Anger Engine - 7

When you have the power and when you are angry, you are within a dangerous context. The same context, however, is necessary for the realization of utterly needed transformations that are later going to be named as "historic revolution". Eliminating the problems that have been ailing the society for too long needs such a dangerous juxtaposition as anger and power. Keeping that anger and power under control, however, is essential in order for this historic transformation to be for the good of everybody. Speaking of control, there are two extremes that must be avoided. One, you must make sure that you are not going beyond the limits and committing oppression while conducting your rightful mission. A proper target does not justify the unjust means to it. Two, you must avoid falling into the misuse of mercy when delivering justice related to the past events. Forgiveness must be exercised in a way not to encourage those committed to evil.

It is not fitting for a prophet that he should have prisoners of war until he has thoroughly subdued the land. You look for the temporal goods of this world; but Allah looks to the Hereafter: And Allah is Exalted in might, Wise. (8/67)

The above verse was revealed after the battle of Badr, when the Muslims had given the Meccan oppressors an unexpected and a dire blow. The details of this event can be read from the relevant sources. My intention here is to focus on the two points I raised above. Here, the Ruler of the universe tells His messenger that a lesson of mercy cannot be taught to the minds that have learned to exercise their own will through killing the innocent and stealing from the weak. A lesson of tolerance cannot be learned by the minds that have uprooted freedom of thought and expression through ways including, but not limited to, torture and pressure.

Such was the case with the Meccan opponents against the first Muslims. A permanent lesson had to be given to the evildoers so that the people in the aftermath will not dare to repeat the same. At this conjunction, forgiving even the most evil act sends the message that "you can get away with whatever you do". Plus, a temporary loss on the side of those evil people will seed a revenge. All of these must be blocked. Besides, those who were not as evil but were siding with the evil group for whatever reason must understand that they are given a free will in order to choose to counteract the evil pushes from people and from devil. Lack of good will and simply joining the crowds is not a valid excuse to support evil will.

If these sound to harsh for you, remember that it is the similar behavior on your side that led to the conditions in which you felt the anger towards God, because He was keeping you under heavy loads with no "apparent" reason. It took a long time and grave losses in order for you to realize things. The same is true of the other side. Psychology of herd and the psychology surrounding the status-quo are the same, no matter under what banner they are present, be them religious or otherwise.

So, let's delve into the first topic: not committing injustice when exercising power. It is very easy to misguide a person who is angry and who holds power. With unsubstantiated news and rumors, one can lead another person to give undeserved or excessive punishments. It is crucial at this point to cling to the basic principles of justice:

• a person is innocent unless proven otherwise
• benefit of doubt goes to the suspect
• crime is individual; hence no crime by affiliation
• crime and punishment must be proportional
• penalty is the same regardless of the identity of the criminal

Although these principles of justice have been established and known for long, they are violated many times due to pressure from outside or prejudice from inside. Both are not fitting to a believer: 

O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allah , witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do. (5/8)

Believers, if one who publicly commits sins brings you any news, ascertain its truthfulness carefully, lest you harm people through ignorance and then regret what you have done. (49/6)

Second topic is not exercising unlimited forgiveness. As explained above, forgiving everything, no matter what, gives the message that individuals can commit anything without having to face any punishments or sanctions. It is important, however, to distinguish between the rights of God and the rights of people. A person not believing in God, i.e. atheists, are committing a crime against God, and it is due to Him to judge the situation. The same is not true of crimes against people, however. If, for example, the freedom of thought, expression and religion or another basic freedom and right of a person is violated by whoever, this violation is deserving of punishment.

Of course similar limitations can be put in place due to authentic reasons supported by proven, concrete crimes. Nevertheless, evil actors who use the public power to abolish the basic freedoms always come up with pretexts to do so, too. Therefore, it is important to distinguish between the limitations taken due to concrete actions and those built on prejudices and evil will. If a person or group has banned the basic individual freedoms and rights without relying on concrete crimes, then that person or group must be punished not only as a recompense to their acts but also as a lesson to the rest of the people.

The recompense of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and do mischief in the land is only that they shall be killed or crucified or their hands and their feet be cut off on the opposite sides, or be exiled from the land. That is their disgrace in this world, and a great torment is theirs in the Hereafter. (5/33)

And those who accuse chaste women and then do not produce four witnesses - lash them with eighty lashes and do not accept from them testimony ever after. And those are the defiantly disobedient, (4/24)

After these two important lessons, remember that anger is not a state that is intended to last forever. It is there for a reason, and once that reason is fulfilled, the lead must be handed to wisdom and mercy. Never-quenching anger is a sign of going astray and itself an invitation for future troubles.

Fight them, Allah will punish them by your hands and bring them to disgrace, and assist you against them and heal the hearts of a believing people. And remove the rage of their hearts; and Allah turns (mercifully) to whom He pleases, and Allah is Knowing, Wise. (9/14-15)

So they defeated them by permission of Allah , and David killed Goliath, and Allah gave him the kingship and prophethood and taught him from that which He willed. And if it were not for Allah checking [some] people by means of others, the earth would have been corrupted, but Allah is full of bounty to the worlds. (2/251)

Relevant Quranic verses to the topic: 

And what is [the matter] with you that you fight not in the cause of Allah and [for] the oppressed among men, women, and children who say, "Our Lord, take us out of this city of oppressive people and appoint for us from Yourself a protector and appoint for us from Yourself a helper?" (4/75)

Have you not seen those who were told, "Restrain your hands [from fighting] and establish prayer and give zakah"? But then when fighting was ordained for them, at once a party of them feared men as they fear Allah or with [even] greater fear. They said, "Our Lord, why have You decreed upon us fighting? If only You had postponed [it for] us for a short time." Say, The enjoyment of this world is little, and the Hereafter is better for he who fears Allah. And injustice will not be done to you, [even] as much as a thread [inside a date seed]." (4/77)

And the thief, male and female: cut off the hands of both, as a recompense for what they have earned, and a punishment exemplary from God; God is All-mighty, All-wise. (5/38)

O you who believe! Whoever of you reverts from his religion, (know that in his stead) Allah will bring a people whom He loves and who loves Him, humble toward believers, stern toward disbelievers, striving in the way of Allah, and not fearing the blame of any blamer. Such is the grace of Allah which He gives unto whom He wills. Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing. (5/54)

O believers, look after your own souls. He who is astray cannot hurt you, if you are rightly guided. Unto God shall you return, all together, and He will tell you what you were doing. (5/105)

And thus have We made in every town its guilty ones become the greatest ones, that they may plan therein; and they do not plan but against their own souls, and they do not perceive. (6/123)

So We make the evildoers friends of each other for what they have earned. (6/129)

Is not Allah sufficient for His servant? And they seek to frighten you with those apart from Him; And whoever Allah leaves astray - for him there is no guide. (39/36)

Verily, We have given you (O Muhammad SAW) a manifest victory. That Allah may forgive for you what preceded of your sin and what will follow and complete His favor upon you and guide you to a straight path And that Allah might help you with a mighty help. It is He who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the believers that they would increase in faith along with their [present] faith. And to Allah belong the soldiers of the heavens and the earth, and ever is Allah Knowing and Wise. (48/1-4)

O believers, take not My enemy and your enemy for friends, offering them love, though they have disbelieved in the truth that has come to you, expelling the Messenger and you because you believe in God your Lord. If you go forth to struggle in My way and seek My good pleasure, secretly loving them, yet I know very well what you conceal and what you publish; and whosoever of you does that, has gone astray from the right way. (60/1)

Anger Engine - 6

The connotation of anger is heat. Indeed, when angry, our body temperature increases and it becomes manifest on our faces. This state of ours, when explosively relieves itself, causes destructive results. Breaking things apart as such does not have to be the case, however. The same energy and power can be channeled to make permanent changes for the better.

In our study of anger towards God, we came to the point where we voluntarily decided to change things in ourselves. We started to work on a more direct and unmediated relationship with him. We were hoping to find, at last, peace with God and peace in our soul through such efforts. To our surprise, however, we realized that our All-Wise Guide wants us to do more and risk more! Why is it not enough for Him that we want to change ourselves?

There are several rays of wisdom shining from this enigma. First, God has different names and attributes, each having a different manifestation. Our state of anger towards Him, although forgivable through His mercy, requires a payment or a sacrifice as atonement. That is why we are pushed towards our limits, which may seem exacerbating the situation; but in fact, that state is a precursor to the peaceful days, as required by His compassion, mercy and generosity (2/214).

Second, the final word of God, Quran, is sent not as a library classic (25/30, 62/5) but as a genetic code to be brought alive through our deliberate and thoughtful actions (13/31, 59/21). Failing to do so is against the will of God. Therefore, He wants us to embrace the Quran wholly, and practice it even if it means going against the status quo, prejudices, social pressure or even if it means material loss (5/54). By pushing us to our limits in different aspects of life, several of them at the same time, the All-Wise Educator is ensuring that we are going to be obliged to explore the entire universe of the Quran. After all, it was us who had invited the tribulations by acting conservatively and risk-free by orbiting around the same, old planet (2/85).

Third, when we make a decision to change things in our selves, while crushed under the pressure of the unfortunate events, this is a reactionary state that is destined to fade by time. It does not warrant a permanent change (44/15). That is, even if we do things for a little while in the way pleasing to God, in the long run, as our feelings and anger sooth, we are likely to return to a robotic and conservative state, devoid of life and change. Quran is there to bring life to our relationship with God through His different names. So, our Lord pushes us to make irreversible changes both in ourselves and around us to cast a permanent improvement. He wants to ensure that we are not going to go back. Of course, He could do this using His infinite will and power, but that is against the notion of free will. So, our tolerant Lord prepares the grounds upon which we are going to take actions willfully. What those actions are depends on who we are and the circumstances we are in. We must read the Quran through the lens of the conditions surrounding us, which are likely to help us see the points that were previously invisible (50/22).

Fourth, if we are amidst unjust and unfair treatments, on one side it is us who must change, but on the other side, our environment must change, too. If God is telling us the signs of change through the tongue of misfortunes, He is also telling us by the same token to change things around ourselves as well. After all, justice and solidarity among people can not be established without healing the existing injustices. After all, the same mistakes are inevitable without changing the minds and paradigms. Ok but, how can you accomplish this daunting task, given that it is your failure thereof that has led to the tribulations and oppression crushing you?

This is where your faith goes into a challenge. If you do what is due to you and change yourself for the better, than on the other side of this contract is your Lord (2/40). He is the one to change what you are unable to. How He makes that happen is a matter of wonder. One thing is for sure, though. When He gives the reins to your hand in order for you to steer things towards the good, you must be ready for it. Realize that you cannot get ready for such mission if you don't get rid of the psychology of herd, if you cannot break free of slave mentality. You cannot prepare grand projects for the future, if your greatest ambitions are about recreating the past, which has been devastated by the Almighty. Looking into prosperous days requires you to trust in the power and will of your Merciful and Wise Lord, who is the cause of all causes.

So, the best time to make changes to ourselves is when we are angry and under pressure. It is also the best time to draft comprehensive plans to be  realized in the future. The readiness of those plans and your commitment thereof are not going to be wasted by the Exquisite Designer of the universe, who dislikes waste (6/95, 7/31). He is going to prepare not only the conditions but also the people so that you can achieve in short time what would be impossible for you otherwise.

GET READY.

Relevant Quranic verses to the topic: 

Children of Israel, recall My favors which you enjoyed. Fulfill your covenant with Me and I shall fulfill Mine. Revere only Me. (2/40)

... So do you believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in part? Then what is the recompense for those who do that among you except disgrace in worldly life; and on the Day of Resurrection they will be sent back to the severest of punishment. And Allah is not unaware of what you do. (2/85)

Or do you think that you will enter Paradise while such [trial] has not yet come to you as came to those who passed on before you? They were touched by poverty and hardship and were shaken until [even their] messenger and those who believed with him said,"When is the help of Allah ?" Unquestionably, the help of Allah is near. (2/214)

And what is [the matter] with you that you fight not in the cause of Allah and [for] the oppressed among men, women, and children who say, "Our Lord, take us out of this city of oppressive people and appoint for us from Yourself a protector and appoint for us from Yourself a helper?" (4/75)

O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allah , witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do. (5/8)

O you who believe! Whoever of you reverts from his religion, (know that in his stead) Allah will bring a people whom He loves and who loves Him, humble toward believers, stern toward disbelievers, striving in the way of Allah, and not fearing the blame of any blamer. Such is the grace of Allah which He gives unto whom He wills. Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing. (5/54)

O believers, look after your own souls. He who is astray cannot hurt you, if you are rightly guided. Unto God shall you return, all together, and He will tell you what you were doing. (5/105)

Indeed We sent to nations before thee, and We seized them with misery and hardship that they might be humble; Then why, when Our punishment came to them, did they not humble themselves? But their hearts became hardened, and Satan made attractive to them that which they were doing. Then, when they forgot that by which they had been reminded, We opened unto them the gates of all things till, even as they were rejoicing in that which they were given, We seized them unawares, and lo! they were dumbfounded. (6/42-44)

Surely Allah causes the grain and the stone to germinate; He brings forth the living from the dead and He is the bringer forth of the dead from the living; that is Allah! how are you then turned away. (6/95)

O Children of Adam! wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer: eat and drink: But waste not by excess, for Allah loveth not the wasters. (7/31)

And if there was any qur'an by which the mountains would be removed or the earth would be broken apart or the dead would be made to speak, [it would be this Qur'an], ... (13/31)

And the Messenger cried out: O my Lord! surely my people have treated this Quran as a forsaken thing. (25/30)

And those who strive for Us - We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good. (29/69)

We shall remove the torment for a while but you will revert to your old ways. (44/15)

Certainly you were heedless of it, but now We have removed from you your veil, so your sight today is sharp. (50/22)

Had We sent down this Quran on a mountain, you would surely have seen it humbling itself and rending asunder by the fear of Allah. Such are the parables which We put forward to mankind that they may reflect . (59/21)

The example of those who were entrusted with the Torah and then did not take it on is like that of a donkey who carries volumes [of books]. Wretched is the example of the people who deny the signs of Allah. And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people. (62/5)

Anger Engine - 4

"Till, when the Messengers despaired, deeming they were counted liars, Our help came to them and whosoever We willed was delivered. Our might will never be turned back from the people of the sinners." (12/110)

If you are subjected to unrelenting misfortunes, that means you are forced by the destiny to change. You may be aware of this or not but, things will never be the same again because of the sufferings that have carved their memories permanently into your memory. You subconscious has developed an immune reaction towards the conditions that brought about your misery. Even if you consciously have not understood this situation yet, your brain is more intelligent than you! That's why it thinks on your behalf, when it realizes that you are not taking proper action. If, on the other hand, you have pondered on the events and critically analyzed things, you sure have made some conclusions to seed the change in your life.

Thus was the situation of the Muslim world a century ago. Wars and conflicts that claimed the lives of millions and killed the hopes of the survivors forged the people in ways that was impossible otherwise. I am saying this, but that should not be understood as an indifference to human suffering. Rather, I want to take a picture of the past, now that we are far enough from it. The signs of a need for change were knocking on the doors of the believers, but they consistently managed to convince themselves otherwise, and backed up their position using the holy sources. So, until those cruel times, the Muslims, especially the scholars, had full conviction about their truthfulness according to their understanding of the revealed word of God. Accordingly, they went on with their critique-lacking and politically-guided ways of life that they had learned from their intellectual forebearers. So, they repeatedly worked hard to disregard the deteriorating situations in favor of their millennium-long understandings. Doing so, they closed their eyes to the creation unfolding before their eyes, but they forgot the fact that creation is also the word of God in the process of revelation, if you are willing to heed. That is why ease comes out from embracing the creation, and the oppposite from deeming yourself immune to the winds of change.

But as for him who is a miser, and self-sufficient, And rejects the best, We will ease him toward difficulty. (92/8-10)

The discrepancy between what has been told you about God's will and what is happening outside was the reason of your anger against God. Now that the body of scholars and their teachings have lost reputation, and now that the community of believers, that has been acting not as a support for the good but as an obstacle against change, has been dismantled, you are ready for a brand new meeting with God, His messenger and His word. A meeting that will take place along with other individuals who are ready to embark on an adventure towards God through uncharted territories, using the vehicles of insight and will power:

Say: "This is my way: I invite to Allah with insight (on evidence clear as the seeing with one's eyes), I and whoever follows me. Glory to Allah!... (12/108)

O you who believe! Whoever of you reverts from his religion, (know that in his stead) Allah will bring a people whom He loves and who loves Him, humble toward believers, stern toward disbelievers, striving in the way of Allah, and not fearing the blame of any blamer. Such is the grace of Allah which He gives unto whom He wills. Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing. (5/54)

Nevertheless, as the saying goes, flowers make their blooms with the rain, while the snakes make their venom with the same. A time of rebirth brings its own challenges. That is, the properties of those blessed ones foretold in the verses above can also be understood as admonishment for not straying once again!

That is because Allah would not change a favor which He had bestowed upon a people until they change what is within themselves. And indeed, Allah is Hearing and Knowing. (8/53)

Anger Engine - 3

Prophet Muhammad pbuh recommends taking action to calm your anger, when you feel so.

"When one of you becomes angry while standing, he should sit down. If the anger leaves him, well and good; otherwise he should lie down." (Abu Dawud, 4782, Grade: sahih)

“Anger comes from the devil, the devil was created of fire, and fire is extinguished only by water; so when one of you becomes angry, he should perform ablution.” (Abu Dawud, 4784, Grade: weak)

How can this recommendation shed light on our topic? What does it mean to sit down, for example, in case of anger towards God? Remember that anger narrows our focus and initiates actions that will remove the source of anger, not through the wisest but, through the shortest and quickest path. This kind of reaction, though, is detrimental in the case of faith. So, sitting or lying down when you are angry with God could mean, first, not to speak or act as if you are an unbeliever. That, however, doesn't mean suppressing your thoughts and feelings. Inside, you must discuss your matters with God, and when you are done making your point clear, you should listen to Him through all possible "ears". What are those ears? They are any language through which God can convey you a message. This can be His revealed book, serendipitous life events, natural events or nature itself, inspirations...

At this point, you may remember from the previous episode that a wisdom behind your situation could be that you were expected to "attack" your faith, but you failed to do so, hence your current situation. However cruel and outrageous it may sound, the real meaning hidden here is that, as a believer, you are not supposed to be a blind imitator; not according to Islam, at least. That's why God does not leave you on your own, sufficing with your confession of your belief in Him (29/2-3). Rather, He wants you to keep going and live adventures so that you can experience different manifestations of His names. This kind of life is going to increase your knowledge of God, make your faith in Him more authentic. Failing to do so, however, is going to leave your faith as a dry imitation, waiting to be crunched under the weight of life events. In short, as a human being, you are meant to make experiments with your faith, which may seem as attacking your faith, but which actually is a transformation of yourself to "faith in flesh and bone". 

In the story of Moses pbuh, we read many of such experiments. Although told by God to do certain things, from a purely human perspective, it is a suicidal idea for Moses to go to pharaoh both because he is accused of a murder and because he is going to dare to ask the unacceptable from the pharaoh. But Moses does it. Later on in his story, we see that at some point, after seeing the persistance of the pharaoh in disbelief and in oppressing the children of Israel, he goes really angry with the situation, because Moses does know that it is God who gave the pharaoh that wealth and power, by which he is exercising all kinds of evil acts, and that it is God who keeps the pharaoh in that highly capable position despite those evil acts. And yet, it is the same God who sends Moses to dare the impossible and risk everything. Seeing the inertia of the events and people, the mental constructs of Moses shake and he raises a reproach to God, followed by an angry prayer against the evildoers (10/88). Still, he wilfully goes on with submitting to God and with his God-given mission.

A similar occasion of reproach takes place following the visit of prophet Muhammad to Taif. After he invites the inhabitants of Taif to Islam, or at least to give him protection so that he can go on with his mission, not only they reject him but also they stone him and chase out of the city. Covered in blood, Muhammad takes a rest near an orchard and talk to his Lord:

"Into whose hands will You entrust me? Unto some far off stranger who will ill-treat me? Or unto a foe whom You have empowered against me? "

Yet, he does not let his resentment take over himself, and wilfully chooses to proceed with his submission to God and God-given mission, and says "I don't care as long as You are not angry with me."

Having seen the examples of the messengers of God, let's get back to us today. We had mentioned earlier that if you feel anger towards God, among other factors, three major candidates underlying this situation are:

1. your knowledge of God is incomplete and/or contains errors.
2. your perception of the events is incomplete and/or contains errors.
3. your knowledge yourself is incomplete and/or contains errors.

The discussion so far expounds on the first. Before proceeding to others, though, I would like to highlight the importance of reading the book of God as a means of talking to God directly, without any intermediaries (i.e. translators, interpreters,.scholars). Remember, anything that stands between you and God are to be cleared. This is the essence of Islam.

The second item in the above list actually is linked to the topic of patience. In this life, we may not know what is going to happen as a result of what (31/34). That inherent uncertainty brings about a state of stress and anger. However, if one can try to direct that power of anger towards contemplation-based actions, rather than towards reactionary bursts, one can survive these times and can, actually, come out refreshed and renewed. Remember:

God changes not what is in a people, until they change what is in themselves. (13/11)

Finally, discovering what potentials God has sown in you is a duty on each and every individual, because God does not like wasting (7/31), and leaving those potentials idle is a clear act of wasting. Therefore, if you are assuming a life style in which everything is going into a routine and you are boiling yourself down to a mechanical servant, even if you are not neglecting the obligatory acts of worship, you can be forced by God to move. Even the stones move in remembrance and reverence of God (2/74)!

Has not the time yet come for those who believe that their hearts should be humble for the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth? And that they should not be like those who were given the Book before, but the time became prolonged to them, so their hearts hardened, and most of them are transgressors. (57/16)

Anger Engine - 2

If the feeling of anger is a behavioral manifestation of our immune system to avoid losses and damage, it makes sense that we get angry towards the loved ones more quickly, because loving means putting down your shields against someone and letting them be close to you beyond others. Believing in God, in this context, is a major cause for anger, because you are submitting your entire being and making yourself vulnerable to an entity who can do anything with you (3/40,47) with eternal and infinite impunity (21/23).

Linking back to some of the points raised in the first episode, a believer's expectation of good things from God prepares the grounds for anger towards Him, when and if those expectations are not only not met but also crushed with the exact opposite of the expectation. Still, it is intriguing that God constantly admonishes and orients the believers to be expecting of good things from Him and strive for the realization of favors. On one side, it is God who wants to be known as the bountiful and merciful, and on the other side, it is again Him who is creating anger towards Himself. Why is He doing this?

Before anything else, let's see some Quranic verses related to the engendering of the mentioned expectations:

Say, "What would my Lord care for you if not for your supplication?" (25/77)

Or, Who answers the distressed one when he calls upon Him and removes the evil, and He will make you successors in the earth. (27/62)

And your Lord says, "Call upon Me; I will respond to you." (40/60)

You will certainly ask Him for help. He will save you from hardship if He decides to do so and you will forget all about your gods." (6/41)

Call upon your Lord in humility and privately; (7/55)

And do not make mischief in the earth after its reformation, and call on Him fearing and hoping; surely the mercy of Allah is nigh to those who do good (to others).(7/56)

And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me, so they should answer My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way. (2/186)

Say: Who is it that delivers you from the dangers of the land and the sea (when) you call upon Him (openly) humiliating yourselves, and in secret: (6/63)

Therefore remember Me, I will remember you, and be thankful to Me, and do not be ungrateful to Me. O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient. (2/152-153)

Unto Him is the real prayer. Those unto whom they pray beside Allah respond to them not at all, save as (is the response to) one who stretches forth his hands toward water (asking) that it may come unto his mouth, and it will never reach it. The prayer of disbelievers goes (far) astray. (13/14)

Recall your Lord if you forget to do something. Say, "I hope that my Lord will provide me better guidance."(18/24)

So call not upon another god with Allah, lest you be of those who are punished. (26/213)

And He answers those who believe and do good deeds, and gives them more out of His grace; (42/26)

and whoever is careful of (his duty to) Allah, He will make for him an outlet, And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him. Verily, Allah will accomplish his purpose. Indeed Allah has set a measure for all things.(65/2-3)

At this point, it may be better to stop and recall your thoughts about the evil problem and "why God doesn't answer the prayers when and as asked". You may also make some outside reading, if you haven't done so, on these issues, because I am not going to do a discussion of those topics here. Rather, I want to keep my focus on the wisdom behind God's deliberate drive of individuals or humanity at large mad about Himself.

Of course, the One with infinite wisdom and knowledge and unbounded will power can design different paths of life for each individual. He can also guide people through innumerable ways towards what is pleasing to Him. And, being the ultimate judge on the judgment day, He can forgive or waive the things that we deem outrageous. In short, the first point to note here is that this is a subtle issue, in which we may not understand everything, or things may clarify much later. So, we have to accept that we may not have answers always to our guiding question.

In order to take a glance of the second point, think of these two situations and answer which one of them imply more love and belonging? First one is a case where person A is angry towards person B, but cannot voice it or prefers not to. Rather, person A shuts themselves towards person B. Second situation is again person A being angry towards person B, and voices their anger and frustration towards B, and B listens without echoing the same anger. Later on, person A and person B work out their relationship, and they reach an even stronger bonding.

It is clear in the above story that the lack of conflict in the appearance of the first case does not imply love and the presence of conflict in the latter does not imply lack of love. So, one has to admit the fact that they may go through situations in this life where their love and belonging may be put to test by means of "evil looking" events inducing anger towards God. Furthermore, one has to exercise their freedom of expression towards God. Of this needs to be done with the due respect. That is, addressing God when in public and addressing Him when in private requires different levels and kinds of respect. If you are angry, let it be known in private. If your soul is getting crushed, shout it from the depths of your heart, for it sure is heard. Perhaps this collapse of your mental and spiritual structures is among the aims attached by God to the calamity surrounding you.

"Letting go of anger toward God may not happen all at once. But each day, hand over your anger to Him. Thankfully we have a patient, kind-hearted God who can carry everything we bring to Him. Even our anger."

Adam Weber

Next, remember that anger narrows our focus to what is endangering us (89/16). It pushes us towards a destructive action. In the case of anger towards God, what can you destroy? God?

The only thing you can really destroy when you are angry with God is yourself. That includes your attitude towards God, i.e. your faith. And perhaps, this is exactly what is intended here! Shocking, as it may sound, attacking your faith actually can be part of the actions you were expected to take until then, but didn't. Let's dig in here.

If you were a person who didn't believe in God, you would get mad about people or things when you are faced with adversity. As your faith in God grows more authentic and stronger, you realize and feel the grasp and the control of God in life events, and so, it becomes increasingly harder for you to attribute the adversities to the people. You know for sure that God did not interfere with what happened or is happening! Fast forward, if you are eventually getting angry towards God in this situation, it is clear that you need a spiritual/mental "cardiac surgery". Given that God does not commit injustice (3/182, 8/51), there must be something wrong, which you are missing and which is driving you crazy. So what is it and why is it?

Three major candidates in this regard are listed below. As we later consider them one by one, you will see that they are very much interconnected.

1. your knowledge of God is incomplete and/or contains errors.
2. your perception of the events is incomplete and/or contains errors.
3. your knowledge of yourself is incomplete and/or contains errors.

Anger Engine - 1

In the common experience of everyday life, anger is treated as a negative emotion. It is seen as the top manager of a destructive power. Overall, we are told to manage it in order to keep it at bay. I think, this scary image about anger is not fair when you consider the big picture about it. One of three powers of the ego, anger is our immune system's behavioral manifestation to repel evil, avoid loss or prevent damage.

However,  the definition and description of evil show variations from person to person, despite some universal commonalities. Plus, at the core, every individual prioritizes their personal or their own family's/company's/etc. well being, which sooner or later may contradict with the well being of others, or even with their existence and life. Such contradictions are the birthplace of anger.

When we get angry, the famous fight or flight response mechanism is triggered in our body. That is, we become more energetic to take action, and our attention is focused precisely on what threatens us. This state of psychology is very much like an arrow, placed on a bow and the string pulled all the way back. As you would appreciate, if in case of a war, this is exactly what you need; but at the same time, this is exactly when mistakes are made, hence the negative fame of anger.

So, anger is like fire. It is powerful, and needs care when handling; but it is by no means evil in the absolute sense. Anger management is born from this conclusion. It is aimed at harvesting the advantages of anger while avoiding the disadvantages. Expressed differently, what we call anger is a state of mind when anger takes the lead of other two powers of the ego. So, in case of untamed anger, wisdom and lust serve to warrant self-interest at the expense of what is in the target. Conversely, tamed anger, or you can call this anger management, ensures well-being of the self within the framework of certain rules. These rules can be due to laws, traditions, or religious/ethical values.

In life, we get angry towards people or events, and sometimes towards ourselves. These situations have been the focus of much thought and many studies. A simple search on anger can lead you to countless online sources. So, I am not going to spend time with this branch of the topic other than employing its results to understand the human psyche in context of anger. What I really want to do is to understand how anger affects our relationship with our Creator. That is, I want to explore "the anger towards God".

Before we embark on this subtle and sensitive topic, let's garner the lessons learned from the study of anger. First, it is a behavioral immune response in the face of a threat to our well-being materially, psychologically or spiritually. Second, anger focuses our attention towards the threat, which has the side effect of narrowing our perspective, as well. Third, getting angry makes us more energetic; in fact, too energetic. Fourth, anger utilizes the pathways in our minds that ensure the shortest and quickest, but not necessarily wisest, way to defeat a threat. Five, fear and grief are two factors that seed anger. So, untreated grief or fear yields anger towards their source in the long run.

You may be asking yourself "why would anyone be angry towards God?". Or, you may be thinking that a person who gets angry with God can not be a believer, but an arrogant disbeliever. It is also possible that you are relieved upon seeing this discussion, for you have seen at last that you are not the only one angry with God. Or you may just be wondering where this discussion is going. Whatever the case, if you make a search on "angry with God", you are going to see that this is not a new matter at all.

In fact, it is part of an all-time discussion on existence of evil despite a God who introduces Himself as merciful and compassionate. The general discussion of the problem of evil is not going to be my focus here. Rather, I want to explore from an Islamic perspective the individuals' relationship with God when clouded by anger. I thought this is worth exploring, because, one, Islam means submission and that notion is dictated to the Muslims as an obligation to suppress their feelings and thoughts if they mean objection to God's decree, two, the modern times are getting ever more full of situations where people find it hard to justify what befalls them with the compassion and wisdom of God. In short, how do you accommodate your anger towards God in context of Islam? Or, do you, in the first place?

As a start, consider the following sample cases:

• You were a child. Your father was killed by the soldiers of an invading country that wants to exploit the natural resources there. Your mother and sister were raped, and killed. And you were beaten until you fell unconscious. As these were happening, you constantly prayed to God, but nothing happened. Later on, you were rescued by volunteer groups who took you to another country, where you were raised near a foster family who were atheists. When you grew up, even the thought of God drove you crazy. 
• You were born with non-traditional sexual traits, but these were left unnoticed until your adolescence. When things surfaced, your family and your close friends became your enemy. They outcast you as if you were devil, and must be annihilated. Left alone, you found yourself a new set of friends, who had similar traits as you or who did not bother these issues. However, unlike your religious family, your new social environment was rather far from God. Since you have done nothing wrong, but just had the God-given properties at birth, you cannot justify in your mind and soul the animosity from your family and the older group of friends. You are suffering deeply in your heart, praying from the depths of your heart, but the God, who created you as you are, seems to be indifferent to your suffering in the face of unfair animosity from people.
• You served to the education of people and did your best to proclaim the message of mercy from God. One day, you were slandered, and were put in prison without any questioning or trial. Nobody asked you anything nor made any explanations. You didn't know what was happening and why. Then, occasional tortures started. Your cries and flowing blood were considered as a sign of success by the guardians. And the One who admonished you to pray for help stayed silent while witnessing all of the injustice. The thought of being abandoned by your Protector to the hands of lions suffocated your heart, but you resisted, thinking that this is but a trial. However, days, weeks, months followed, and nothing changed. Not being able to see the end of the tunnel, you increased your prayers. You added your tears to your implorations for God. Still, nothing changed in your situation. You started fighting against your own mind in order not to accept the picture surrounding you: you are left alone. As time went on, more people were added to the list of unfairly treated. Even the new-born babies were imprisoned along with their moms. You are not able to defeat that thought anymore. All evidences show that even the One for whom you risked everything is siding with the wrongful enemy!

If these three stories seemed too harsh for you, I should tell that I wanted to use some story telling techniques to enable you to empathize with those characters. Nevertheless, you should at the same time know that they are rather realistic. Still, if these scenarios seem unacceptable to you, it is quite possible that you never went through a trial in your life where your faith was shaken from its foundations; that is, it is easy for you to speak so boldly. If, on the other hand, you had similar experiences in your life or have observed some closely, then you can very easily appreciate the burden crushing the souls of these characters.

If you say that you went through such heavy burdens, and never felt shaken in your faith, even a minute, either your faith is real and strong, thank God, or you are lying to yourself, because you deliberately suppressed your feelings and thoughts since they were flavored with rebellion against God's decree. This, however, does not mean that your subconscious is accepting whatever you are dictating at it. Rather, your subconscious goes on with its job unbeknownst to you. Your worship gradually becomes robotic and repetitive. Your thoughts and explanations of faith matters evolve into being irrational and dogmatic, because rational thought necessitates tangible evidence and in your case, the rational evidences point at the discrepancy between your faith and the existing conditions around you.

"Do men imagine that they will be left (at ease) because they say, We believe, and will not be tested with affliction? And certainly We tried those before them, so Allah will certainly know those who are true and He will certainly know the liars." (29/2-3)

"When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when the eyes grew wild and the hearts reached to the throats, and you were harboring doubts about Allah." (33/10)