A dog or wolf will rip his opponent's skin or flesh off...

A dog or wolf will rip his opponent's skin or flesh off, but an angry man takes away the honor of another man, which is a worse form of oppression. What should we do when we are left without Choice? Suppose one wants to get rid of the animalistic traits. The first step to doing this is controlling one's self when one starts to get angry. Controlling one's self at this stage is easy, but if one does not control his self at the beginning he will reach a state where he will be uncontrollable.

You are young, just at the beginning of your Islamic life. Animalistic traits have yet to take form in you. You can shape yourself with ease. You can refrain from answering someone who swears at you. With a little practice, this is easy for you. Mālik Ashtar And A Young Man You have heard that Mālik Ashtar was the commander of Imām ‛Alī's (a) army.

Imām ‛Alī (a) said: “Mālik Ashtar was with me like I was with the Messenger of Allah (S).” He was the leader of the Kandeh tribe and the commander of the Islamic army. One day he went to Kufa's marketplace and was looking to buy a shirt. A young man, who did not know Mālik, wanted to make fun of him and threw a handful of dirt at him. Mālik did not say anything to him and left.

Some people asked the young man: “Do you know who that was?” He said: “No.” They told him: “That was Mālik Ashtar.” They young man became frightened and upset. He went after Mālik. Some people told him that Mālik entered the mosque and the young man also went inside to see that Mālik was praying. When his prayer finished the young man kneeled in front of Mālik and said: “I did not know who you were.

I made a mistake, forgive me.” Mālik replied: “I forgave you at the same time that you threw dirt at me. Now, I have come to this mosque to pray for you so that Allah will forgive you as well.” Mālik was a true follower ( shī‛a ) of ‛Alī (a). Can we call ourselves shī‛a ? What have we done to be called a shī‛a of ‛Alī (a)? A shī‛a controls his anger; he does not hit someone with a rock after being hit by a piece of dirt. Should throwing a piece of dirt be rewarded with a Rock?

Common people believe that one should answer bad language with bad language or answer a thrown piece of dirt with a rock. These are completely incorrect actions. A predator should not be treated like a predator. If you curse him out you are just like him; so what is the difference between a human and an animal?