Anger management: a psychotherapy sufistic approach

Abstract

Anger is a natural emotion of a normal human being. It arises from the inner soul and it is usually expressed in 2 major forms: Through speech and action. Angry speech can be detected in the form of conversation such as slandering, verbal abuse, gossip and other dirty talk. Anger in action is expressed through the physical acts of violence. Feelings of anger cannot be excluded from the human soul at all. Without anger the struggle against evil will not happen. The existence of anger is very important in an individual. To the sufis it is like a hunting dog, it needs a particular command and is guided by the owner. It goes to show that the right knowledge of anger is paramount to the avoidance of its misuse. As such, the attribute of anger should be harmonized and regulated by laws of God in order to guide the soul towards divine. Anger may be regarded as a function of the defence of truth and the fight against evil. This study attempts to analyze the attribute of anger from the perspective of Islamic sufism. The thoughts of Al-Ghazali, Al-Maqdisi and Al-Sulami in relation to anger management will be studied.