Two Attributes Loved by Allah

The Prophet Muhammad Shallallahu ‘Alaihi wa Sallam said to a noble companion:

إِنَّ فِيكَ خَصْلَتَيْنِ يُحِبُّهُمَا اللَّهُ الْحِلْمُ وَالأَنَاةُ

"Verily, you have two qualities that Allah loves: halim and anah." (Hadith Muslim)

Two traits that are loved by Allah are important for us to have. The first is the trait of halim, which is essentially restraining oneself when emotional and angry, and remaining calm when we are afflicted with emotions and anger.

Because actually, when we are angry, we lose our minds. When we are angry, we do things that Ar-Rahman does not approve of. Often when we are angry, our sins are exposed and revealed. Hence, the Prophet Shallallahu ‘Alaihi wa Sallam told us to restrain our anger.

In the saheeh hadeeths, the Prophet Shallallahu ‘Alaihi wa Sallam mentioned,

مَنْ كَظَمَ غَيْظًا وَهُوَ قَادِرٌ عَلَى أَنْ يُنْفِذَهُ دَعَاهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى رُءُوسِ الْخَلَائِقِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ حَتَّى يُخَيِّرَهُ مِنَ الْحُورِ الْعِينِ مَا شَاءَ

"Whoever restrains his anger when he is able to vent it, Allah will call him on the Day of Resurrection in the presence of all creatures, until he is invited to choose any angel of Paradise he wants." (hadith by Abu Dawud)

Subhanallah,

The Prophet Shallallahu ‘Alaihi wa Sallam also said in a hadith,

لَيْسَ الشَّدِيدُ بِالصُّرَعَةِ، إِنَّمَا الشَّدِيدُ الَّذِي يَمْلِكُ نَفْسَهُ عِنْدَ الْغَضَبِ

"The strong man is not the one who can beat others in wrestling, but the strong man is the one who can restrain himself when he is angry." (hadith Bukhari and Muslim)

How many of us see, in our daily lives, husbands who easily divorce when they are angry, and how many people utter words that are wrathful to Allah when they are angry.

It is narrated in Imam Ahmad's Musnad that two people used to be friends, one of whom was pious and the other of whom was a sinner. One day, the righteous man saw his friend sinning, so he advised him. The next day, the same thing happened a third time. The person who was counselled got angry and said, "You should take care of yourself, why are you always spying on me?"

So this righteous man got angry and swore,

وَاللَّهِ لَا يَغْفِرُ اللَّهُ لَكَ

"By Allah, Allah will not forgive your sins."

So Allah was angry at this man's words. Allah said to His angels,

مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَتَأَلَّى عَلَيَّ أَنْ لَا أَغْفِرَ لِفُلَانٍ فَإِنِّي قَدْ غَفَرْتُ لِفُلَانٍ وَأَحْبَطْتُ عَمَلَكَ

"Who dares to swear in My name that I will not forgive the sin of so-and-so? Behold, I have forgiven the sin of the sinner and cancelled the deeds of the righteous man (because he became angry and uttered words that were not pleasing to Allah)." (Hadith Ahmad)

So our obligation is to restrain anger because it is a great deed in the sight of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. Especially as a husband when angry with his wife, when angry with his children, or a teacher angry with his students. So think carefully, is anger the best solution? Will anger solve the problem or not? This trait of Halim is very important, my brother. So this is a trait that is loved by Ar-Rahman.

Then the second trait is al-anah, which is the trait of not being hasty in taking a stance, not being hasty in receiving news, and not being hasty in doing anything. Rather, he thinks ahead to take the best course of action, the one with more benefit and less harm if there are two harms.

My brother, the trait of al-anah is loved by Allah. On the other hand, isti'jal (haste) is from the devil. Haste in worship, so that it is not tuma'ninah, causes the prayer not to be accepted by Allah 'Azza wa Jalla. Haste in doing work so that it is not done to the best of one's ability. That is not an action that is loved by Allah.

Receiving news and accepting it without checking it first is forbidden by Allah, may He be glorified and exalted. What is clear is that anything that isti'jal indicates that the person is not an anah.

So, my brother, these are the two qualities that Allah loves. The first is al-hilm (gentleness), which is the ability to restrain one's emotions when angry. The second is al-anah, not rushing to take a stance, but looking ahead, seeing what is most beneficial, and trying to tabayun if it is news.