The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) never became angry with anyone for personal reasons and never took revenge out of personal grudge. But when he saw departures from Allah's commands, baseless thinking or excess, signs of anger appeared on his face. Some of these occasions are set out below.

In Islam, drawing pictures of living beings and hanging them in the home is forbidden, and the Messenger (PBUH) became angry on seeing a curtain with pictures in his house. Aisha (RA) said the Prophet (PBUH) once came to her while a curtain bearing pictures was hanging in the room. The colour of his face changed; he took the curtain in his hand and tore it. Aisha (RA) said the Prophet (PBUH) told the people: "On the Day of Judgement the severest punishment will be for those who make these pictures." (Bukhari, hadith 6109)

The Prophet (PBUH) also became angry when prayers were lengthened without regard for the sick and the old. Abu Masud (RA) narrated that a man came to the Prophet (PBUH) and said that a certain person lengthened the prayer, which was why he stayed away from the congregational Fajr prayer. The narrator said he had never seen the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) angrier in any sermon than on that day. He said: "Some of you drive people away. So whoever of you leads people in prayer should keep it short, for among them are the sick, the old and people with work to do." (Bukhari, hadith 6110)

Abdullah (RA) said the Prophet (PBUH) once saw nasal mucus on the qibla wall of the mosque while praying. He scraped it off with his own hand and said angrily that as long as any of you is in prayer, Allah is before his face, so no one should ever spit towards the front while praying. (Bukhari, hadith 6111)

Abu Musa Ashari (RA) said the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was asked about several things he disliked. When people kept asking him more and more questions he became angry and said: "Ask me." A man stood up and asked: "O Messenger of Allah, who is my father?" He replied: "Your father is Hujafa." Another stood up and asked the same question, and he replied: "Your father is Salim, the freed slave of Shaybah." Seeing the signs of anger on the face of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), Umar (RA) said: "We repent to Allah." (Bukhari, hadith 7291)

Zayd ibn Thabit (RA) said the Prophet (PBUH) once made a small room of date-palm leaves or a mat and came out of his house to pray (voluntary night prayers) in it. A group of people came looking for him and began praying with him. The next night they came again, but the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) delayed and did not come out to them. They raised their voices and threw pebbles at the door. He came out to them angrily and said: "I fear that what you are doing may be made obligatory upon you. So you should pray at home, for apart from the obligatory prayers, the best prayer is the one a person offers in his own home." (Bukhari, hadith 6113)

Abu Hurairah (RA) said a Jewish man was once offering some goods for sale and was given something in exchange that he did not like. He said: "No, by the One who gave Musa (AS) superiority over mankind!" An Ansari man heard this, stood up and slapped him on the face, saying: "You say, by the One who gave Musa superiority over mankind, while the Prophet (PBUH) is living among us?"

The Jewish man went to the Prophet (PBUH) and said: "O Abul Qasim, I have a covenant of protection; I am a dhimmi. Why did so-and-so slap my face?" The Prophet (PBUH) asked the Ansari why he had slapped him, and the man told him what had happened. The Prophet (PBUH) became angry until it showed on his face. Then he said: "Do not give any of Allah's prophets superiority over another. When the trumpet is blown on the Day of Judgement, everyone in the heavens and the earth will fall unconscious except those Allah wills. Then it will be blown a second time and I will be the first to be raised. I will see Musa (AS) holding on to the Throne. I do not know whether this is in return for his fainting on the day of Mount Tur, or whether he was raised before me." (Bukhari, hadith 3414)

Aisha (RA) said the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) permitted something, and some people considered it bad. When this reached the Prophet (PBUH) he became angry, so that it showed on his face. He said: "What is wrong with people that they shy away from something permissible that I do? By Allah, I know Allah better than they do and fear Him more." (Muslim, hadith 6005)

Source: Bangladesh Pratidin. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.