Learning Knowledge and Controlling Anger

Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm

Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam says,

“إِنَّمَا الْعِلْمُ بِالتَّعَلُّمِ، وَإِنَّمَا الْحِلْمُ بِالتَّحَلُّمِ”

“Knowledge is only by learning, and patience is only by exerting oneself to be patient.”

How is knowledge learned? It is only by learning. Students learn gradually. Knowledge is not learned all at once. A person cannot do everything at once. You cannot become a scholar at once. You cannot become a knowledgeable one at once. One learns slowly; one day, two days, five days, ten days. No matter how much, there is no end to knowledge anyway. No matter how much you learn, there will still be many things to learn. There is no end to knowledge.

“وَإِنَّمَا الْحِلْمُ بِالتَّحَلُّمِ”. To be Halīm, forbearing. Halīm means to restrain your anger, to control your anger. How does that happen? That also happens gradually. Every time you get angry, “I must get rid of this anger. We will be better tomorrow. We will be better the next day.” One must do so. Now they come and tell us, “We get very angry. How can we get rid of that?” A human is not like a paint jar. You put it in then take it out and it will end your anger. It cannot happen like that. Slowly, slowly.

Every time you get angry, control your anger, you get rid of that anger. You restrain yourself from it. You control yourself. Because they say that those who rise with anger sit down with harm. It is exactly like that. Little by little, a person can control his anger. Of course, it also happens with someone making du’ā’ for you. Du’ā’ also happens gradually; it doesn’t happen all at once. If he makes du’ā’, it will happen, in shā’a Llāh.

But the most important thing is to make an effort yourself: both to learn more in terms of knowledge, to learn more every day; and to control your anger. That is also day by day, day by day. He can control himself then, in shā’a Llāh. Because the biggest thing now – it has been like that in every time, but now it’s much worse. Now they’ve given you such a thing that the more you get angry, the better it will be for you.

This is the instruction of the shayṭān; nothing else. “Fight with everyone. Fight with your mother, with your father, with your siblings, with your wife, with your husband. Fight with everyone. Don’t be silent. I don’t know what will happen if you keep quiet.” No, you must keep quiet. If you don’t keep quiet, you will either get beaten, or worse things could happen. May Allāh ﷻ protect you.

That’s why, anger is not good. It’s the will of our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam. A companion came and said, “Tell me something.” He ﷺ said, “Lā taghdab,” don’t get angry. Then, he ﷺ said again, “Lā taghdab.” Our Prophet ﷺ said again, don’t get angry. The companion said, “If I had asked until the morning, I knew that our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam would have said the same thing.”

So after saying it the fifth time, the companion didn’t say anything anymore. So this is for the whole ummah. Anger is not a good thing, it is useless. Especially if you get angry about unnecessary things, it will eat you up for nothing. May Allāh ﷻ protect us. Wa min Allah at-Tawfiq.

Al-Fatiha.

• Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbaniق

21 April 2025/ 23 Shawwal 1446

Fajr Prayer – Akbaba Dergah, Istanbul