Some people always look angry, don't they? You can see it on their faces. These people look as though they will explode any minute and vent their anger on the first person who gives them the chance to do so. Heaven help the waiter who is late with the coffee or the gas station worker who makes a mistake with the change. There is no pleasing such people. They are the most difficult people to work or to live with.
There is a big difference, though, between being angry and showing your anger. People show their anger in different ways. For some, it is precisely the kind of explosive outburst we have just mentioned. For others, they can be just as angry, but they express their anger quietly. There is a difference, too, between things that make us angry and things that annoy us.
Annoyance
All of us become annoyed, now and again, by the routines of life. Being kept waiting for people who are late for an appointment is annoying. Not finding the right can of baked beans in the supermarket is annoying, especially if you have been looking forward to them! Such things, though, in Allah's scheme of things, are not world shattering. We can get by with life's little annoyances.
Being angry, though, is a different matter. If we find ourselves getting angry and losing our temper over small things, we need to take a look at ourselves and ask what is causing this anger. Are we angry with others just because we got up late or we didn't have any breakfast? If this is the case, there is really no excuse for our anger. Are we finding fault with others when really the blame lies squarely on our own shoulders? As Muslims, we should try to tame this sort of anger. This is not how Muslims behave. At the present time, many eyes are on Muslims, looking for yet another excuse to find fault or to point an accusing finger. We should never let our own behaviour be the reason others think ill about Islam.
There are, on the other hand, things that cause us to be angry. Some things really make us mad. In these cases, being angry is quite justifiable and as Muslims we are right to be angry. We read in a translation of the meaning of the Qur'an:
(O ye who believe. Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves or your parents or your kin.](An-Nisaa' 4:135)
Justice
Justice should be so important to us that we should seek justice, even if it costs us dearly. Justice is one of the attributes of Almighty Allah. He is just in all that He does. As Muslims we should be keen to see justice prevail, and we should be angry when people are dealt with unjustly.
There are small things that make me angry because they involve people. It really makes me angry, for example, when I see someone who has a lot of money treating someone with little money in an unkind way. You know the kind of people I mean. The kind of man with a big car, who drives fast and hoots his horn to make people get out of the way, just to show how important he is. Or the man who insists on being served before anyone else, just because he has more money than they have. I was in line at the airport once and a "celebrity" turned up and pushed right to the front of the line. "Don't you know who I am?" he said. The man behind him had a great reply: "You are a human being, just like everyone else!"
There are small things that make me angry because they involve people. It really makes me angry, for example, when I see someone who has a lot of money treating someone with little money in an unkind way. You know the kind of people I mean. The kind of man with a big car, who drives fast and hoots his horn to make people get out of the way, just to show how important he is. Or the man who insists on being served before anyone else, just because he has more money than they have. I was in line at the airport once and a "celebrity" turned up and pushed right to the front of the line. "Don't you know who I am?" he said. The man behind him had a great reply: "You are a human being, just like everyone else!"
These kind of people make me angry because they are not fair to others. Instead of thanking Allah for the good things they have in life, they boast of the vastness of their riches and abuse those who have none. In fact, anyone in a position of authority who abuses that authority makes me angry. As Muslims we should care for the poor and the weak. Caring for them means speaking out on their behalf, too.
Unfortunately, in our world there are some situations that cause us to be rightly angry. When we see the terrible suffering of our brothers and sisters in Palestine, who are humiliated daily by occupation soldiers and are denied basic human rights and, in some cases, access to their land and their family, this is an evil that causes us to be angry. Having foreign occupation soldiers in Muslim lands makes me angry. Muslims being targeted in many societies because of their religion makes me angry. The list goes on, but I think you get the idea. Injustice is the greatest cause for anger in our world.
What we do with our anger and how we respond to injustice are what makes us different from others. For example, when those cartoons appeared in Denmark about our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him), we had every cause to be angry. Burning flags and throwing stones, though, did not seem to me to be the right response. Such a response played right into the hands of those who want Islam and Muslims to look bad. Boycotting goods, speaking out, writing to MPs and ambassadors all seemed ways of showing how angry we were.
Final Thoughts
Similarly, if we are really angry about what is going on in Palestine, we could do something tomorrow to stop it. We could boycott Israeli goods and the goods of those who support Israel. This would have an immediate effect. Money talks. But often, all we are prepared to do is just talk to ourselves. Anyone can burn a flag or throw stones. Giving up our favourite fizzy drinks might hurt us more, but it cuts off money to those who provide bombs and bullets that kill Palestinian women and children. This is a real focus for our anger.
There is a lot, then, that can make us angry. Knowing how to control and channel our anger is what is most important. Otherwise, our anger just costs us a lot of emotion but achieves little else. As Muslims, we need to be wise. We also need to be very calm and to remember that Allah, not us, is in control of all things. If our anger is just bad temper, then it is inexcusable. If it is righteous anger, we should learn how to make our feelings known. If the world's Muslims could channel their righteous anger into the proper ways of combating injustice and oppression, then perhaps the world would sit up and listen to us. If we are just angry young men and women, no one will bother about us at all.
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Idris Tawfiq is a British Muslim writer who lives and works in Egypt. He has spent many years working with young people. He was head of religious education in different schools in the United Kingdom and, perhaps more remarkably, before embracing Islam he was a Roman Catholic priest. You can visit website at www.idristawfiq.com.
Idris Tawfiq is a British Muslim writer who lives and works in Egypt. He has spent many years working with young people. He was head of religious education in different schools in the United Kingdom and, perhaps more remarkably, before embracing Islam he was a Roman Catholic priest. You can visit website at www.idristawfiq.com.
{ Views expressed by writer are their own property }
Muhammed Shariq Khan Lucknow, INDIA
m.shariq_khan@yahoo.ca k.shariq@rediffmail.com k.shariq@hotmail.com
m.shariq_khan@yahoo.ca k.shariq@rediffmail.com k.shariq@hotmail.com
