Finding True Happiness in Life

 Transcript of the Friday Sermon delivered by Dr. Munawar Haque on Dec 13, 2019

My dear brothers and sisters! In today’s khutbah, I wish to share some thoughts with you on the subject of happiness. What is true happiness? Who is a happy person?  How can we find happiness in our lives? Each one of us wants to feel happy. All of us want to find an inner peace within ourselves. It may not be wrong to say that the main motivating factor behind all our actions is to make us feel happy. 

However, the paths people take to find this happiness are different. There are those who believe that happiness will be found through material possessions, through wealth, through owning luxurious houses and cars. All their efforts are directed and focused towards increasing their assets in diverse forms—money, stocks, jewelry, silver, gold, precious stones, movable and immovable properties, and so on. 

There are others who think that happiness will be found through fame and recognition. The question uppermost in the mind of such people is, “What can make me famous? How can society recognize me?” Celebrities, artists, actors, actresses, models, and others who go into music and singing with the intention to gain popularity and recognition may be said to be among such people.

Then there are people who believe that happiness is found through satisfying their sensual instincts and animal desires, even if these actions go against all dictates of ethics and morality. They turn to activities involving unlawful or disapproved gratification of sexual desires, watching obscene images, listening to lewd music, consuming alcohol and drugs, and indulging in games of chance like gambling and lottery.  

And sadly enough, there are some who believe that happiness is a combination of all these factors. This is how we find “happiness.” But in reality, when we look at the people who have spent their lives following these various paths, and have attained great heights of richness, of fame, of power, and those who are most evil in terms of sensuality; they are not happy in their personal lives. They have not achieved the happiness that the rest of the people may think they have achieved.

As a matter of fact, these means and sources of happiness become a curse for such people. They get enslaved and entrapped in the things they chase and cannot live normal lives any longer. They become so much locked up with their activities in pursuit of happiness that they lose the real joys of life—no time for the family; no time to be happy. The inner peace and tranquility; the serenity, the sakeenah is lost.   

Their happiness, if any, is like a poisoned sweet. They enjoy it for a while, and then as soon as that enjoyment finishes, the sweet outer layer dissolves and what is left is bitter poison that rots the heart. This is something which people experience in their daily lives. When they commit a sin, they enjoy it. That's why they committed it. If there was no pleasure, why would they commit it? But let them ask themselves. While during the act of sinning or as soon as the act of sinning is finished, do they feel proud of themselves? Do they feel good? Do they feel happy from inside? No; they feel disgusted. They feel dirty from inside. 

All this shows us that the paths to happiness that mankind has chosen are not the ultimate paths to happiness. What is then the path to happiness? To understand this, we have to first understand who we are and what we are made of. We all know that the human being is made of body (jasad) and soul (rooh). The body and soul put together form life as we know it.

The body is made of earth—clay. Since the body is made of earth, in order to feed the body, we need the produce; the nutrients that come from the earth. So we eat and drink from the source of our body; the earth. Many people, if not most, consider pleasure to have to do with the body only. So they find pleasure through bodily experiences. They forget that what actually makes them human is the soul. What makes them above all other creatures is the intelligent soul given to them by Allah (SWT). And this soul; this rooh; where did it come from? Did it come from this earth? No! After fashioning Adam (AS) out of clay, Allah tells the angels,

وَنَفَخْتُ فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِي

"And I have breathed into him from My Spirit" (al-Hijr, 15:29).

This does not mean that there is any sort of divinity in man. It means, as the scholars say that the rooh is a creation of Allah (SWT) which He blew into man. Allah says,

 وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الرُّوحِ قُلِ الرُّوحُ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّي وَمَا أُوتِيتُم مِّن الْعِلْمِ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً

 “They ask you: what is the rooh?” “Say: The rooh is by the command of my Lord, and you have only been given a little knowledge about it.” 

What is the food and nourishment for the soul that will make it healthy and happy? Remember it is the soul more than the body that makes us human. The body grows, dies, disintegrates, will be resurrected, and thus goes through different phases. The soul will always remain soul. Being eternal and coming directly from Allah, it has to be nourished spiritually by establishing a conscious connection with its Creator—Allah (SWT). How do we establish a connection with Allah—by following His commands. And this is exactly what brings true happiness. Every act of ritual worship and every good deed feeds the soul and makes it happy. And even if the body is sick, weak, or dead, the soul being alive, being connected with its Creator; its Master, remains peaceful and happy.

But God forbid if the soul becomes sick or weak by not being connected with its Maker, then no matter how well the body is fed, and no matter how healthy it is, the soul will be almost dead. At this stage, one does not feel any purpose of life; one does not enjoy living. Allah likens such a person who does not worship Him as dead, and says,

مَن كَانَ مَيْتًا فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُ نُورًا يَمْشِي بِهِ فِي النَّاسِ كَمَن مَّثَلُهُ فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ لَيْسَ بِخَارِجٍ مِّنْهَا

“Can he who was dead, to whom we gave life, and a light whereby he could walk among people be like him who is in utter darkness from which he can never emerge?” (al-An’am, 6:122).

This ayah, according to the scholars tells us that the person who does not worship Allah is spiritually dead, even though he is physically living.  “We gave him life” implies bringing him into the sphere of connecting himself with Allah; giving him a reason to live, a reason to feel happy.

Brothers and sisters, ultimate happiness comes from Allah and in order to get that happiness, we need to establish a connection with Him. Once we establish that connection, the possessions, the wealth, the fame, the power, the status; all become secondary. The world does not become our ultimate goal. And when the world seizes to be our ultimate goal, then all of a sudden we are content with what we have. Our money, our wealth, our fame, our family, our health; if we have any or all of them; we thank Allah and say, Alhamdulillah. If we don’t, we still thank Him and say, Alhamdulillahi ‘Alaa Kulli Haal. We remain optimistic and hope the best from Him. This is how we begin to feel really happy.

May Allah make us taste true happiness; Allahumma Ameen.     

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ 

الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين

Brothers and sisters; let us ask a question to ourselves, and answer it in our own minds. How do we feel on a day we offer our five obligatory prayers with full consciousness and in their proper times? How do we feel when we recite the Qur'an? How do we feel inwardly at the time of breaking the fast with iftar after a long day of fasting in Ramadan? How do we feel after performing Umrah and Hajj? We truly feel happy. Can all the money in the world purchase that happiness inside of us; no, it cannot.

We feel happy and satisfied because through these acts; we establish a connection with Allah. He becomes a part of our life. When our goal is to please Allah in whatever we do, we feel fulfilled because we are fulfilling the purpose of our creation which is to worship and obey Him. Allah says, 

وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُون

“I did not create the Jinn and the humans except to serve Me. (al-Dhariyat, 51:56).

But when we neglect Allah; when we neglect the deen; what happens? No sinful pleasure-seeking activity brings true happiness. Rather, we feel bad; we feel disgusted. There is only sadness and regret that come to our lot. Our life gets wasted. Can all the money in the world get rid of the feeling that one gets after committing a sin; that feeling of guilt, that feeling of distancing oneself from Allah; no it cannot. People, including Muslims, experience this feeling in their lives.

Each one of us has been given an appointed time to live. Our life is like the ice that is melting. It is never too late. Let us wake up to the ultimate reality; to the realization that we are in transit, and our final journey is close at hand; closer than we can imagine. Allah says,

يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنسَانُ مَا غَرَّكَ بِرَبِّكَ الْكَرِيمِ

“O man! What has deceived you about your generous Lord” (al-Infitar, 82:6). And He says,

فَمَا لَهُمْ عَنِ التَّذْكِرَةِ مُعْرِضِينَ

“What is the matter with them? Why do they turn away from the warning? (al-Muddathir, 74:49).

What’s the problem? We know that sins increase our guilt, and ultimately make us unhappy. Worshiping and obeying Allah increase our happiness. Let us make an effort to diminish our sins. We are not angels. We are not perfect but we have to strive toward perfection. We have to keep on repenting to Allah; turning to Him in sincere repentance. We have to continue strengthening our relationship with Allah. Let us challenge ourselves not to approach the major sins; otherwise they will destroy us. Let us begin to taste the sweetness of iman. Once we taste it, it will be more addictive inshaAllah than any other sweetness on this earth, and this will raise us higher and higher inshaAllah. Let me conclude by quoting an ayah of the Qur’an that summarizes the entire khutbah.

أَلاَ بِذِكْرِ اللّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ

“Truly it is in the remembrance of Allah that hearts find peace” (al-Ra’d, 13:28). And with peace comes genuine happiness.  

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