How to have a happy life?

How to have a happy life?

ALLAH (ﷻ) said, “O Ahmad, do you know what kind of life is most pleasurable, and what kind of life is most enduring?”

Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said, “Oh my lord, no.”

ALLAH (ﷻ) the Exalted said, “As for the most pleasurable life, it is the one who never ceases remembering me, nor does he forget my blessings, nor is he ignorant of my rights. He seeks My pleasure day and night.”

Following the discussion we had regarding the love of ALLAH (ﷻ), the Exalted, we said that one of the narrations deals with this issue, and the main objective of its other topics is also the same.

This is the hadith al-qudsi that pertains to the conversation between the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) and ALLAH (ﷻ), the Exalted, on the night of Ascension (Miraj).

If someone claims that this narration is a complete course in divine education and the spiritual journey and that it contains the most excellent knowledge regarding this theme, his claims would not be extravagant.

In any case, part of this explanation is explicitly about the love of ALLAH (ﷻ) and the attributes of the lovers of (ALLAH the exalted).

But initially the discussion starts at a significant place from an educational perspective, meaning it is entirely compatible with the principles of educational psychology.

Addressing the Prophet (ﷺ), ALLAH (ﷻ) says, “Do you know what kind of life is most pleasurable, and what kind of life is most enduring?”

Naturally, in that position, the Prophet (ﷺ) must express ignorance before ALLAH (ﷻ), the Exalted, so he says that I do not know anything.

Then ALLAH(ﷻ), the exalted from the teaching position, first defines the most pleasurable life and what an enjoyable life is.

(He says) “As for the most pleasurable life, it is the one who never ceases remembering Me…” A pleasurable life is one in which the one who is living this life does not get tired of remembering ALLAH (ﷻ).

Meaning they always remember ALLAH (ﷻ) cheerfully. They feel energized and strong when remembering ALLAH (ﷻ).

“Nor does he forget my blessing, nor is he ignorant of my right. He seeks my pleasure day and night.” This is the most pleasurable life.

Now, we all know that this is definitely correct, but what does a pleasurable and happy life have to do with always remembering Allah?

If someone has a tasbih (Prayer beads) in their hand and is always saying Ya ALLAH (ﷻ) , does life become very sweet in this way? Or if he does not forget the blessings of ALLAH (ﷻ), he remembers how many blessings ALLAH (ﷻ) has given him in his life. 

What do these have to do with the necessary conditions for the most pleasurable life?

Well, let’s first see- what is it that makes life pleasurable? With this intellect that we have, even if we didn’t have these sayings and instructions of the Ahl al-Bayt (a), we would have thought about what kind of life is pleasurable.

Ok, we know that in this world that we live in, this life that we know, this life of dunya, there are many things that a person can enjoy. If people possess those things and enjoy them, they will have a pleasurable life. But we know that we do not always find enjoyment in these things. Sometimes, there are means of enjoyment, but we do not enjoy them.

This is because we ignore what enjoyable factors exist for us. For example, when I speak to you, I can speak in a way that makes you hear and understand me. Now calculate how many conditions are necessary for a person to speak, I must have air, I must have a larynx, and I must have vocal cords.

I must be able to pass the air through the lungs until they vibrate the vocal cords and make a sound. I also must have learned how to speak. When a person is born, they do not know how to speak. 

In any case, speaking- now before I said all of this to you, I did not even remember that my speaking and the power of speech is also a blessing. A person can also enjoy their tongue through speaking and developing familiarity.

Countless blessings of ALLAH (ﷻ)

I have eyes, ears, hands, feet, etc. 

وَإِن تَعُدُّوا۟ نِعْمَةَ ٱللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَآ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَغَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ (١٨)

If you tried to count ALLAH’s blessings, you would never be able to number them. Surely ALLAH is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

an-nahl 18

So, the more I know what I have and how many means of enjoyment and happiness are available to me, the more pleasure I will experience. If someone does not remember these blessings from Almighty ALLAH (ﷻ), they will not enjoy them.

Appreciating health: A forgotten blessing

We all are more or less healthy. Praise be to ALLAH (ﷻ), but we do not remember that health is also a blessing. If someone is sick and sleeps in a hospital for a few days, that time, he will make vows not to enjoy it because we don’t remember it. At that time, he realizes that his health is a blessing. We all have this blessing but do not enjoy it because we don’t remember it.

So, for us to have a happy life, we must pay attention to every means of enjoyment available to us. We must know these exist. We must understand that we are blessed with these things.

Now, contrary to this, all of us have ultimately, more or less, tasted the bitterness of life- the different types of bitterness that exist in life, such as tribulations, pains, worries, separation and loss, oppression, etc.

In the future, all of these possibilities exist for us. Even at a time when a person has a pleasurable and pleasant life, paying attention to these possibilities for calamities makes a person distressed and turns their happiness into sadness.

I do not know what will happen in the next hour- what will happen to my child and my father, mother, spouse, and loved ones.

These are possibilities because a person does not know what can present these possible calamities, pains and anguish, sicknesses, and distress.

Keys to a fulfilling life

And this makes a person unable to have a happy life. This turns a person’s happiness into sadness. Suppose a person truly wants to have a pleasurable life in every way possible, first of all, whatever blessing is available to him. In that case, he should use it and also pay attention to how valuable of a blessing it is. 

The more he understands its value, the more he enjoys it, and the more his life will become pleasurable. He also must somehow be assured that calamities and these things will not harm him and that he is immune from pains, calamities, and worries.

This is the meaning of pleasurable life for anyone who says that life is enjoyable; it indicates that the means of enjoyment are available to him and that he is not worried about the future.

How to have a happy life?

But who in this world has absolutely everything that makes him happy or knows that he can get it from somewhere? And who knows that calamity can threaten him?

And if a calamity reaches him, he knows an intermediary can prevent it. There is Someone who can ward off the calamities from him. There is no way except if a person knows that there is Someone who, with all of these blessings that we have, He gave them. And He can ward off all calamities.

And through connection with Him, a person finds peace of mind.

The only way for a person to be comfortable and at peace and not have stress or worry about the future is that they know there is Someone who has everything in His hands. But this alone still is not enough.

Yes, everything is in His hands, and He can do anything, but (the question arises) will he do it?

If a person knows that ALLAH is so merciful, whatever He does to them is for their own good.

When Someone works to get paid, they get tired and sweat. They are satisfied with this and are looking for work so that they can work hard and get paid.

Peace through faith: Trusting in Allah’s (ﷻ) Infinite Mercy

So, in this world, tiredness can also be a blessing. But we do not know what is good for us and what is bad for us. But we do not know how to obtain that which is to our benefit or how to distance that which is to our detriment. Except for the one who has faith in ALLAH (ﷻ) and remembers ALLAH (ﷻ) alone, who has infinite power, infinite knowledge, and infinite mercy. This kind of person has no worries in this life and the afterlife (aalam-e-barzakh).

The stronger this belief is and the more this attention is, the calmer and more comfortable a person will be. They will not have any worries. You all have seen examples of this; if you haven’t seen it, you have heard it.

One of these examples is Imam Khomeini (r). During the times of struggles and these things, he once swore that until now, I have never been afraid of anything, and I am not afraid of anything. A person may say this, and some may take this as an exaggeration, but those who knew the Imam knew he was not the type to exaggerate and make bluffs.

In fact, he would not even speak about himself. He said this as advice and benefits to people. He was not the type to praise himself and say that I have knowledge, perfection, and virtues. He said this for the benefit of people.

But so, How does a human being become like this?

Suppose a child is holding his father’s hand, and his idea of harm and loss is to be hit by other children. He knows that as long as I am holding my father’s hand, no one would dare harm me because his father is a champion in his eyes. His mind is at ease. Similarly, If a servant of ALLAH (ﷻ) held the hand of ALLAH (ﷻ) in the same way and relied on Him, he would not have any grief or sorrow- especially when he knows that whatever ALLAH (ﷻ) wants for Him, it is for his own good.

Conclusion

Thus, for us to have a pleasurable life, we should have the best happiness, and the best happiness is that we enjoy anything joyful.

Our problem is that, for example, we are busy eating and are enjoying eating. At that same time, a person cannot enjoy reading or studying because they are eating. 

Or other enjoyments that cannot be combined with eating. Hundreds of means of enjoyment around us are available for us to use them all, but we do not even notice that such things exist. We must first realize how many means of enjoyment are available to us.

Dua collection from salatallayl

Please leave this field empty

Salatallayl's Newsletter!

Stay connected with us for enriching and insightful information. Join our community today!

Email Address *

First name

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Thankyou for subscribing tour weekly newsletter! Please Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.