Happiness: Peace Internal for Peace External
Happiness: Peace Internal for Peace External
Real happiness and peace can be found in submitting to the commands of the Creator and the Sustainer of this world. God has said in the Quran:
“Truly, in remembering God do hearts find rest.” (Quran 13:28)
On the other hand, the one who turns away from the Quran will have a life of hardship in this world. God has said:
“But whoever turns away from the Quran, he will have a hard life, and We will raise him up blind on the Day of Judgment.” (Quran 20:124)
This may explain why some people commit suicide while they enjoy the material comfort money can buy. For example, look at Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam), formerly a famous pop singer who used to earn sometimes more than $150,000 a night. After he converted to Islam, he found true happiness and peace, which he had not found in material success.
Concepts of Happiness:
The concepts of Happiness lies in the hadith of the Noble Prophet Muhammad (SAW),he was asked by one of his companion that what his Happiness; he said “happiness is when your heart submit completely to Allah, then the Muslim will be save from your limbs and tongue” Sahih Hadith
Before this write up, I tried to get friends view and thoughts on what is happiness and all their thought really helped.
Even though happiness is perhaps one of the most important things in life, science still can not explain much about it. Its concept itself is elusive. Is it an idea, emotion, virtue, philosophy, ideal, or is it just programmed in the genes? There is no agreed upon definition for it, yet still everyone seems to be selling happiness these days - drug dealers, pharmaceutical companies, Hollywood, toy companies, self-help gurus, and, of course, Disney, creator of the Happiest Place on Earth. Can happiness really be purchased? Is happiness achieved by maximizing pleasure, earning fame and fortune, or living a life of unlimited leisure? The series of articles will briefly explore the evolution of happiness in Western thought, followed by the present cultural understanding in the West. Finally, the meaning and a few means of attaining happiness in Islam will be discussed.
Evolution of Happiness in Western Thought
The Christian idea of happiness was based on a reported saying of Jesus,
“…now is your time of grief, I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” (John 16:22)
The Christian idea of happiness was developed over the centuries and, in turn, rested on a theology of sin, which, as St. Augustine explained in The City of God, taught that because of Adam and Eve’s original transgression in the Garden of Eden, true happiness was “unattainable in our present life.”
In 1776, Thomas Jefferson, summarizing a good century of reflection on the subject in Europe and America, deemed the “pursuit of happiness” a “self-evident” truth. By this time, the truth of happiness had been declared so often and so confidently that, for many, it scarcely needed evidence. It was, as Jefferson said, self-evident. To secure the “greatest happiness for the greatest number” had become the moral imperative of the century. But just how “self-evident” was the pursuit of happiness? Was it, in fact, so obvious that happiness was our naturally intended end? Christians confessed that human beings pursued happiness during their earthly pilgrimage, but remained skeptical about its attainment. Elsewhere, Jefferson himself was pessimistic whether the chase would ever be brought to a satisfying conclusion. “Perfect happiness...was never intended by the Deity to be the lot of one of his creatures,” he specified in a letter of 1763, adding soberly that even “the most fortunate of us, in our journey through life, frequently meet with calamities and misfortunes which may greatly afflict us.” To “fortify our minds” against these attacks, he concluded, “Should be one of the principal studies and endeavors of our lives.”
Whereas in the fifth century, Boethius could claim that “God is happiness itself,” by the middle of the 19th century, the formula was reversed to read “Happiness is God.” Earthly happiness emerged as the idol of idols, the locus of meaning in modern life, the source of human aspiration, the purpose of existence, the why and the wherefore. If happiness was not, as Freud said, ‘in the plan of Creation,’ there were those ready to alter the handiwork of the Maker to put it there by manufacturing, consuming, and exporting it as democracy and free-market economy (materialism). As the philosopher Pascal Bruckner observed, “Happiness is the sole horizon of our contemporary democracies.” As a surrogate religion, materialism relocated God to the shopping mall.
Happiness in Western Culture
In our culture, it is commonly believed that happiness is achieved when you become rich, powerful, or popular. The young want to be that popular pop idol, the old dream of winning the jackpot. We often seek happiness by removing all stress, sadness, and irritations. For some, happiness lies in mood-altering therapies. Eva Markowitz, a historian, gives some idea of the American obsession with the gospel of therapy: “Today, this obsession knows no bounds…there are more than 260 [different kinds of] 12-step programs in America.”
One reason we have so much trouble attaining happiness is that we have no idea about what it is. Consequently, we make poor judgments in life. An Islamic tale illustrates the relationship of judgment with happiness.
“Oh, great sage, Nasrudin,” said
the eager student, “I must ask you a
very important question, the answer
to which we all seek: What is the
secret to attaining happiness?”
Nasrudin thought for a time,
then responded. “The secret of
happiness is good judgment.”
“Ah,” said the student. “But how
do we attain good judgment?
“From experience,” answered
Nasrudin.
“Yes,” said the student. “But how
do we attain experience?’
“Bad judgment.”
An example of our good judgment is knowing that materialistic comforts by themselves do not lead to lasting happiness. Having reached that conclusion by our good judgment, we do not retreat into our comforts. We continue to crave a happiness that seems out of reach. We make more money thinking that is the way to become happy, and in the process neglect our family. Most big events we dream of yield less sustained happiness than we hoped for. In addition to getting less happiness than we expected or hoped for, we frequently do not know exactly what we want, what will make us happy or how to get it. We misjudge.
Enduring happiness does not come from ‘making it.’ Imagine someone could snap their fingers and give you fame, fortune, and leisure. Would you be happy? You would be euphoric, but in the short run. Gradually you would adapt to your new circumstance and life would return to its normal mix of emotions. Studies show that big lottery winners after a few months are no happier than the average person! To recover the joy, you would now need an even higher high.
Consider, too, how we have “made it.” In 1957, our per-person income, expressed in today’s dollars, was less than $8,000. Today it is $16,000. With doubled incomes, we now have double the material goods that money can buy - including twice as many cars per person. We also have microwave ovens, color TVs, VCRs, answering machines, and $12 billion a year worth of brand-name athletic shoes.
So are we happier? No. In 1957, 35 percent of Americans told the National Opinion Research Center they were “very happy.” In 1991, only 31 percent said the same. Meanwhile, depression rates have soared.(American News Magazine)
Allah’s Prophet of Mercy said:
“True enrichment does not come through possessing a lot of wealth, but true enrichment is the enrichment of the soul.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari)
Keys to Happiness
Happiness is the only goal on earth that all people without exception are seeking to attain. Believers and unbelievers alike seek to be happy, but each party is using different methods.
However, only believers can achieve genuine happiness. All forms of happiness attained without a firm belief in God, the Almighty, are mere illusions.
The following are tips for the attainment of happiness:
1. Know that if you do not live within the scope of today, your thoughts will be scattered, your affairs will become confused, and your anxiety will increase. These realities are explained in the following hadith:
“When you are in the evening, do not expect to see themorning, and when you are in the morning, do not expect to see the evening.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)
2. Forget the past and all that it contained, focus on the present.
3. Do not completely preoccupy yourself with the future and then discard the present. Be balanced in life, prepare yourself adequately for all situations.
4. Do not be shaken by criticism; instead, be firm. Be sure that in proportion to your worth, the level of people's criticism rises. Also, make good use of criticism in discovering your shortcomings and faults, and let it drive you toward self-improvement.
5. Have complete faith in God and perform good deeds; these are the ingredients that makeup a good and happy life.
6. If you desire peace, tranquility, and comfort, you can find it all in the remembrance of God.
7. You should know with certainty that everything that happens, occurs in accordance with the divine decree.
8. Do not expect gratitude from anyone.
9. Train yourself to be prepared for the worst possibility.
10. Perhaps what has happened is in your best interest, even though you may not comprehend how that can be so.
11. Everything that is decreed for the believer is the best for him.
12. Enumerate the blessings of God and be thankful for them.
13. Remember that you are better off than many others.
14. Relief comes from one hour to the next. Indeed, with each difficulty there is relief.
15. In both times of hardship and ease, one should turn to supplication and prayer, either patiently contented or thankful.
16. Calamities should strengthen your heart and reshape your outlook in a positive way.
17. Do not let trivialities be the cause of your destruction.
18. Always remember that your God is Oft-Forgiving.
19. Assume an easy-going attitude and avoid anger.
20. Life is bread, water, and shade; so do not be perturbed by a lack of any other material thing.
“And in the heaven is your providence and that which you are promised.” (Quran 51:22)
21. A daunting evil that seemingly will happen usually never occurs.
22. Look at those who have more afflictions and be grateful that you have less.
23. Bear in mind the fact that God loves those who endure trials with steadfastness, so seek to be one of them.
24. Constantly repeat those supplications that the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, taught us to say during times of hardship.
25. Work hard at something that is productive, and cast off idleness.
26. Do not spread rumors and do not listen to them. If you hear a rumor inadvertently, do not believe it.
27. Know that your malice and your striving to seek revenge are much more harmful to your health than they are to your antagonist.
28. The hardships that befall you atone for your sins, if you endure with patience.
Allahu Mustahan
Real happiness and peace can be found in submitting to the commands of the Creator and the Sustainer of this world. God has said in the Quran:
“Truly, in remembering God do hearts find rest.” (Quran 13:28)
On the other hand, the one who turns away from the Quran will have a life of hardship in this world. God has said:
“But whoever turns away from the Quran, he will have a hard life, and We will raise him up blind on the Day of Judgment.” (Quran 20:124)
This may explain why some people commit suicide while they enjoy the material comfort money can buy. For example, look at Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam), formerly a famous pop singer who used to earn sometimes more than $150,000 a night. After he converted to Islam, he found true happiness and peace, which he had not found in material success.
Concepts of Happiness:
The concepts of Happiness lies in the hadith of the Noble Prophet Muhammad (SAW),he was asked by one of his companion that what his Happiness; he said “happiness is when your heart submit completely to Allah, then the Muslim will be save from your limbs and tongue” Sahih Hadith
Before this write up, I tried to get friends view and thoughts on what is happiness and all their thought really helped.
Even though happiness is perhaps one of the most important things in life, science still can not explain much about it. Its concept itself is elusive. Is it an idea, emotion, virtue, philosophy, ideal, or is it just programmed in the genes? There is no agreed upon definition for it, yet still everyone seems to be selling happiness these days - drug dealers, pharmaceutical companies, Hollywood, toy companies, self-help gurus, and, of course, Disney, creator of the Happiest Place on Earth. Can happiness really be purchased? Is happiness achieved by maximizing pleasure, earning fame and fortune, or living a life of unlimited leisure? The series of articles will briefly explore the evolution of happiness in Western thought, followed by the present cultural understanding in the West. Finally, the meaning and a few means of attaining happiness in Islam will be discussed.
Evolution of Happiness in Western Thought
The Christian idea of happiness was based on a reported saying of Jesus,
“…now is your time of grief, I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” (John 16:22)
The Christian idea of happiness was developed over the centuries and, in turn, rested on a theology of sin, which, as St. Augustine explained in The City of God, taught that because of Adam and Eve’s original transgression in the Garden of Eden, true happiness was “unattainable in our present life.”
In 1776, Thomas Jefferson, summarizing a good century of reflection on the subject in Europe and America, deemed the “pursuit of happiness” a “self-evident” truth. By this time, the truth of happiness had been declared so often and so confidently that, for many, it scarcely needed evidence. It was, as Jefferson said, self-evident. To secure the “greatest happiness for the greatest number” had become the moral imperative of the century. But just how “self-evident” was the pursuit of happiness? Was it, in fact, so obvious that happiness was our naturally intended end? Christians confessed that human beings pursued happiness during their earthly pilgrimage, but remained skeptical about its attainment. Elsewhere, Jefferson himself was pessimistic whether the chase would ever be brought to a satisfying conclusion. “Perfect happiness...was never intended by the Deity to be the lot of one of his creatures,” he specified in a letter of 1763, adding soberly that even “the most fortunate of us, in our journey through life, frequently meet with calamities and misfortunes which may greatly afflict us.” To “fortify our minds” against these attacks, he concluded, “Should be one of the principal studies and endeavors of our lives.”
Whereas in the fifth century, Boethius could claim that “God is happiness itself,” by the middle of the 19th century, the formula was reversed to read “Happiness is God.” Earthly happiness emerged as the idol of idols, the locus of meaning in modern life, the source of human aspiration, the purpose of existence, the why and the wherefore. If happiness was not, as Freud said, ‘in the plan of Creation,’ there were those ready to alter the handiwork of the Maker to put it there by manufacturing, consuming, and exporting it as democracy and free-market economy (materialism). As the philosopher Pascal Bruckner observed, “Happiness is the sole horizon of our contemporary democracies.” As a surrogate religion, materialism relocated God to the shopping mall.
Happiness in Western Culture
In our culture, it is commonly believed that happiness is achieved when you become rich, powerful, or popular. The young want to be that popular pop idol, the old dream of winning the jackpot. We often seek happiness by removing all stress, sadness, and irritations. For some, happiness lies in mood-altering therapies. Eva Markowitz, a historian, gives some idea of the American obsession with the gospel of therapy: “Today, this obsession knows no bounds…there are more than 260 [different kinds of] 12-step programs in America.”
One reason we have so much trouble attaining happiness is that we have no idea about what it is. Consequently, we make poor judgments in life. An Islamic tale illustrates the relationship of judgment with happiness.
“Oh, great sage, Nasrudin,” said
the eager student, “I must ask you a
very important question, the answer
to which we all seek: What is the
secret to attaining happiness?”
Nasrudin thought for a time,
then responded. “The secret of
happiness is good judgment.”
“Ah,” said the student. “But how
do we attain good judgment?
“From experience,” answered
Nasrudin.
“Yes,” said the student. “But how
do we attain experience?’
“Bad judgment.”
An example of our good judgment is knowing that materialistic comforts by themselves do not lead to lasting happiness. Having reached that conclusion by our good judgment, we do not retreat into our comforts. We continue to crave a happiness that seems out of reach. We make more money thinking that is the way to become happy, and in the process neglect our family. Most big events we dream of yield less sustained happiness than we hoped for. In addition to getting less happiness than we expected or hoped for, we frequently do not know exactly what we want, what will make us happy or how to get it. We misjudge.
Enduring happiness does not come from ‘making it.’ Imagine someone could snap their fingers and give you fame, fortune, and leisure. Would you be happy? You would be euphoric, but in the short run. Gradually you would adapt to your new circumstance and life would return to its normal mix of emotions. Studies show that big lottery winners after a few months are no happier than the average person! To recover the joy, you would now need an even higher high.
Consider, too, how we have “made it.” In 1957, our per-person income, expressed in today’s dollars, was less than $8,000. Today it is $16,000. With doubled incomes, we now have double the material goods that money can buy - including twice as many cars per person. We also have microwave ovens, color TVs, VCRs, answering machines, and $12 billion a year worth of brand-name athletic shoes.
So are we happier? No. In 1957, 35 percent of Americans told the National Opinion Research Center they were “very happy.” In 1991, only 31 percent said the same. Meanwhile, depression rates have soared.(American News Magazine)
Allah’s Prophet of Mercy said:
“True enrichment does not come through possessing a lot of wealth, but true enrichment is the enrichment of the soul.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari)
Keys to Happiness
Happiness is the only goal on earth that all people without exception are seeking to attain. Believers and unbelievers alike seek to be happy, but each party is using different methods.
However, only believers can achieve genuine happiness. All forms of happiness attained without a firm belief in God, the Almighty, are mere illusions.
The following are tips for the attainment of happiness:
1. Know that if you do not live within the scope of today, your thoughts will be scattered, your affairs will become confused, and your anxiety will increase. These realities are explained in the following hadith:
“When you are in the evening, do not expect to see themorning, and when you are in the morning, do not expect to see the evening.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)
2. Forget the past and all that it contained, focus on the present.
3. Do not completely preoccupy yourself with the future and then discard the present. Be balanced in life, prepare yourself adequately for all situations.
4. Do not be shaken by criticism; instead, be firm. Be sure that in proportion to your worth, the level of people's criticism rises. Also, make good use of criticism in discovering your shortcomings and faults, and let it drive you toward self-improvement.
5. Have complete faith in God and perform good deeds; these are the ingredients that makeup a good and happy life.
6. If you desire peace, tranquility, and comfort, you can find it all in the remembrance of God.
7. You should know with certainty that everything that happens, occurs in accordance with the divine decree.
8. Do not expect gratitude from anyone.
9. Train yourself to be prepared for the worst possibility.
10. Perhaps what has happened is in your best interest, even though you may not comprehend how that can be so.
11. Everything that is decreed for the believer is the best for him.
12. Enumerate the blessings of God and be thankful for them.
13. Remember that you are better off than many others.
14. Relief comes from one hour to the next. Indeed, with each difficulty there is relief.
15. In both times of hardship and ease, one should turn to supplication and prayer, either patiently contented or thankful.
16. Calamities should strengthen your heart and reshape your outlook in a positive way.
17. Do not let trivialities be the cause of your destruction.
18. Always remember that your God is Oft-Forgiving.
19. Assume an easy-going attitude and avoid anger.
20. Life is bread, water, and shade; so do not be perturbed by a lack of any other material thing.
“And in the heaven is your providence and that which you are promised.” (Quran 51:22)
21. A daunting evil that seemingly will happen usually never occurs.
22. Look at those who have more afflictions and be grateful that you have less.
23. Bear in mind the fact that God loves those who endure trials with steadfastness, so seek to be one of them.
24. Constantly repeat those supplications that the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, taught us to say during times of hardship.
25. Work hard at something that is productive, and cast off idleness.
26. Do not spread rumors and do not listen to them. If you hear a rumor inadvertently, do not believe it.
27. Know that your malice and your striving to seek revenge are much more harmful to your health than they are to your antagonist.
28. The hardships that befall you atone for your sins, if you endure with patience.
Allahu Mustahan
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