Spiritual Values from the Quran

is able to control his temper whenever the fire of anger begins to smoulder in his heart. Anger is not an evil. It is a part of human nature. In fact, anger is a negative expression of a healthy aspect of human nature. A human being is a sensitive animal endowed with conscience which tells him what is good and what is bad. So, it is but natural that when he sees some unprincipled behaviour or an immoral act, he becomes disturbed. But in such a situation, there are two options: to show a negative reaction or give a positive response. A person of elevated character is one who has the ability to give a positive response at that time. A negative response arises out of hate, whereas a positive response flows from love and compassion. The message of the Quranic verse is: Do not give a hateful reaction but try rather to give a response out of well-wishing. Anger is generally the result of provocation, and provocation is a test of your capacity to exercise self-control. It useful to view provocation simply as a challenge to your imperturbability. So at the time of provocation, prove to be a person who can maintain his or her equilibrium and rise above all irritants. Be the master of your negative sentiments. This upholds the true dignity of human beings, both men and women. Do Not Provoke Others During the Prophet’s time, some of his companions used objectionable language against the gods of the non-believers. This resulted in a reaction from the other party. In this situation, the Quran gave a very important piece of advice to the believers. This is recorded as follows in the chapter Al-An‘am (The Cattle):