Hadith Text
وَعَنْ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ صُرَدٍ رضي الله عنه قَالَ:
كُنْتُ جَالِسًا مَعَ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ، وَرَجُلَانِ يَسْتَبَّانِ، وَأَحَدُهُمَا قَدِ احْمَرَّ وَجْهُهُ، وَانْتَفَخَتْ أَوْدَاجُهُ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ:
«إِنِّي لَأَعْلَمُ كَلِمَةً لَوْ قَالَهَا لَذَهَبَ عَنْهُ مَا يَجِدُ، لَوْ قَالَ: أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ ذَهَبَ عَنْهُ مَا يَجِدُ».فَقَالُوا لَهُ: إِنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ قَالَ:«تَعَوَّذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ».مُتَّفَقٌ عَلَيْهِ.
Full Translation
On the authority of Sulayman ibn Surad (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:
I was sitting with the Prophet ﷺ when two men were insulting one another. One of them had gone red in the face and his veins had swollen. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“I know a word that, if he were to say it, what he feels would leave him: if he said, ‘I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed,’ what he feels would leave him.”
So they said to him: The Prophet ﷺ said, “Seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed.”
Agreed upon.
Meanings of Key Words
- يستبان — insulting one another; the fight begins with speech before it becomes action.
- احمر وجهه — his face had turned red; anger has become visible on the body.
- انتفخت أوداجه — his veins had swollen; this is a vivid picture of rage rising through the body.
- أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم — I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed; a direct way to cut anger off from its hidden source.
- ذهب عنه ما يجد — what he feels would leave him; not necessarily every emotion, but the heat and push of the moment would break.
Hadith Lessons
This hadith shows that anger is not only emotional — it is spiritual. The Prophet ﷺ traces the fire of the moment back to Satan, and gives a remedy that is not just psychological but devotional. Saying “A‘ūdhu billāhi min ash-shayṭān ir-rajīm” interrupts the chain. It reminds the heart that this is not only “my feeling”; it is a battle for the soul.
The hadith also shows the Prophet’s practical mercy. He does not merely say, “Be patient” in the abstract. He gives a word to say. That word creates distance between the person and the anger. It slows the heat, returns the mind, and lets the believer remember Allah before he speaks or acts. This is why so many scholars teach that the beginning of anger management in Islam is not self-expression but self-protection.
There is also a subtle lesson here about escalation. Two men begin by exchanging insults. Then one man’s body changes under the force of anger. The Prophet ﷺ intervenes at the earliest possible point. Islam does not wait until the damage is done; it treats the small spark before it becomes a fire. That is the prophetic way in all matters of the heart.
Three Questions to Close With
- When anger starts rising, do I try to win the moment, or do I try to save my heart?
- Do I actually use the prophetic words that are meant to break anger, or do I rely on willpower alone?
- When I am about to speak in anger, do I remember that the first battle is spiritual before it is verbal?