True Happiness According to Islam

Written by Zeeshan

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Search the Quran for forms of the word سعادة (happiness), you will find it only in Surah Hud:
When that Day arrives no soul shall speak except by His permission. Some shall be wretched, and others happy.
and
As for the happy, they shall live in Paradise for ever, so as long as the heavens and the earth endure, and as your Lord wills - an unbroken gift.

This only talks about the akhirah, not the dunya. Allah describes this dunya as distraction and deception. The prophet ﷺ told us this dunya is the believer's prison.

So, is there any happiness to be found in this dunya? Yes.

Allah says in Surah Nahl:
Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer - We will surely cause him to live a good life.

How do we gain this good life?

Allah tells us:
Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured.

Therefore, true happiness comes from remembering Allah. This entails not disobeying him, doing righteousness, etc. From doing so, a person gains contentment, peace, and hope. This is what a good life is. It is not a life free of difficulty, for the prophet ﷺ told us:
How wonderful is the case of a believer; there is good for him in everything and this applies only to a believer. If prosperity attends him, he expresses gratitude to Allah and that is good for him; and if adversity befalls him, he endures it patiently and that is better for him.

So, true happiness in this dunya is the peace that Allah sends to his devout believing servants. Allah says about the companions in Surah Fath:
It is He who sent down tranquillity into the hearts of the believers that they would increase in faith along with their [present] faith.
This tranquility (sakeenah) only comes from Allah. It does not come from any wealth or status. It comes from increasing in faith.