of the Prophet's life, never has anyone related that the Prophet pbuh ever did anything imprudent or rash. Never
did he apply his intellectual gifts and prophetic status for anything other
than guiding humanity aright.
Al-Qadi Ibn al-Arabi, in speaking about courage and the larger
issue of balance, said that after the Messenger of God pbuh, no one was more
courageous than Abu Bakr. If one were to ponder the events during the life of
the Prophet pbuh, it was Abu Bakr who continually showed up in the Prophet's defense
and support. He was particularly firm and resolute, the one who did not waver
when others wavered. He was the one who accompanied the Prophet pbuh in his
migration to Madinah. Each of the Rightly Guided Caliphs (Khulafa' al-Rashidin)
embodied one of the aforementioned virtues as his dominant character. Umar ibn
al-Khattab is associated with being particularly sensitive to justice and
fairness. Uthman ibn Affan's name is derived from the same Arabic root as 'iffa, which, according to al'Qamus of al-Fayruzabadi, refers not only to
moderation but also to one who is abstinent and chaste, a meaning that is
fitting for Uthman. The Prophet pbuh once said that even the angels were shy before
Uthman because of his modesty. In Ali ibn Abi Talib, there is extraordinary
wisdom or hikma. It is true that these great heroes of Islamic civilization
embodied in a particular way one of the four virtues, but they also kept a
balance that enshrined the rest.
The phrase sirat al-mustaqim, the straight or upright path, is
repeated many times each day by the Muslim worshipper. No phrase better
epitomizes the way of life of the Muslim. The word mustaqim suggests balance.
If one deviates from this balanced path, he does so in one of two ways:
deficiency in fulfilling one's obligations and excessiveness therein. The
concept of monkery, for example, does not receive approbation in Islam as a
form of practice. The Quran states that the institution of monasticism was not
prescribed by God (QURAN, 57:27). According to the commentators, the people of
monasticism became immoderate in practices that originated from the desire to gain
God's good pleasure. But they were unable to fulfill it, which is the nature of
excess and its main defect. A person cannot keep up with it and becomes either
worn out or altogether jaded, which is antithetical to the path of religion,
the straight path of Islam. Balance, then, is not merely a merciful device for
adherents, but the shortest distance between a person and his or her spiritual
objectives.
The objectives of the rites of worship cannot exceed what is
natural. Sexual attraction, like hunger, cannot be removed from the soul; nor
is it to one's benefit to try to do so. Celibacy is not considered a virtue in
Islam. Chastity and licit sexual intimacy are. Church history tells of the
Puritans who went so far as to swear off normal desires, such that sexual
relations were nearly tabooed between a man and his wife. It became an entirely
perfunctory activity of marriage fleeced of the enjoyment that a husband and
wife are not only entitled to have but are encouraged to experience.
The usual result of excessiveness is its antithesis. A society
that starts out with extreme Puritanical ethics may turn into one of
overindulgence and licentiousness. On an individual level, the experience is
similar. It is a principal feature of the Islamic faith that the "middle
way" be the path that Muslims adhere to. The Quran calls the believers a
"middle nation," which commentators say includes moderation, which
leads to a consistency of worship and conduct that one can carry on throughout
his or her life. It is said that the Judaic legal tradition is based on stern justice,
while at the foundation of the Christian phenomena is the idea of categorical
mercy where everybody should be forgiven no matter what. With Islam, a balance
is struck suitable for the complex societies that have spread across the face
of the earth, a balance between ghadab (wrath and stern justice) and rahma
(mercy). To take the straight way, one must have both, the law and the spirit
of the law, the Shari'a and the haqiqa. The law consists of rules, and the
spirit of the law is mercy. God sent down the Shari'a as a mercy, and the
Prophet pbuh himself is the mercy to the worlds
(QURAN, 21:107).
There is an inward and outward state in every human soul, with
the inward being iman (the condition of the faith) and the outward being islam
(the manifestation or practice of the faith). When the two come together
inwardly and outwardly, the resulting balance is a truly beautiful human being,
one generally called a muhsin, one whose worship and character are excellent.
This is the taker of the straight path and what we all strive for and petition
God for each time we stand in prayer. According to Ibn al-Taymiyya, Muslims can
deviate by way of ghadab or by way of rahma. They go the way of the
hair-splitting, tyrannical scholar or the way of the ignorant worshipper, as in
extreme Sufism, which concludes that all is one and that everybody is going to
Paradise, regardless of one's creed, one's disfigurement of God's revelations,
and one's outright fabrications about God and His nature.
The balance is to cling outwardly to the law and carry the
spirit of Sufism inwardly, which is the advice of Imam al-Shafi'i. When Muslims
deal with one another, they should incline toward clemency and mercy, not wrath
and severity. God says that the former is closer to taqwa (God-consciousness)
than the latter (QURAN, 5:8). It is a more elevated act to reprieve than it is
to exact justice. Imam Raghib al-Isfahani said, "When love exists, there
is no need for justice." What he meant by this is that when love is
present and is allowed to override one's anger, the demand for retribution is
quieted. If we were to look at the emotions behind the first major trial of the
Islamic community after the passing away of the Prophet pbuh, there was a deviation
from the spirit of love and cooperation. Mu'awiya demanded justice for the
murder of Uthman. But Ali ibn Abi Talib, who had great wisdom, demanded forgiveness
because he saw that the demand for retribution would rip the nation apart.
Muslims, however, maintain a good opinion of Mu'awiya, contrary to the Shiites.
We believe his intentions—like those of A'isha and Zubayr— were purely for the
attainment of justice. 'Ali's position, according to many Muslim historians and
scholars, was actually the higher level of Islam, which is rahma or mercy and
clemency. What we learn here is that there is a hidden hazard in inordinate
demands for justice and retribution. We have seen how this extreme position can
lead to injustice, as pointed out above. Extremism, in general, usually results
in the opposite extreme. Our early history bears this out, for Ali was a victim
of injustice by those who rebelled against him out of their sense of
indignation.
The cardinal virtues originally stem from religion. A generous
person gives from his wealth to others because he is not afraid of losing his
power or wealth; he knows all power and wealth are with God. All further virtues
emanate from the cardinal virtues (or matrices of virtues). Mercy, for example,
issues from wisdom (hikma), since forgiving someone when you are wronged
requires a recognition of the greater wisdom in remission and the greater good
in clemency.
Anger (ghadab) remains an essential quality of the human creation.
The human brain is said to be a triune brain because it has three dominant
centers. This observation of the brain is not modern, for Imam al-Ghazali mentioned
it. The lowest brain is known as the "R" brain (reptilian according
to the evolutionary scheme of things), which is associated with appetite,
mainly for food and sex. The midbrain is where the emotions are centered, which
includes anger. The third portion of the brain is known as the new brain or the
neocortex, which is where the rational faculty resides. When these three
centers function properly in proportion to one another, the human being is said
to be functioning in equilibrium. Such persons are stable and immediately
likeable.
There are people who are entirely cerebral; everything is theoretical
or abstract to them. Their rational center suppresses their emotions residing
in the midbrain and the physical needs in the R-stem. And there are people who
work mainly from their so-called reptilian centers, impervious to protocol,
higher ethics, and a civil association with others. It is not unusual to hear
someone likening another's behavior to that of a snake, a kind of slinking predator,
entirely selfish and wholly tenacious in acquiring his desires. Then there are
people who are overly emotional. They are either very happy or very angry, the
latter of which is the more common emotion.
There are basically four reasons people get angry. One is
related to primal needs, such as food, shelter, and life. When these are
threatened, a normal person feels vulnerable and responds with anger. If
someone threatens one's life or family, the person needs to respond. This anger
is not blameworthy. If humans were incapable of a response, we would have a
society indifferent to crime and transgression. This would spell doom for human
civilization. This is part of the wisdom behind the Quranic commandment to
enjoin what is right and forbid what is evil.
The second reason is related to position, dignity, and
protecting one's honor. Human beings are born with sensors that detect when
others try to belittle them or when they are the object of contempt and scorn.
The other side of this is when people view themselves with hubris and
manufacture delusions of grandeur. They grow angry when they interpret normal
and acceptable behavior towards them as beneath their dignity.
The third cause of anger is related to specific people and their
particular sense of values. If, for example, a scholar sees that a book is
being abused, he will become angry. An illiterate farmhand may not be vexed
about the abuse of a book, though he may curse a man who breaks a pitchfork.
Finally, the fourth cause is ghira, commonly translated as
jealousy. The Prophet pbuh said that he
himself had jealousy in the sense of guarding and protecting something
important to him. God has placed jealousy as part of human nature. If men did
not have jealousy for their women, relationships would fall into dissolution.
It is natural for a man to have this protective sense of jealousy regarding his
wife, as long as it is not expressed in the form of oppressing her, which
unfortunately happens frequently.
With regard to these causes of anger, Imam al-Ghazali says the
first one (related to material needs) is healthy if it is not taken to an
extreme, in which case a person steals from others in order to secure his food
and shelter. The second one (related to dignity) is also healthy, with the
similar caveat of avoiding two extremes, haughtiness and abject humiliation.
The Prophet pbuh said, "The believer
does not humiliate himself."
According to Sidi Ahmad al-Zarruq, if ignorant people say
something disparaging that does not relate to religion, then ignore it. One
should not grow angry when there is no benefit in doing so. God the Exalted commanded
the Prophet pbuh when faced with the discourse of ignorant people, Be patient with
what they say, then part from them graciously (QURAN, 73:10). The Prophet pbuh praised a man named Abu Damdam who never
became angry when people spoke ill of him, for when one speaks ill of another,
the speaker not only acquires misdeeds, but his own good deeds transfer to the
account of the victim.
Treatment
As for anger as a disease of the heart, Imam Mawlud says there
are two cures. One of them removes anger when it comes, and the second suppresses
or thwarts it. The first cure is to remember the extensive praise and goodness associated
with forbearance and humility. Sidi Ahmad al-Zarruq contends that the main
reason people become angry is because they are filled with themselves; their
egos get in the way. In their persecution of the Prophet pbuh, the Quraysh mocked
him like children. But the Prophet pbuh did not become angry.
The ethic promoted here is simply letting go—not allowing insult
to penetrate and manipulate one's emotion. It is about keeping control, feeling
secure. One should remember how much humility and forbearance are praised by
the Best of those who praise, that is, God the Exalted. When the Maker of the
heavens and the earth commends a certain behavior or disposition, race to
attain it.
Humility and forbearance are praised in poetry and by all the
different sages, even outside the religion of Islam, The Prophet pbuh said that God elevates a person who is humble
for the sake of God, but whoever tries to exalt himself, God debases him. The
Prophet pbuh was the most forbearing and
forgiving of people. All the prophets were characterized by these qualities.
None was known to be arrogant or easily angered.
Imam Mawlud states next that one can control anger by
recognizing that nothing takes place without God's leave: there is no power or
might except with God, This life is a crucible of trial, and those who are
heedless of this react severely when trials come upon them. The Prophet pbuh said the strong man is not one who can wrestle
people, but the man who controls himself when he is angry.
The Prophet pbuh also advised
that if one becomes angry, he should sit down. And if one is sitting, then he should
recline. If neither of these helps, then perform the ritual ablution (wudu) and
then pray. The actual act of splashing water on the face can alter a person's
mood. Anger often manifests itself in the face, which becomes red and warm.
Once a person grew very angry before the Prophet pbuh who then noticed how when the face shows extreme
anger it resembles Satan, The Prophet pbuh then said, "I have a word, if
spoken, will remove it from him. It is, 'I seek refuge in God from Satan the
accursed.'"
We know how anger can escalate. When conflict foments and
becomes heated between two parties, they reflexively stand, which is the nature
of rising tempers. It is important to make the parties sit, which lessens some
of the anger. These simple remedies are not tricks; rather, they reveal how
thin the veneer of anger can often be. Anger can be entirely irrational and
require nothing more than a change of posture to reconstitute the mind. The
Prophet's counsel is very telling of human nature; he reveals insights into the
ebb and flow of human emotions and the ease with which we can alter our
emotional condition. It is said that one of the ruses of Satan is to make what
is easy appear difficult or even impossible; he whispers feelings of despair to
make us grow despondent of God's mercy and thus surrender ourselves to the
insidious view that we can never repent.
Umar ibn al-Khattab was known to grow angry. But if we look
further at him over the course of his development in Islam, his anger no longer
got the best of him. In fact, it was the opposite. He tended to be forgiving and
compassionate—especially near the end of his life. But he was also known for
being a lion. Once the Prophet pbuh was
teaching a group of Qurayshi women. When they noticed that Umar was coming, the
women fled into another room. This was before the commandment for hijab was
revealed. Umar came to the Prophet pbuh and
saw that he was amused. Umar asked the Prophet pbuh about what had amused him. The
Prophet pbuh said, "It is these Qurayshi
women: when they see you, they flee." The Prophet pbuh called back the women, whereupon Umar asked
them, "How is it that you flee from me and you are not shy in front of the
Messenger of God? He is more worthy of your shyness!" And they said,
"You are harsher than the Messenger of God. He does not become
angry." And the Prophet pbuh laughed and
said, "If you, Umar, went down one path, Satan would take another."
According to one Islamic model, the soul has three stages. In
the first seven years, it is known as the appetitive soul. The primary concerns
of children in this stage are eating and wanting attention. The second stage is
the next seven years, the age of anger, when kids react strongly to stimuli and
are annoyed easily. The third is the rational stage, when reasoning and
discernment reach their full capacity. Ali ibn Abi Talib encouraged parents to play
with their children during the first stage, to indulge them, for they are
discovering the world. They had been in a spiritual realm and have entered the
realm of the sensory. In the second stage, he counseled, parents should focus on
training and discipline, for in this stage young people have a heightened
capacity to receive and absorb information and thus learn new things. In the
third stage, parents should befriend them, form a relationship that is amicable
and full of kindness and companionship. After this, their children, now adults,
are set free.
