Clemency and Suppression of Anger

Clemency and suppression of anger stand for self- possession in situations that arouse anger. They are noble traits they indicate self-excellence and result in affection and amicability:
“(Among) the servants of the Beneficent Allah are those who walk gently on the earth and when addressed by the ignorant ones, their only response is, “Peace be with you.”” (25:63)
“Virtue and evil are not equal. If you replace evil habits by virtuous ones, you will certainly find that your enemies will become your intimate friends. Only those who exercise patience and who have been granted a great share of Allah’s favor can find such an opportunity.” (41:34-5)
“And who also harness their anger and forgive the people. Allah loves the righteous ones.” (3:134)
Pursing this, The Ahlul-Bayt (a) advanced their instructions:

As he noticed that Qanbar was about to answer with revilement the man who had reviled at him, Amirul- Mu’minin (a) said: “Slow down, Qanbar! Leave him who reviled at you plunging in humility so that you will please the Beneficent Allah, annoy the Shaitan, and punish your enemy. I swear by Him Who split the seed and made the soul, nothing like clemency for the believers to achieve the satisfaction of the Lord, nothing like silence for them to annoy the Shaitan, and nothing more punishable than leaving the foolish alone1.”
“The first remuneration that one can gain for showing clemency is people’s being his supporters against the ignorant2.”
Imam al-Baqir (a) said: “Allah does like the modest and the clement3.”
Imam as-Sadiq (a) said: When a quarrel takes place, two angels attend there. They say to the foolish party, “You have said such and such. You are worthier of that which you have said. You will be punished for it.” For the clement party, the angels say, “You have stood and showed clemency. Allah will forgive you if you accomplish it.” If the clement party answers the other, the angels leave the place4.
“Allah will certainly increase (His bestowals to) the servant who suppresses his anger, and will reward him. Allah says: And who also harness their anger and forgive the people. Allah loves the righteous ones. (3:134)5”
Imam al-Kadhim (a) said: “Be steadfast against the enemies of the graces, for your best retaliation for those who acted disobediently to Allah against you is to act obediently to Allah with them6.”
Once, he (a) gathered his sons and said: “Sons, I will lead you to an instruction that saves you from deviation if you adhere to it. Accept the apology of him who reviled at you in your right ear, and then turned to your left to make an apology and claim that he had not said anything bad7.”
The foolish may regard clemency as signs of weakness, while the intelligent regard it as signs of nobility, high standards, and honor.
When man’s prestige mounts, his traits become nobler he holds fast on clemency and pardon. Hence, he becomes the matter of admiration and praise.
It is related that a wise man answered those who asked him why he had not replied the one who had reviled at him: “I will not engage myself in a war the triumphant of which is eviler than the loser.”
When al-Ma’mun, the Abbasid caliph, asked Imam ar-Rida (a) to recite some poetic verses, the Imam composed:
If he whose ignorance befell me is lower than I am in position, I will reject for myself to answer him by means of ignorance.
If he enjoys the same position of intelligence that I have, I will adopt for clemency so that I will not be likened to him.
If he is higher in position than I am, I will respect him from his preference.
As he heard these verses, al-Ma’mun showed his admiration and asked about the one who composed them. The Imam (a) answered: “He is one of our men8.”
The Prophet and the immaculate Imams (a) were the ideal examples of clemency:
Imam al-Baqir (a) narrated: When the Jewess who served the Prophet (S) a poisonous meal was brought before him, he asked her a reason for her deed. “Well,” she replied, “I said that the poisoned meal would not affect him if he was real prophet. But if he was only an ordinary king, the meal would save people from him.” The Prophet pardoned her.
The Prophet (S) also forgave many individuals after he had outlawed and ordered to be killed.
Habbar Ibn al-Aswad Ibn al-Muttalib was one of those individuals. The Prophet (S) outlawed him after he had frightened Zainab the Prophet’s daughter- and caused her to terminate her pregnancy.
It was related that this man came to the Prophet and said: “We, God’s Prophet, were polytheists, and God guided us to the right by you and saved us from perdition. I beseech to you to overlook my ignorance and that which I had committed, for I confess of my ill deeds and sins.” The Prophet (S) answered him:
“I will forgive you. Allah has done you a great favor when He guided you to Islam. Islam cancels that which was done before the embracement of it.”
Abdullah Ibn Az-Zubaari is another one. He used to satirize the Prophet (S) in Mecca so extremely. When the Prophet (S) conquered Mecca, Az-Zubaari fled it. After a period, he came back and apologized for the Prophet who accepted his apology.
Wahshi, the killer of Hamza (a) is a third one. When he declared being Muslim, the Prophet asked him to narrate how he had killed Hamza; his uncle. The man did and caused the Prophet to weep. He (S) then asked Wahshi not to appear before him any longer9.
Amirul-Mu’minin (a) was another ideal example of clemency and pardon.
When he captured Abdullah Ibn az-Zubair, Marwan Ibn al-Hakam, and Saeed Ibn al-Aas who were the most mortal enemies that rallied people against him, he pardoned them and did not retaliate.
He (a) also could kill Amr Ibn al-Aas who was more dangerous than an equipped army, but he left him because Amr unveiled his anus in order to save himself from the Imam’s strike!
During the battle of Siffeen, the troops of Muawiya prevented Amirul-Mu’minin (a) to reach the springs of water there and told that they would not give him a single drop of water. When he (a) raided on them, he dropped them away from these springs. But he allowed them to drink from them, just like his troops.
After the Battle of the Camel, Amirul-Mu’minin (a) visited Bibi Aisha10 and saw her off so honorably and sent with her caravan a number of individuals whose mission was to serve and protect her11.
Like his father and grandfather, Imam al-Hasan (a) was another ideal example of clemency.