Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 1318
حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ يُونُسَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو شِهَابٍ عَبْدُ رَبِّهِ، عَنْ يُونُسَ، عَنِ الْحَسَنِ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ قَالَ: مَا مِنْ جَرْعَةٍ أَعْظَمَ عِنْدَ اللهِ أَجْرًا مِنْ جَرْعَةِ غَيْظٍ كَظَمَهَا عَبْدٌ ابْتِغَاءَ وَجْهِ اللهِ.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn Yunus related to us: Abu Shihab ‘Abd Rabbih related to us, from Yunus, from al-Hasan, from Ibn ‘Umar, who said: ‘There is no swallow whose reward with Allah is greater than a swallow of anger that a servant restrains, seeking the face of Allah.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic repeats جرعة (“a gulp/swallow”) metaphorically for a mouthful of anger that is restrained for Allah’s sake.
مَا مِنْ جَرْعَةٍ أَعْظَمَ عِنْدَ اللهِ أَجْرًا مِنْ جَرْعَةِ غَيْظٍ كَظَمَهَا عَبْدٌ ابْتِغَاءَ وَجْهِ اللهِ
The Arabic uses “gulp/swallow” metaphorically with anger; the English keeps this image, which may sound unusual.
Would “an instance of anger a servant swallows” read more naturally while preserving the image?