Sharḥ Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (3/615)

77 – Chapter on becoming angry when the sanctities of the Law are violated and on taking a stand for the religion of Allah the Exalted

Allah the Exalted says: “Whoever venerates the sacred ordinances of Allah—that is best for him in the sight of his Lord” (al-Hajj 22:30).
And He the Exalted says: “O you who believe, if you help Allah, He will help you and make your feet firm” (Muhammad 47:7).

Several hadiths fall under this heading, among them:

1/649 – Abu Masʿūd ʿUqbah ibn ʿAmr al-Badri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, “I stay back from the dawn prayer because of so-and-so, for he makes it too long for us!” I never saw the Prophet ﷺ become more angry while giving an admonition than he did on that day. He said, “O people, some of you are driving others away! Whoever leads the people in prayer should keep it brief, for behind him are the elderly, the young, and those with needs.” Agreed upon.

[Commentary]

Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Nawawī, may Allah have mercy on him, states in his book Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn: Chapter on becoming angry when the sanctities of the Law are violated and on defending the religion of Allah.

Anger has several causes. One of them is that a person seeks to avenge himself: someone does something to him that angers him, so he becomes angry in order to champion his own cause. This type of anger is prohibited, for a man once asked the Prophet ﷺ, “Give me counsel,” and he replied, “Do not become angry.” He repeated his request several times, each time the Prophet said:

٧٧- باب الغضب إذا انتهكت حرمات الشّرع والانتصار لدين الله تعالى قال الله تعالى: (وَمَنْ يُعَظِّمْ حُرُمَاتِ اللَّهِ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِِ) (الحج: ٣٠) وقال تعالى: (يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنْ تَنْصُرُوا اللَّهَ يَنْصُرْكُمْ وَيُثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَكُمْ) (محمد: ٧) وفي الباب أحاديث منها. ١/٦٤٩- وعن أبي مسعودٍ عُقبة بن عمرو البدري ﵁ قال: جاء رجل إلى النبي ﷺ فقال: إني لأتأخرُ عن صلاة الصبح من أجل فلان مما يطيل بنا! فما رأيت النبي ﷺ غضب في موعظة قط أشد مما غضب يومئذ؛ فقال: ((يا أيها الناس: إن منك منفرين، فأيكم أم الناس فليتجوز؛ فإن من ورائه الكبير والصغير وذا الحاجة)) متفق عليه. [الشَّرْحُ] قال الحافظ النووي رحمه الله تعالى في كتابه رياض الصالحين، باب الغضب إذا انتهكت حرمات الشرع، والانتصار لدين الله. والغضب له عدة أسباب؛ منها أن ينتصر الإنسان لنفسه؛ يفعل أحدٌ معه ما يغضبه فيغضب لينتصر لنفسه، وهذا الغضب منهيٌّ عنه؛ لأن رجلاً سأل النبي ﷺ قال له: أوصني، قال: ((لا تغضب)) فردد مراراً يقول: