rather, he should strive to acquire it. This is how the Prophet’s ﷺ statement to the man who said, “Advise me,” should be understood. He replied: “Do not become angry.” (1) Did the Messenger ﷺ forbid him from something innate, with which a person is naturally created?

The answer is no, because forbidding what cannot be carried out would be to demand the impossible and impose what is beyond one’s ability. Rather, the meaning of his statement, “Do not become angry,” is: Do not accustom yourself to anger. Likewise, regarding the judge from whom we have required strength without harshness and gentleness without weakness: if he says, “This is my natural disposition; I am hot-tempered and harsh,” we say to him: Train yourself. And to the weak person we say: Train yourself to be strong, and establish an aura of authority before the litigant, so that your court will be respected and not treated as a playground.

His statement, “forbearing,” means being slow to anger and not easily provoked, in light of the Prophet’s ﷺ saying: “Do not become angry.” Judges are among those most entitled to this advice, for if a judge is quick to anger, anger is an ember that Satan casts into the heart of the son of Adam: his jugular veins swell, his eyes redden, and his hair stands on end. He is then unable to grasp the case properly or apply the rulings of the Sacred Law to it. Hence the Prophet ﷺ said: “A judge must not pass judgment while angry.” (2) Thus, he should be forbearing, but forbearing where forbearance is appropriate, and punitive