How do we Achieve True Happiness?

The Pursuit of Enduring Happiness

We are all in pursuit of happiness. We seek it in relationships, in material possessions, in achievements. Yet, this pursuit often feels like chasing a mirage. The Qur’an provides a framework for understanding happiness that is both profound and liberating, distinguishing between fleeting pleasures and enduring bliss. It introduces the concept of sa’adah, a state of being free from hardship and suffering, a spiritual tranquility that is achieved by aligning one’s life with a higher purpose. This is the happiness that lasts, the happiness that is found in the Hereafter.

Worldly Joy vs. Transgression

The Qur’an does not condemn happiness associated with this world, but it warns against a specific kind of joy, farah that becomes batar, a joy that transgresses limits, leading to arrogance and forgetfulness of God. Qarun is a classic example; his wealth made him boastful, and he forgot his responsibilities to God and his community. In our lives, when material possessions or success cause us to become arrogant, to feel we no longer need God, or to be so distracted that we forget Him, we have fallen into this condemned state. The happiness we seek from these external factors is inherently volatile because the world is volatile. The novelty of a new car or a new house wears off, and these external sources of joy can be taken away in an instant.

The Soul and the Body

This is why we must strive for sa’adah, an internal state of restfulness. The journey to this enduring happiness begins by understanding the true relationship between the soul and the body. As one convert’s story powerfully illustrates, a life dedicated solely to satisfying the body’s desires leads to emptiness and confusion. When he fell ill, he realized he was more than just a body. The soul, he discovered, is the essential reality, and the body is like a donkey that must be trained and directed towards its goal, not allowed to lead its owner wherever it pleases. He found that true peace came not from fame or wealth, but from direct contact with God through Islam, which removed the barriers to the divine presence.

The Hereafter as Our True Life

This understanding of the soul leads us to the ultimate source of enduring happiness: the Hereafter. Belief in the afterlife provides a greater sense of purpose to this life. It explains why we are here. The creation of the heavens and the earth, the alternation of night and day, these are not random occurrences but signs for people of understanding. And those people, upon reflection, do not say, “We should enjoy this world as much as possible.” They say, “Our Lord! You have not created all this without purpose” (Q 3:191). This purpose is to prepare for an eternal existence. The Hereafter is not just a distant concept; it is the true life, and this life is the preparation for it.

The Trade-Off Between Dunya and Akhira

This world (dunya) and the next (akhira) are often presented in stark contrast. Dunya is temporary; akhira is eternal. Dunya is relative and fleeting; akhira is absolute and enduring. Imam Ali (as) described the world as less than a leaf in the mouth of a locust compared to the next. When we truly understand this trade-off, our priorities shift. This does not mean we neglect our duties in this world; rather, it reorients our relationship with it. As Imam Ali (as) said, “Aim for the Hereafter and this life will submit to you in humility.”

This is the secret to true happiness. When we focus on the Hereafter, our hearts are purified from the love of fleeting things. We become like Hurr, who, in a moment of clarity, chose paradise over the short-term gain of this world. True happiness, then, is not found in accumulating more of the dunya, but in freeing ourselves from its grip and directing our hearts toward the eternal promise of Allah (swt). It is the peace that comes from knowing that this life, with all its tests, is but a short prelude to a blissful eternity in His presence.

By Shiekh Ali Alsamail