There was once a little boy who had a very bad temper. Seeing this, his father gave him a bag full of nails and said,
“Every time you get angry, go and hammer one nail into the wooden fence in our garden.”
On the very first day, the boy had to hammer 37 nails into the fence.
Over the next few weeks, the boy slowly learned to control his anger, and each day the number of nails he hammered into the fence decreased. He realized that controlling his anger was much easier than hammering nails into the wooden fence.
Finally, the day came when he did not have to hammer even a single nail. He excitedly told his father. His father then said,
“Now, on each day that you are able to completely control your anger, pull out one nail from the fence.”
Many days passed, and one day the boy told his father that he had removed all the nails. His father then took him to the garden and showed him the fence.
He said,
“You have done very well, my son. You can now control your anger. But look—there are still holes left in the fence. The wooden fence will never be the same as it was before.
When you say hurtful things to someone in anger, it leaves a scar in their heart just like these holes. So learn to control your anger. Mental wounds are often far more dangerous than physical wounds.
Allah says in the Qur’an:
“And hasten toward forgiveness from your Lord and a Garden as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the righteous—
those who spend in ease and hardship, who restrain anger, and who pardon people. And Allah loves the doers of good.”
(Surah Aal-e-Imran, chapt 3:134
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“There is no reward greater than that which Allah grants to a servant who restrains his anger for the sake of His pleasure.”
(Ibn Majah: 4189)
A man once said to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh)
“Give me advice.”
He replied, “Do not get angry.”
The man repeated his request several times, and each time the Prophet (pbuh ) replied, “Do not get angry.”
(Bukhari, Vol. 8, Book 73, Hadith 137)
May Allah grant us the ability to control our anger. Ameen.