The Meaning of Happiness

Was reading the book "Tasauf Moden" by Prof Dr Hamka this morning. There's dis part abt the meaning of happiness in the book, which kinda strikes me to share and formulate my own ideas based on points in this great book:

There are various definitions to what we perceive as happiness. For instance, happiness to a poverty-stricken guy is wealth. Happiness defined by a sick person would be health. For someone who is madly in love, happiness would mean uniting with his lover. For a nation under an opressive regime, happiness would mean liberty and freedom. For countryside folks, such as Asma' Binte Bahdad, the wife of the caliph Mu'awiyah Bin Abu Sufyan, happiness would be returning to the countryside in a humble house, despite at that moment residing in an extravagant palace.

For a rich fat a**hole I came across in the past, happiness would mean stealing other people's gf for the sake of love, despite stooping down so low and having disregard of moral values that separate man from animals. And to the b*tch who eventually followed him, happiness would mean cheating on other people's heart and sucking wealth and resources dry, like a leech, and when this fat guy has nothing more to offer, she will leave him in search of fresher blood to suck, because that makes her happy.

Is happiness subjective? What exactly is this happiness that we mankind pursue so much to the extent of even killing each other for happiness? What do philosophers, who spend sop much time thinking about life, its problems and deriving solutions to solve its problems, say about this issue?

According to Aristotles, happiness is a subjective issue. To each, his own pursuit of happiness, his or her own definition of what he or she perceives as happiness. And after each and every individual has obtained happiness, only then can humanity take measures to pursue collective happiness. Aristotle added that once collective happiness is achieved, individuals would no longer be subjected to his or her own definition of happiness, and that happiness is a blessing from the Creator who decides who to choose to be happy.

Hendrik Ibsen, a Norwegian philosopher, concluded that happiness is just about spending the years in our lives. This is because usually once someone achieves that happiness he or she perceives to be, he or she then ceases to be happy. Hence there is no end to the pursuit of happiness, and a mere mirage, until we die.

In a striking contrast, Leo Tolstoy, a Russian philosopher, perceived happiness to be collective in nature. An individual who seeks his own definition of happiness will never achieve happiness, unless it is done together, without compromising another individual's pursuit of happiness.

According to George Bernard Shaw, the reason why individuals are unable to achieve happiness is due to the failure of mankind to learn from the lessons of the past, and the ignorance of mankind to seek ultimate happiness, which is to live within the framework of universal morality.

Finally we arrive at our dearest Hujjatul Islam, Imam Al-Ghazali, who said that ultimate happiness lies in the remembrance of Allah. Imam Ghazali added that happiness for the eyes is to look at wonderful and beautiful things, happiness for the ears is to hear wonderful sounds and music. But the happiness for the heart is the ma'rifah to Allah, because the heart is a tool to remember Allah. The heart that has achieved this ma'rifah, will feel a deep longing to meet his lord because the eyes of his heart is open, hence he can virtually see his lord, the Most Magnificent among all.

Imam Ghazali pointed out that the pursuit of ultimate happiness lies in balancing these 3 aspects:

1) Fury
2) Desires
3) Knowledge

Too much fury would result in someone being destructive. On the other hand, without fury, someone would be unable to uphold justice and would be virtually unmotivated to live at all.

The same goes for our desires. Letting our desires take control over our lives will drown us in our bad habits. Having no desires at all, life would have no meaning and beauty!

Imam Ghazali added that inherent in us are negative emotions that is more akin to those found in animals. Yet this negative emotions are not the true us, they are emotions that exist outside the existence of the soul, emotions that only come about after the creation of the soul. The true soul is free from negative emotions, and the nature of the soul is full of goodness and morality.

What does the Qur'an say about happiness?

1) Those who remember Allah and in praises of their lord achieves happiness
"But those will prosper who purify themselves(their hearts). And glorify the name of their Guardian-Lord, and (lift their hearts) in prayer." (Al-A'la 14-15)

2) Those who are always in a state of syukur for all the nikmat that Allah has blessed them with
"...Call in remembrance the benefits (ye have received) from Allah (syukur): that so ye may prosper." (Al-A'raf:69)

3) Those who are generous in giving and are able to free themselves from the state of bakhil
"...And those saved from the covetousness of their own souls (bakhil),- they are the ones that achieve prosperity." (Al-Hasyr:9)

Wallahu A'lam

P.S: And You make me happy, You give butterflies in my stomach!! :D

And the butterflies im talking about is not the nasi goreng i ate just now, which will eventually be digested and turned to shit, which will eventually be shitted out and flushed down the toilet bowl, which is then processed to become NeWater that you folks are drinking now :P