The Prophet's ﷺ three-word answer for a lifetime.
Narrated by Abū Hurayrah (أبو هريرة)
لاَ تَغْضَبْ، فَرَدَّدَ مِرَارًا، قَالَ: لاَ تَغْضَبْ
"A man said to the Prophet ﷺ: Counsel me. He said: "Do not be angry." The man asked several times, and each time the Prophet said: "Do not be angry.""
The scholars treated this hadith as the shortest curriculum in the prophetic pedagogy. Anger, they said, is the single easiest way to lose everything built up by patience, prayer, and fasting in one moment. The Prophet ﷺ elsewhere said: "The strong one is not the one who wrestles, but the one who controls himself when he is angry."
Passages that draw on this hadith
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"However, if the fear is that one's time for learning and deeds relating to the Hereafter will be disrupted, one may be rewarded for this restraint. Fourth, one should contemplate the ugliness of one's appearance when angry by recalling the appearance of others in a state of anger and consider the hideousness of anger itself,"
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"He becomes angry with his family, children, and companions. Indeed, a strong person is one who controls himself in anger, as the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, "The strong man is not the one who can wrestle, rather the strong one is the one who can control himself when angry."
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"The third situation is anger for the sake of Allah Almighty. One may become angry at a wrong committed by someone else upon seeing or hearing it, expressing this anger by mentioning the name. However, they should demonstrate their anger by enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong,"
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"Regarding anger, treat it as will be mentioned in the Book of the Vices of Anger. Say, "If I avenge my anger on him, perhaps Allah will avenge His anger on me because of the backbiting, as He forbade it, and I dared His prohibition and belittled His deterrence."
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"And Allah Almighty said: "Those who restrain anger and pardon people," highlighting that it's not about lacking anger entirely. This suggests that it's possible to moderate anger and desire so they don't overpower reason, but rather, reason should control them."
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"My Lord has this day become angry with an anger the like of which He has never been angry before, and the like of which He will never be angry after. His mercy embraces all things, while His wrath does not embrace all things."
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"And among them are those whose anger predominates, yet do not leave the path of desire open or abandon it, for he who cannot control himself in anger is more likely unable to control himself in desire."
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"It is known that the effect of anger in the absence of intent can reach this state or even greater, so one should not be held accountable for what they utter in a state of extreme anger. إِمَام أَحْمَد explained "no divorce in a state of closure" as anger, while others among the أَئِمَّة explained it as coercion and madness."
More on character
- Even slaughter has its ethics — because iḥsān is owed everywhere."Allah has written iḥsān — excellence — upon everything. So when you kill, kill well; and when you slaughter, slaughter well. Sharpen your blade and bring ease to the animal."
- Two honourable choices for the tongue."Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him speak good or remain silent."
- Worth is measured in akhlāq — manners, not titles."Truly, the best of you are the finest among you in character."