Anger in Islam: teachings and practical responses

What can I do when anger rises?

Two of the points below come from hadith reports and one from general NHS guidance. Keep them apart: the health advice is not a detail of the hadith.

1. Seek Allah's protection. Sahih al-Bukhari 3282 reports the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, identifying words of seeking refuge for an angry encounter. The words are set out below. 2
2. Attend to your response. Sahih al-Bukhari 6114 places strength in the person who controls himself at the time of anger. 1
3. Allow time before reacting. NHS guidance suggests giving yourself time to think, using calming breathing, and talking to someone who is not part of the situation. This is general health guidance, not an extra step attributed to the hadith. N

For example, if a message has upset you, you could leave the reply unsent while you take time to think. That is our everyday illustration of a pause. It is not a detail from the reported encounter, and it is not a solution the reports promise.

What words are reported for anger?

The refuge words in Sahih al-Bukhari 3282 are a'udhu billahi min ash-shaytan, which means: I seek Allah's protection from Satan.

2AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 3282

Sulayman ibn Surad, may Allah be pleased with him, reports that two men were insulting each other, and that one of them became furious, his face red with anger. The Prophet said he knew a word that would take away what the angry man felt if he said it. People then told the angry man to seek refuge with Allah from Satan, and he asked whether he had lost his mind. The report does not say that he accepted the advice or became calm.

The wording of this report ends at "from Satan". A longer form, with the epithet "the accursed" (al-rajim), is not in this report, so a longer form should be tied to its own report rather than read into this one.

What does the Quran say about restraining anger?

Al Imran 3:134 describes people who spend in ease and in hardship, who restrain their anger and who pardon others. Reading the whole verse keeps those qualities together. The verse does not say when or how anger is to be restrained. Q

For a related lesson on patience and its source contexts, continue with Sabr. A personal question about a dispute or someone else's rights needs more information than a general article can assess.

How is strength described in the hadith?

Sahih al-Bukhari 6114 describes the strong person as the one who controls himself at the time of anger, not the one who overpowers other people by physical strength. Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, reports it.

1AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 6114

The distinction concerns a person's response while angry. It is not a diagnosis of why anger arose, a test of physical ability, or an assurance that one saying removes every difficulty with anger.

What does "do not become angry" mean?

Sahih al-Bukhari 6116 reports that a man asked the Prophet for advice and was told not to become angry. When he asked again and again, the answer stayed the same. The report does not name the man or set a number of repetitions for the reader.

3AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 6116

Ibn Rajab (died 795 AH), in his commentary on hadith 16 of Jami' al-'ulum wa-l-hikam (page 364 in the Islamweb transcription), gives two readings of this instruction. The first is that it is a command to take up the causes of good character, such as generosity, forbearance, humility, pardon and restraining anger; once these become habit, he says, they push anger away when its causes arise. The second is that it means not acting on what anger prompts once it has arisen, and striving against yourself so that you refuse to carry it out. R

These are his readings, not a ruling of any school.

Is anger haram in Islam?

A ruling needs the particular situation and the particular action. The reports on this page do not give a blanket ruling on every feeling of anger, and they do not judge any individual's acts. The second reading above is about what a person does once anger has arisen, a narrower question than the feeling itself.

For a question about your own situation, ask a scholar you trust. For anger that is affecting your life, the NHS advises getting help when your own coping is not working, or when behaviour is abusive or violent, and says to see a GP. N

Religious learning and clinical support serve different needs. These reports are not a mental-health treatment plan, and they are not a reason to judge someone else's faith from how they behave when angry.