What is the ONE thing all human beings instinctively seek all their lives? Happiness. But what exactly is happiness? According to the Oxford dictionary, happiness is defined as “the state of feeling or showing pleasure or the state of being satisfied”. But there is a difference between being happy and being contented.
“Happiness and contentment are two fundamentally different things. Happiness is moments. It never stays. It can’t stay. Contentment is a state of being. And if a person can reach that state of being, then there are more moments of happiness. And the hard moments become easier to navigate.” – Nouman Ali khan
So how do you attain contentment? How to become satisfied with one’s life?
Narrated An-Nu’man bin Bashir:
I heard Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) saying, ‘Beware! There is a piece of flesh in the body if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good but if it gets spoilt the whole body gets spoilt and that is the heart.’ 1
From this hadith, we come to know that it is the heart that must be at peace for us to attain true happiness.
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Richness does not mean having a great amount of property, but richness is self-contentment.” 2
So now the question is, how to bring peace to the heart? Is it through attaining power, money, fame and other materialistic things? If so, why do we see so many celebrities committing suicides every now and then? The question most people ask is this, “Why would they want to take their own life, when they had ‘everything’?” But did they have everything?
We narrate a story of a famous French rapper, Mélanie Georgiades, better known by her stage name Diam’s. By 2007, she seemed to have it all, living the life that many dreamed of. Yet, despite her success, she felt unfulfilled and deeply troubled about her life, something that made her search for answers.
“All this stuff, the money, the success, the power did not make me happy. I was searching for happiness; I was very, very sad, and I was alone. I was wondering why I was on this earth. I knew it was not to be rich or famous, because I had those things, and they did not make me happy. So, I began searching for answers to all my questions.” – Georgiades told Arab News while in Makkah 3
So, what is the purpose of life? Why are we on this Earth? Allah answers that in the Quran:
“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” 4
Our sole purpose is to worship Allah. Our whole life should revolve around this. Our heart can truly know peace when its fulfilling its purpose of obeying Allah.
“Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.” 5
Nothing can make us happier than seeking the pleasure of Allah. Allah tells us in Quran about what is the greatest happiness, calling it a ‘supreme success’.
“Approval from Allah is greater. It is that which is the great attainment.” 6
In order to achieve happiness, we need to worship Allah in its true meaning. We need to give thanks to Him and obey Him in all matters of the Deen and dunya.
“Truly in the heart there is a void that can not be removed except with the company of Allah. And in it there is a sadness that can not be removed except with the happiness of knowing Allah and being true to Him. And in it there is an emptiness that can not be filled except with love for Him and by turning to Him and always remembering Him. And if a person were given all of the world and what is in it, it would not fill this emptiness.” — Imam Ibn al-Qayyim
References:
[3] Arab News
[4] Quran 51:56
[5] Quran 13:28
[6] Quran 9:72
