Ghaḍab (anger) is a feeling belonging to the nafs (the lower self) that governs the forces of desire and is either activated or restrained according to reason and the sharia (the sacred law). Courage (shajāʿa) is when the force of ghaḍab is made to submit to reason, whether in its activation or restraint. Chastity (ʿiffa) is the disciplining of the force of desire in accordance with reason and the sharia.
From the moderation (iʿtidāl) of these four akhlāq (moral qualities), all beautiful character traits arise. From the moderation of the faculty of reason come good thinking, sound judgment, correct planning, and the ability to grasp the subtleties of things; from its excess arise cunning, deceit, and sophistry; from its deficiency come foolishness, dullness, and weakness of intellect.
From the moderation of shajāʿa arise awe (hayba), endurance, generosity, bravery, courage, forbearance (ḥilm), steadfastness (thabāt), and dignity; from its deficiency come baseness, humiliation, miserliness, and frivolity.
From the moderation of ʿiffa arise generosity, modesty, sabr (patient endurance), contentment, scrupulousness (warāʿ), tolerance (musāmaḥa), and refinement; from its excess arise greed, severity, wickedness, immodesty, prodigality, mockery, envy, and weakness of character. (Ravza, 445)
(A Sufi has said:) Good character is not showing enmity due to the intensity of maʿrifatullāh (experiential knowledge of God), nor being the object of enmity oneself.
Another has said: It is to avoid causing harm and to endure hardships.
Another has said: When you are close to people in ḥāl (spiritual state), you remain a stranger among them; that is, in terms of manifestation and purification (distancing oneself from the states of the nafs), you are a stranger.
Another has said: Good character is to be content (riḍā) with Allah.
Hallāj has said: After contemplating the Truth (al-Ḥaqq), the harm caused by people has no effect on you.
Harrāz has said: It is when there remains no direction to turn except to Allah. (Ravza, 447)
Sufism (taṣawwuf) is character. Whoever surpasses you in character also surpasses you in the degree of Sufism. The foundation of character is doing good and enduring harm. The first step is to know the maqām (spiritual station) of character; the second is to know that every shortcoming from the servant requires an excuse, and every blessing from the Lord requires gratitude, thereby beautifying one's character with the Truth; the third is to purify the people (tasfiya) and to cultivate character, to ascend towards maʿrifa, and then to transcend even this in character. (Ravza, 484)
When acts that draw one near to Allah are repeated continuously with sincere intentions, superior character emerges in the nafs. These are the actions of the heart that arise after the qalb (the heart) exerts constant effort (ghayra), resulting in luminous and firm dispositions in the nafs. Thus, the nafs attains tranquility (itmiʾnān) and the qalb begins to submit willingly to the Truth (al-Ḥaqq). Ultimately, the nafs is adorned with the character traits and faculties that are pleasing to the Truth and are the source of good deeds. Among these traits is sabr in the face of desired things; this is the virtue of the appetitive faculty. Sabr in the face of disliked things is also among these traits; this is the perfection of the faculty of ghaḍab. (Jāmiʿ, 283)
Zawü'l-amzicati'l-kasīfa (those of coarse temperament) require taʿlīm (learning) and discipline.