Fatwa #463223 August 2022Pakistan
Controlling one’s Nafs and Anger
Question
Assalamualaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakathu, Mufti Sahab. I'm dealing with a spiritual problem.
My nafs gets angry, impatient, and arrogant when I want to do something good or if I get stuck reading The Quran. In my Salah, I often exhale away this anger when I need to repeat the last Verse of Surah Al-Fatiha if I had gone out of breath in the first try.
I've allowed my nafs to overpower me before by doing different sins. This is why I feel overcome by it.
Sometimes, I fear that my heart might have said what my nafs did. It is a very overpowering arrogance and anger. While reading The Quran, I feel this arrogance and I feel it upon my face.
My question is that how can I get my nafs under my control again so that it doesn't overpower me? And will these feelings from the nafs constitute kufr?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
It is natural for a person to get angry, more so when one tries to oppose the evil dictates of the Nafs. These feeling do not constitute Kufr. Your Iman is intact. However, a strong and intelligent person is he who strives to bring his Nafs under control and does not succumb to the evil dictates of his Nafs.
Nabi (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) said:
"ليس الشديد بالصرعة، إنما الشديد الذى يملك نفسه عند الغضب"
"A strong man is not the one who is good at wrestling, rather a strong man is he who controls himself in a fit of anger." (Bukhari-6114)
The first step in bringing the Nafs under control is linking oneself with a reliable spiritual guide/Sheikh. After identifying a spiritual guide, one should consult with him regularly and follow his advice.
One should also not forget to constantly make Dua. Allah Ta’ala is the only One who can save us from the evil of our Nafs. The following Duas may be read in order to be saved from the evil of the Nafs:
يَا حَيُّ يَا قَيُّومُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَسْتَغِيثُ أَصْلِحْ لِي شَأْنِي كُلَّهُ، وَلَا تَكِلْنِي إِلَى نَفْسِي طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ
Oh Allah, The Ever Living the All Sustaining, I beg You for Your mercy. Correct all my matters and don’t leave me to my Nafs for even a blink of an eye. (Shuabul Imaan-761)
اللَّهُمَّ آتِ نَفْسِي تَقْوَاهَا وَزَكِّهَا أَنْتَ خَيْرُ مَنْ زَكَّاهَا أَنْتَ وَلِيُّهَا وَمَوْلاَهَا
O Allah! Grant my Nafs the sense of piety and purify it as You are the Best One to purify it. You are its Guardian and its Protecting Friend. (Muslim-2722)
You may listen to the advice of our Honorable Ustaad, Mufti Ebrahim Desai Saheb on controlling and managing anger here
You may also read the commentary of Qasidah Burdah of our Honorable Ustaad, Mufti Ebrahim Desai Saheb. The second chapter deals with how to avoid the desires of the Nafs. You may also access the audio via the following link: https://daruliftaa.net/qaseeda-burdah/
For a more detailed answer you may refer to the following link: http://askimam.org/public/question_detail/46222
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Student - Darul Iftaa
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
(2020-10-13)