We all want happiness. How we define this though, and how we seek it, differs. For some of us, happiness is wealth and material abundance. For others, it’s fame and renown. For others, it’s sensual pleasure and gratification. And for some, it’s a breakthrough in their field of expertise.
Amidst today’s unbounded pleasures and excess, however, more of us than ever remain unfulfilled. No matter how much we buy and consume, or how much we’re validated and gratified, there still lurks within us a void, a lingering feeling of emptiness that we cannot remove. That reassuring satisfaction and contentment we hope will come, actually never does.
It’s because we have suppressed and ignored an inborn instinct to know and worship our Maker. It’s this instinct that is man’s path to happiness.
Allah says: “But whoever turns away from My Reminder will certainly have a miserable life, then We will raise them up blind on the Day of Judgment”
(Surah Taha: Ayat 124)
“Truly in the heart there is a certain loneliness that cannot be removed except by spending time with Him in solitude. In it there is a sadness that cannot be removed except through the happiness of knowing Him and being true to Him … In it there is a void that cannot be filled except through loving Him, turning to Him constantly, always remembering Him, and being sincere to Him. Were a person to be given the entire world and everything in it, it would never fill this void.” – Ibn al-Qayyim (raḥimahullāh)
The Good Life
Allah (subḥānahū wa taʿālā) says in the Qur’ān:
مَنْ عَمِلَ صَٰلِحًا مِّن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنثَىٰ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلَنُحْيِيَنَّهُۥ حَيَوٰةً طَيِّبَةً وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْرَهُم بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ
“Whoever does good, whether male or female, and is a believer, We will surely bless them with a good life, and We will certainly reward them according to the best of their deeds” (16:97).
This āyah tells us that to live a good life, we need to be people of: (1) firm belief in Allah (īmān) and (2) righteous deeds (ʿamal ṣāliḥ)
What then is the ‘good life’? The ‘good life’ is the ‘paradise of this world’. It is a life in which a believer attains a deep sense of contentment, happiness and inner bliss through his worship, closeness and intimate conversation with his Creator.
Abū Bakr al-Warrāq (raḥimahullāh) defined ‘the good life’ as “the sweetness of obedience.”
What does it mean to ‘taste the sweetness of obedience’ or to taste the ‘sweetness of īmān’ (as mentioned by our beloved Prophet ﷺ)? Just as we enjoy the sweetness and incredible flavours of delicious foods with our mouths, īmān and worship also consist of a sweetness and special flavour which can be ‘tasted’ by our hearts. Thus, the ‘good life’ is the good life of the heart, and this is the real life.
In this world, the reward for īmān and righteous deeds is a good life. In the hereafter, however, there is even more, as we read in the āyah above: “We will certainly reward them according to the best of their deeds”. Imām al-Ghazālī (raḥimahullāh) said, “If the only reward of the person obeying Allah was the sweetness of the obedience, and feeling comfort in privately conversing with Him — it would be enough! Then how about the additional bliss of the hereafter?!”
A life with Allah begins with sincere repentance (tawbah), and revelling in the joy of reuniting with one’s Creator after having been away.
It is a life in which one relishes the sweetness of ṣalāh, as our beloved Prophet ﷺ said, “My utmost joy has been put in ṣalāh” (Nasā’ī). It is a life in which there is nothing more delightful and soothing to the heart than conversing and crying to one’s Lord in the stillness of the night, alone.
It is a life in which one feels the joy of hunger when fasting, and gives up his base desires —which he loves — for his Beloved, who he loves much more.
It is a life in which one makes the Qur’ān his best friend, and finds immense peace in its recitation as, “There is nothing sweeter to the lover than the words of his beloved, for it is the joy of their hearts and their utmost desire” (Ibn Rajab raḥimahullāh).
It is a life in which one happily serves his family, neighbours and the creation of Allah selflessly. It is life in which one overcomes his ego and emulates the sublime character (akhlāq) of Allah’s beloved, Muḥammad ﷺ.
It is a life in which one feels greater joy in helping others and giving charity than the recipients of the charity themselves. It is a life in which one is ready to sacrifice his own life, and cry out “By the Lord of the Kaʿbah! I have won!” (Bukhārī).
A life with Allah is a life in which the love of Allah supersedes everything else. It is a life of utmost dedication to Him, in which he loves to spend time worshipping Him, and his greatest desire is to meet Him and see Him in Paradise.
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