Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart by Yusuf Hamza

Author:Yusuf, Hamza [Yusuf, Hamza]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Religion & Spirituality
ISBN: 9780985565909
Goodreads: 272724
Published: 2013-05-01T19:00:00+00:00

As for the spiritual disease of anger that consumes a person, Imam Mawlūd says there are two cures. One of them removes anger when it occurs, and the second suppresses or thwarts it. The first cure is to remember the extensive praise and goodness associated with forbearance and humility. Sīdī Aḥmad Zarrūq contends that the main reason people become angry is because they have inflated egos. For example, even though the Quraysh mocked the Prophet , like children do, while persecuting him, the Prophet did not become angry with them.

The ethic promoted here is to simply “let go” and not allow insult to penetrate and manipulate one’s emotion. It is about maintaining control over one’s own emotions, feeling secure. One should remember how much God, the Exalted, praises the qualities of humility and forbearance. One should race to attain the qualities and behaviors that the Best of those who praise, the Maker of the heavens and the earth, commends.

Humility and forbearance are praised in poetry and by all the different sages, even outside the religion of Islam. The Prophet 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 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 Mawlūd 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 said the strong man is not one who can wrestle people, but the man who controls himself when he is angry.

The Prophet also advised that if one becomes angry, one should sit down. And if one is sitting, then one should recline. If neither of these helps, then one should perform the ritual ablution (wuḍū’) 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, when a person grew very angry before the Prophet , he noticed how when one is extremely angry, one’s face resembles Satan’s. The Prophet then said, “I have a word that, 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.

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