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ALIGARH JOURNAL OF QURANIC STUDIES • VOLUME NO. 1 • ISSUE 1 WINTER 2018

73

A Quran-based Approach to Effective Anger Management in the

light of Arabic Sources

Syed Ali Hur Kamoonpuri1

Department of Arabic, AMU

ABSTRACT

lassical Arabic Sources - such as the Quran and Hadith literature as well as

the extensive body of commentaries which has sprung up around them –

provide us with a rich array of diverse yet highly effective strategies for the

attainment of human excellence and moral enhancement through positive self-

refinement and empowerment.

Perhaps one of the greatest impediments to the actualization and realization of

human excellence and self-empowerment is the impulse of uncontrolled and

unchecked anger. Psychologists are agreed that anger is a very dangerous and

destructive impulse, and one which, if not subdued and brought under control,

certainly has the potential to do irreparable and often irreversible damage to a

person’s life and social relationships.

Since anger control and management represent a crucial aspect of a human being’s

constant struggle for attaining moral excellence and psychological self-

empowerment, this paper will attempt to shed light on effective strategies and tips

for anger management which have been put forward in the classical Arabic sources,

with special focus on the Quran, as well as Hadith compilations and exegetical

literature.

Keywords: Quran, Hadith, Psychological Approach, Anger Management,

Forgiveness, Classical Arabic Sources, Clinical Psychology.

1 Senior Research Fellow, Dept. of Arabic, AMU, Aligarh. Email:[email protected]

C


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INTRODUCTION

The psychologists are unanimously agreed that anger is a very dangerous

and destructive human impulse which can do irreparable damage to a person’s life

and social relationships if it is not controlled, subdued, and managed properly. It is

therefore crucial for every human being desirous of attaining moral excellence and

psychological self-empowerment to make concerted efforts to deal with anger and

the problems arising therefrom.

It is not in vain or for no reason that many big corporate firms, companies

and institutions organize anger management classes and courses for their

employees. They do so because they recognize that even at a worldly level, their

operations cannot achieve efficiency and smooth progress until and unless their

employees have received proper training on how to manage and channelize their

anger.

Anger has adverse and pernicious effects on people, and harms them not

only emotionally, psychologically, physiologically, and mentally, but also

spiritually. This can be discerned and deduced from the fact that securing control

over anger and making a habit of swallowing it is one of the most critical skills

which the Quran lists as part of the qualities that distinguish the paradise-bound

Muttaqeen (God-fearing and pious people).

In the Quran, Allah (SWT) Declares:

( الذين ينفقون في 133وسارعوا إلى مغفرة من رب كم وجنة عرضها السماوات والرض أعدت للمتقين )

اء والكاظمين ال ر اء والض يحب المحسنين السر غيظ والعافين عن الناس وللا

“Be quick in the race for forgiveness from your Lord, and for a Garden whose

width is that (of the whole) of the heavens and of the earth, prepared for the

righteous.

Those who spend (freely), whether in prosperity, or in adversity; who restrain

anger, and pardon (all) men;- for Allah loves those who do good.”i

In the first verse, the believers are being urged to strive and struggle in order

to win the forgiveness of Allah (SWT) and the ultimate reward of Jannah

(paradise). However, we are also informed that both the forgiveness of God and His

Jannah are not out there for free distribution; rather these two priceless prizes are

reserved for pious and God-fearing people. Jannah, therefore, is specifically built

and created for the Muttaqeen, i.e. pious people who fear God and exercise Taqwa.

Then in the next verse, Allah (SWT) lists down some of the salient features and

qualities that one is supposed to have in order to be eligible for the two prizes being

offered, and the quality of restraining one’s anger and swallowing it features quite


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prominently in that list. The verse also serves to showcase the intimate relationship

between Taqwa and control of one’s anger, since the Muttaqeen are being defined

as people who frequently swallow their anger and refrain from venting it out on

other people.

From a spiritual perspective, perhaps one of the reasons why anger

management is so important and why anger is regarded as one of the greatest

obstacles in the path to attaining Taqwa is because anger, when left uncontrolled,

leads to a lot of other immoral, forbidden and sinful deeds. This can be seen from

the statement of Imam Hasan al Askari (as), who remarked:

الغضب مفتاح كل شر

“Anger is the key to every evil.”ii

In other words, anger opens the door to a host of other sins and a variety of other

vices.

Even from a worldly perspective, anger takes away the peace and calmness

from people’s lives. It divests life of all the fun, joy, pleasure and enjoyment that

would have otherwise adorned it. Anger disturbs and upsets the symmetry and flow

of life and turns it into a living hell not just for the person who suffers from a habit

of not controlling it, but also for those who live around this sort of person, such as

the person’s family, friends, and relatives.

The anguish, pain, trauma, conflict and general unpleasantness that is caused

by anger has broken homes, torn apart families, ruined relationships, destroyed

friendships, started wars and wreaked havoc in the lives of countless people in the

past, and still continues to do so even to this very day. Hence, anger is an impulse

that can ruin one’s worldly life as well as one’s future prospects in the Hereafter.

One can easily see how effectively the devil is using the power of

uncontrolled anger nowadays to corrupt the masses. We can also observe the

damage that is being caused by anger and the havoc it is wreaking all around us – at

home, at the workplace, in the classroom, and even on the roads and streets – so

much so that a special new term (i.e. road rage) has had to be coined to describe

such instances when there is outpouring of such anger on the roads or streets.

To save us from all this gratuitous loss and unnecessary distress, the Arabic

sources tell us that God has enjoined human beings to restrain their anger and

refrain from letting it out or pouring it on others, and as always, He promises great

and handsome rewards for those who comply with this Divine Directive.


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The Holy Prophet (Saww) is reported to have said:

وجبت محبة هللا على من أغضب فحلم.

The love of Allah (SWT) becomes incumbent on a person who is in the habit of

restraining his/her anger when he is provoked.”iii

Thus the love of Allah is arguably the first and greatest of all rewards promised for

those who control and restrain their anger and resist the urge to vent it on others.

Imam Jafar bin Mohammad al-Sadiq (as) further highlights another great advantage

that is associated with controlling one’s anger in the following statement:

من كف غضبه ستر هللا عورته.

“Whoever restrains his/her anger, Allah (SWT) will cover up and conceal such a

person’s defects and shortcomings.”iv

Furthermore, the Prophet (Saww) is also reported to have said:

إنفاذه، مأل هللا قلبه أمنا وإيمانا.من كظم غيظا وهو يقدر على

“Whoever controls his anger when he has the ability to vent it out and pour it on

someone, Allah will fill such a person’s heart with the light of Iman and peace of

mind.”v

Another great reward promised for those who make it a habit to control their anger

and restrain it instead of unleashing it on their fellow human beings is that God will

protect such people from His Wrath and Punishment on the day of Judgement:

كف هللا عنه عذاب يوم القيامة.قال اإلمام موسى بن جعفر الكاظم )ع( : من كف غضبه عن الناس

Imam Musa bin Jafar al Kaazim (as) says: “Whoever restrains his anger from

people, God will restrain His punishment from him on the day of judgement.”vi

The Arabic sources also provide us with another fascinating narration in this regard:

عن الرضا )ع( عن آبائه، عن أمير المؤمنين علي بن أبي طالب )ع(، قال: قال رجل للنبي )ص(: علمني

عمال ال يحال بينه وبين الجنة. قال )ص(: ال تغضب وال تسأل الناس شيئا وارض للناس ما ترضى لنفسك.

Imam Ali bin Musa al Rida (as) narrates on the authority of his forefathers, who in

turn narrate on the authority of Ameerul Muminen Ali bin Abi Talib (as) that a man

once came to the Prophet of Allah (Saww), and asked him: can you teach me or

inform me of something that will remove and clear all the hurdles and obstacles on

the path to Jannah (so that I may enter into Jannah straight away without any

problems, difficulties or complications)?

The Prophet (Saww) replied: “Do not lose your temper (lit. don’t get angry); do not

ask people for any of your needs; and desire for others what you desire for

yourself.”vii


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In another narration, we are told that the Prophet (Saww) said to one of his

companions:

ال تغضب ولك الجنة

“Don’t get angry (at people) and Jannat (paradise) is yours.”viii

REFUTATION OF A LONG STANDING WESTERN

MISCONCEPTION CONCERNING ANGER MANAGEMENT

The idea that venting out anger is a good, positive, and desirable thing dates back to

the Greek philosopher, Aristotleix

, who has profoundly impacted the western mind,

such that his theories and ideas are still studied to this day. Aristotle introduced this

idea about “catharsis” which both students and specialists in literature will be very

familiar with. Catharsis signifies “purgation” or “purification” or both in Greek.

Aristotle tried to account for the undeniable, though remarkable, fact that many

tragic representations of suffering and defeat leave an audience feeling not

depressed, but relieved, or even exalted.x

This is one of the reasons why they show so much violence and bloodshed

on television today via the medium of action movies, films, thrillers and drama

series – with the idea being that watching such programmes, the viewer gets to

vicariously exact revenge and vent out all his pent up anger on a suitable candidate

– who is usually the villain.

Interestingly, however, this Aristotelian concept has been proved wrong because

study after study has shown that watching violence on television makes teenagers

and youths more prone to violence and aggression in real life.

In a very useful book entitled 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology –

Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behaviour, which is a

critically acclaimed book by a team of four specialists and experts in the field of

psychology, all of whom are university professors, this is one of the myths that the

authors have debunked. In the aforementioned book, myth # 30 reads: “It’s Better to

Express Anger to Others than to Hold it in.”xi

That venting out one’s anger is better than holding it in was a very common and

widely promoted idea in western philosophy, but it has been debunked and refuted

by their own researches, and now their own scholars are beginning to acknowledge

and endorse what our beautiful religion has taught us fourteen centuries ago.


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THE INTIMATE CONNECTION BETWEEN ANGER MANAGEMENT

AND FORGIVENESS IN THE QURAN

It is worth noting that when God speaks of the importance of controlling the

impulse of anger and restraining it in 03: 133 of the Quran, He doesn’t just end the

verse on the phrase والكاظمين الغيظ i.e. “those who restrain their anger”, rather the

verse continues and adds the quality of والعافين عن الناس “and those who are forgiving

of people”. This serves to demonstrate that while restraining one’s anger is a very

crucial and critical first stage in the process of anger management and control,

however, merely swallowing it is not sufficient to treat the malaise of anger and

neutralise it completely. The restraining and swallowing of anger needs to be

followed by another critical and crucial step, and that is forgiving the person who

became the cause of the anger, and provoked it in the first place.

Thus, Allah (SWT), while describing the qualities of believers in Surah Shoora,

says:

ثم والفواحش وإذا ما غضبوا هم يغفرون والذين يجتنبون كبائر اإل

“Those who avoid the greater crimes and shameful deeds, and, when they are angry

even then forgive.”xii

This verse makes it clear that swallowing one’s anger is not sufficient, but rather

one has to learn to forgive those who provoke it in the first place.

Therefore, diluting pent up anger through forgiveness is extremely

important for successful anger management. This is especially so because different

people have different ways, methods, and techniques for expressing and letting out

their anger. Not everyone is prone to reacting explosively when they become angry.

A lot of people have the ability to swallow their anger. But this gives rise to another

major problem. Once anger is suppressed, it does not just go inside one’s system

and disappear from there into thin air. On the contrary, suppressed anger has a

tendency to accumulate inside, and if nothing is done to positively channelize it, it

can consume a person from within. Worse yet, it can metamorphose and transform

itself into a host of other negative emotions, impulses, and feelings such as

bitterness or jealousy or suspicion or resentment or lifelong hatred and enmity of

the person who has provoked the anger in the first instance.

In both cases, the accumulation of anger from within is going to lead the

person to commit acts that will have some very evil, pernicious, devastating,

deleterious and harmful consequences and ramifications for him or her – both in

this world as well as in the Hereafter.

As a wise man once said: “Resentment is like taking poison and hoping the other

guy dies.” In other words, when we resent others or harbour grudges against them,


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we hurt only ourselves, and suffer as a result. We do not harm the person we resent

in the least by resenting him or her. In fact, as another wise saying goes, “holding a

grudge is like letting someone (i.e. your enemy against whom you harbour the

grudge) live rent-free inside of your head!”

FORGIVENESS AS AN INTEGRAL STEP IN THE QURANIC

APPROACH TO ANGER MANAGEMENT

To save us from all the gratuitous and counterproductive emotional baggage that

may develop inside of us if we simply swallow our anger and do nothing to

positively channel it out, the Quran provides us with a truly beautiful solution that is

guaranteed to nip the evil in the bud. The solution is: forgiveness.

Forgiveness has the power to dilute and neutralise pent up anger, and not

only helps in alleviating it but also in eliminating it completely.

For this reason, the Quran actively exhorts and urges the believers to adopt a

forgiving attitude towards their fellow human beings. In Surah Noor, God Almighty

Says:

وليعفوا وال يأتل أولو الفضل منكم والسعة أن يؤتوا أولي القربى والمساكين والمهاجرين في س بيل للا

غفورر رحيمر وليصفحوا أال تحبون أن يغفر للا لكم وللا

“Let not those among you who are endued with grace and amplitude of means

resolve by oath against helping their kinsmen, those in want, and those who have

left their homes in Allah's cause: let them forgive and overlook, do you not wish

that Allah should forgive you? For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”xiii

It is true that sometimes forgiving someone who has done you wrong can be

very difficult, but after understanding and internalising the message of this verse, it

becomes so much easier. This is so because this verse awakens and sensitises us to

the fact that just as someone under our authority may have provoked our anger by

making a mistake, we too have disobeyed Him who has greater authority over us; if

we want that supreme Authority to show us forgiveness and pardon our sins,

shortcomings, and wrongdoings, then we need to do the same with those who have

angered us by wronging us as well.

In fact, the Quran not only recommends that we show forgiveness to our

fellow believers, but rather it even teaches believers to extend forgiveness to

unbelievers and non-Muslims. In Surah Jaathiyah, God Almighty admonishes and

exhorts the believers to be forgiving towards those who don’t have faith:

ليجزي قوما بما كانوا يكسبون قل للذين آمنوا ي غفروا للذين ال يرجون أيام للا


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“Tell those who believe, to forgive those who do not look forward to the Days of

Allah: It is for Him to recompense (for good or ill) each People according to what

they have earned.”xiv

Not adopting a forgiving attitude towards one’s fellow human beings is not

without its adverse and pernicious consequences both here and in the Hereafter. Not

forgiving those who anger us means that our anger for them remains bottled up

inside of us and slowly and gradually transforms itself into a variety of negative

emotional feelings such as resentment, malice, and ill will, and this kind of

emotional baggage ultimately harms us more than anyone else.

As mentioned earlier, resentment is like swallowing poison while hoping the

other guy dies, or better yet, resentment is the real estate equivalent of letting the

person you resent live inside your head rent-free.

But the deleterious consequences are not limited to this world only. Imam Jafar bin

Mohammad al Sadiq (as) narrates from the Prophet Mohamad (Saww) that he said:

ومن عن أبي عبد هللا الصادق )ع( قال: قال رسول هللا )ص(: إقبلوا العذر من كل متنصل محقا كان أو مبطال،

لم يقبل العذر منه فال نالته شفاعتي.

“Whenever someone apologises to you, accept his/her apology, regardless of

whether the excuses he/she presents in the apology are plausible or not. Whoever

does not accept apologies, then may he be deprived of my intercession.”xv

This Hadith is essentially teaching us that we should be easy-going and

forgiving, and that we should not analyse or scrutinise the excuses people offer us

in their apologies, rather once a person says he is sorry, we should just forgive the

person instead of giving them a tough time. There are indeed some people who find

it extremely difficult to forgive and forget. Such people, the Prophet (Saww) warns,

will not receive his intercession. Indeed such people do not deserve the Prophet’s

intercession.

Why should the Prophet plead with Allah to forgive the mistakes and shortcomings

of a person who used to arrogantly refuse to forgive and overlook the oversights

and mistakes of his or her fellow human beings?

Being deprived of the Prophet’s intercession, therefore, seems to be a fitting

punishment for such inconsiderate and merciless people.


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As for the positive outcomes promised for those who are forgiving, we have

the following narration from Imam Sadiq (as):

رسول هللا )ص(: عليكم بالعفو، فإن العفو ال يزيد العبد إال عزا، فتعافوا يعزكم عن أبي عبد هللا )ع( قال : قال

هللا.

“I advise you to act with forgiveness, because forgiveness only elevates the status

of a servant. Therefore, forgive one another, Allah will give you a high and lofty

status.”xvi

This notion is reiterated in other narrations as well. In another narration we are told

that Prophet Musa (as) addressed God with the following question:

قال موسى بن عمران: يا رب من أعز عبادك عندك؟ قال: من إذا قدر غفر! )رواه البيهقي(.

“O Lord, who is the dearest of your servants to You? He (God) replied: “He who

forgives when he has the power to punish.”xvii

Another narration highlights the special honours that will be received by

people who were very forgiving of others:

مناد يوم القيامة : أال من كان له على هللا أجر فليقم، فال يقوم إال من عفا ينادي قال اإلمام موسى الكاظم )ع(:

وأصلح، فأجره على هللا.

Imam Musa al Kaazim (as) reports: “On the day of judgement, an announcer will

make the following announcement: whoever has the promise of a (special) reward

from Allah should present himself for the receipt of the award. When this

announcement will be made, none shall present themselves for it except those who

forgave and reconciled, so their reward shall be with Allah.”xviii

This narration contains an allusion to the verse of Surah Shoora in which God

Almighty Says:

المين إنه ال يحب الظ وجزاء سي ئة سي ئةر مثلها فمن عفا وأصلح فأجره على للا

“The recompense for an injury is an injury equal thereto (in degree): but if a person

forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from Allah: for (Allah) loveth

not those who do wrong.”xix

According to some dictionaries, to ‘forgive’ implies not only giving up on

the idea of punishment or retaliation, but also relinquishing any feelings of

resentment or vengefulness. As such, forgiveness is the best way to get rid of

bottled up anger, and in the light of this, it is not surprising to see that the Quran

mentions forgiveness as a quality that God-fearing people have in them

immediately after mentioning the quality of swallowing anger in 03: 133.

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL UNDERPINNING OF ANGER IN

ARABIC SOURCES

The Classical Arabic sources provide us with a narration that is very useful in

helping us uncover and unearth the deep-seated psychological underpinnings of


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anger and rage. The narration in question has been transmitted on the authority of

Imam Sadiq (as) as follows:

الحواريون لعيسى بن مريم )ع( : يا معلم الخير عل منا أي الشياء أشد؟ فقال عن أبي عبد هللا )ع( قال: قال

)ع(: أشد الشياء غضب هللا عز وجل. قالوا: فبما يتقى غضب هللا؟ قال )ع(: بأن ال تغضبوا. قال: وما بدء

الغضب؟ قال )ع(: الكبر والتجبر ومحقرة الناس.

“The disciples said to Isa son of Maryam (as): O teacher of goodness, teach us what

is the deadliest and most dangerous of all things. He replied: The deadliest and most

dangerous of all things is the Wrath of Allah, the Almighty, the Exalted. They (i.e.

the disciples) said: so how can we save ourselves from the Wrath of God. He

replied: by not getting angry yourself. They asked: What is the root cause of anger?

He replied: Pride/arrogance, haughtiness, and contempt for people.”xx

This narration gives us useful insight into why anger is regarded as such an

evil impulse. It is not so much that anger in itself is a negative feeling or evil

impulse, rather it is what lies beneath it and underpins it that represents the true

problem.

Anger is symptomatic of another more complex, deadly and spiritually

lethal human vice, and that is pride and arrogance. When a person has a very

inflated opinion of himself and thinks very highly of himself, then such a person is

more prone to uncontrolled outbursts of anger at the slightest feeling that his self-

worth has been compromised. If such feelings are accompanied by a concurrent

disregard and contempt for other people, then such a person is definitely more

likely to lose his temper on others.

Anger has a very natural, deep, and intimate connection and relationship

with pride. In fact, it would not be wrong to say that anger is sometimes nothing

more than one of the multiple manifestations of pride. It is a conduit for its

transmission and a channel for its outburst. Anger is therefore the inevitable

outcome and corollary of pride.

Of course, in some instances, anger can simply be an uncontrolled and spontaneous

outburst of emotions resulting from human weaknesses inherent in the very nature

and personality of a person. But in other cases, it can take the form of a calculated

outburst, and this is especially so in the case of people who suffer from spiritual

ailments and diseases like pride, arrogance, and superiority complex.

According to Prophet Isa (as), pride is the underpinning of the deadliest and

most pernicious forms of anger. Perhaps that is why, Christianity, even today, has a

fairly clear concept of this. Those who have studied Christian theology must be

familiar with the concept of the “Seven deadly sins”. Many may have heard of this

concept in the context of the release of an updated version of the “seven deadly


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sins” in March 2008, which was the subject of the usual media hype and fixation.

The list contained some new deadly sins such as drug abuse and environmental

pollution which had not been included in the list previously but which the Vatican

felt needed to be included in light of modern developments. However, in classical

Christian theology as it was promulgated in the medieval period, the seven deadly

sins were listed as pride, covetousness, lust, envy, gluttony, anger and sloth. These

sins were termed ‘deadly’ because according to the Christian teaching, these mortal

sins and vices were such that they put the soul of anyone involved in them in peril

of eternal damnation. It was taught that anyone guilty of any of these evils would

rot and burn in hell forever, unless the doer were to repent by the act of confession.

What is particularly relevant and noteworthy for us, in the context of our

discussion on anger and the subtle yet profound links and connections it has with

pride, is the fact that both ‘anger’ and ‘pride’ have been listed as deadly, cardinal,

mortal sins in the official list.

It is also interesting to note that among all these sins and vices, pride has been given

primary importance and attention as can be seen from the fact that it has been

placed at the head of the list and is mentioned before all other sins.

Theologians have explained the reason for this by pointing out that ‘pride’ was the

vice which triggered and motivated the first known sin and act of defiance against

God ever, and led to the expulsion of Satan from the domain of God’s Mercy and

His Grace.

Indeed the classical Arabic sources also present us with a similar picture and

confirm that pride was at the root of Satan’s rebellion against God as well as his fall

from Grace.

In his iconic and deeply insightful sermon entitled Al Qaasiah, Imam Ali bin Abi

Talib (as) remarks:

ال "فاعتبروا بما كان من فعل هللا بإبليس إذ أحبط عمله الطويل وجهده الجهيد، وكان قد عبد هللا ستة آالف سنة

يدرى أمن سنين الدنيا أم من سنين اآلخرة عن كبر ساعة واحدة، فمن ذا بعد إبليس يسلم على هللا بمثل

معصيته؟

كال ما كان هللا سبحانه ليدخل الجنة بشرا بأمر أخرج به منها ملكا. إن حكمه في أهل السماء وأهل الرض

مه على العالمين."لواحد، وما بين هللا وبين أحد من خلقه هوادة في إباحة حم ى حر

“You should take a lesson from how Allah dealt with Satan, when He nullified

(annihilated, obliterated, wiped clean in one stroke) the record of his great acts and

extensive efforts on account of the vanity (arrogance) of one moment. Iblees had

worshipped Allah for six thousand years, and it is not known whether these were

earthly years or heavenly years. Who, then, can remain safe from Allah’s Wrath and

Retribution after Satan by/while committing a similar disobedience?


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Never and none at all, for Allah the Glorified would not let a human being enter

paradise after committing a sin for which He expelled an angel from it.xxi

His

command for the inhabitants of the sky and the inhabitants of the earth is one and

the same. There is no special relationship between Allah and any of His creations

which might entitle that creation to a license for violating a sanctuary which he has

deemed off limits for all and sundry.”xxii

The Arabic sources also teach us that arrogance and pride are qualities for

which God Almighty has a zero tolerance policy. This can be seen from numerous

reports such as the following one by Imam Sadiq (as):

ال يدخل الجنة من في قلبه مثقال ذرة من كبر.

“He who has even an atom’s weight of pride in him shall not enter paradise.”xxiii

In the final analysis, subduing anger and bringing it under control represents

one of the most difficult challenges that one has to surmount in order to secure

one’s salvation in the afterlife. It is for this reason that Arabic sources place such

great emphasis on the necessity of developing positive and constructive methods for

anger management and devote such importance to adopting practical and viable

solutions and strategies and employing them wisely in order to rein in this

dangerous and destructive human impulse.

CONCLUSION

The Quran and Hadith both make it clear that one cannot attain Taqwa

without mastering the art of controlling one’s anger and learning to forgive those

who provoke it. Our sources further emphasise the role of forgiveness in

neutralising anger and purifying our hearts and minds of any negative emotional

residues bottled up anger may leave inside us. Great material as well as spiritual

rewards are promised for those who battle their inner self and overcome this deadly

impulse.


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NOTES AND REFRENCES

i . The Quran: 03: 133-134.

ii . Al Harrani, Tuhaf al Uqool, pg. 362.

iii . Al Tabarsi, Mishkaatul Anwaar, p. 751 (Hadith no. 1795).

iv . Al Kulayni, Al Kaafi, vol. 2, p. 303; Imani, Bundle of Flowers, p. 238 (Hadith no. 428).

v . Al Hindi, Al Muttaqi, Kanzul Ummal, vol. 3, p. 131 (Hadith no. 5823).

vi . Eshtehardi, Fascinating Discourses of 14 Infallibles, p. 182 (Hadith no. 23).

vii . Imani, Bundle of Flowers, pp. 237-238.

viii . Al Hashimi, Mukhtaarul Ahaadith, p. 144 (Hadith no. 22).

ix . I think we should apportion the lion’s share of blame for this idea to Sigmund Freud

because he is the one who propounded and promoted it in modern western thought

perhaps more than anyone else.

x . Abrams, A Glossary of Literary Terms, Seventh Edition, p. 322.

xi . Lilienfeld, Scott O., et al., 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering

Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behaviour, pp. 55-56.

xii . The Quran: 42: 37.

xiii . The Quran: 24: 22.

xiv . The Quran: 45: 14.

xv . Al Tabarsi, Mishkaatul Anwaar, p. 573 (Hadith 1354).

xvi . Al Tabarsi, Mishkaatul Anwaar, p. 571 (Hadith no. 1348).

xvii . Al Hashimi, Mukhtaarul Ahaadith, p. 99 (Hadith no. 27).

xviii . Al Dakhayyul, Imam Musa al Kadhim (as), p. 42 (Hadith no. 6).

xix . The Quran: 42: 40.

xx . The World Federation, Exhortations of Prophet Isa (as) – 40 Ahadith, p. 27 (Hadith no. 27).

xxi . Technically speaking, Iblees was not an angel; rather he was from among the Jinn, as

the Quran states in 18: 50. The Imam (as) has referred to him here as an angel probably

because he was treated on par with angels, and perhaps even outranked several of the

senior angels, hence the Imam refers to him as an angel to highlight and emphasise his

rank and position, and not his actual nature or essence.

xxii . Al Radhi, Nahjol Balaagha, “Sermon 191”, p. 409.

xxiii . Al Kulayni, Al Kaafi, vol. 2, p. 310; Imani, Bundle of Flowers, p. 209.


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