for anger is a burning coal that Satan hurls into a person’s heart until it boils within him. That is why the jugular veins—the blood vessels—swell, the eyes grow red, and the person is propelled into conduct for which he later feels remorse.

The Prophet ﷺ singled this man out with the counsel, “Do not become angry,” instead of advising him to fear Allah, perform the prayer, fast, and the like, because the man’s own circumstances required such advice. For other Companions he prescribed different practices: he counselled Abū Hurayrah to fast three days of every month and to pray witr before sleeping, and he gave Abū al-Dardāʾ the same instruction. But to this man he said, “Do not become angry,” for the Prophet ﷺ knew that he was quick-tempered and frequently enraged; hence the command, “Do not become angry.”

Anger can impel a person to utter words of disbelief, to divorce his wife, to strike his mother, or to be disobedient to his father, as is plain for all to see. Once the moment passes, the person cools down and is seized by bitter regret. How often we hear people say, “I was angry with my wife and I divorced her,” “I lost my temper and pronounced triple divorce,” “I was furious with so-and-so and declared her forbidden to me,” and the like. So do not get angry. Do not get angry, for anger undoubtedly affects a person until he behaves like someone deranged.

For that reason some scholars have said: if a person becomes so violently angry that he no longer knows what he is saying, then his words carry no legal weight and produce no effect. Should he pronounce divorce, his wife is not divorced; should he supplicate, his prayer is not answered, because he is speaking without reason or awareness. We ask Allah to grant us and you well-being and safety.