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جوري
03-24-2009, 07:56 PM
What is your definition of happiness?
This q is inspired by something I have seen on my vacation...

a really poor man was sitting on a street cafe in Cairo and a young girl (his daughter) approached him, so he went and bought her what I deem to be the smallest candy box I had ever seen.. her eyes just lit up, as she ran with it, every two minutes opening her box and looking inside, happiness couldn't contain her, and he went to sit back on the cafe with a content look on his face.. I couldn't help but think of the amount of foods we throw out every day, and how many of us medicate ourselves with pills to capture 'happiness' or at least a plateau of normalcy. It really tugged at my heart -- personally how I always think I'll be happiest when--- and then when comes and something else evades me.. how do we capture the ever elusive 'happiness'


:w:
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Tony
03-24-2009, 08:42 PM
Happiness is when my 4 and 3 year old boys cuddle me kiss me and say love you daddy. Allah blessed me and the love I get from my lads causes me to burst with happiness. All praise is His
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جوري
03-24-2009, 08:43 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Alpha Dude
Wa alaykum salam,

For me, happiness would lie in being 'away from it all' and just living an incredibly peaceful and simple life somewhere distant. An existance in a place where life revolves around Islam to its fullest and all people around you are humble, helpful etc and have no ulterior motives behind treating you well. Above all, where all these people are content with everything and don't yearn for materialistic things. That would be bliss.
^^ sounds like paradise.. so are you happy?
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Woodrow
03-24-2009, 09:11 PM
I personally feel that too many people equate happiness with pleasure and joy. Both of those may help bring happiness, but neither is happiness.

To me happiness is an inner belief that assures the person of a secure future and removes all need for external material stimulation or desires. I believe that a truly happy person will be happy no matter what trials and hardships they face.

I find that Islam provides that inner feeling for me.
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roohani.doctor
03-24-2009, 09:14 PM
Alpha Dude --> couldn't have said it better myself.

There are not many people you can find these day who truly earn for nothing but Allah's love. I only know one family, and every time I go to their house, I am drawn by the simplicity and the peace that fills their home. For as long as I can remember, they have inspired me to be a better Muslim, and though I try, It really is hard to ignore the worldly materialistic things.

I believe happiness is within all of us. Happiness is when you are praying and you feel connected to Allah. Happiness is reading the Quran and hearing the birds singing outside. Happiness is staring at the sky and remembering Allah and the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and doing Zikr. Happiness is feeding someone and seeing the light in their eyes. Happiness comes from the simplest things.
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*charisma*
03-24-2009, 09:21 PM
Assalamu Alaikum

I don't believe true happiness exists in this world. To me its just as abstract as the word 'perfection', that is, it can only be evaluated through previous experiences of 'happiness'. You'll always find something better during the course of your life, but you won't reach its epitome or completion because we're not supposed to. Happiness is reserved for our time in Paradise, just as Perfection is solely reserved for Allah.

There's a quote that says something along the lines of "Happiness if the feeling that we never want to stop feeling."

The only useful feeling to attempt to achieve in this world is sincere contentment, and that is where I find my 'happiness'.

fi aman Allah
w'salaam
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Uthman
03-24-2009, 09:25 PM
Wa 'Alaykum As-salaam
format_quote Originally Posted by *charisma*
The only useful feeling to attempt to achieve in this world is sincere contentment, and that is where I find my 'happiness'.
And as one of the posters mentioned, the best way to achieve that contentment is through Dhikr, right?
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Uthman
03-24-2009, 09:26 PM
It's interesting that so many people spend their entire lives seeking this thing called happiness, yet when it comes to defining it, they don't know what it is.
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*charisma*
03-24-2009, 09:39 PM
Assalamu Alaikum

Yeh. Sometimes, though, we have to have some reminder to drive us to that dhikr, like seeing a blind person and being thankful for our eyesight and just dwelling upon the simplicity of color that we would have never experienced. Allahu akbar, to have the entire world in your eyes! Or walking through the slums of a city and seeing all the homeless people--thinking of just that, one would realize that he lives in a castle even if it were just a tiny apartment.

I used to see the imam of my city walking around in the graveyard everyday...the value of life is an impact all in itself.

fi aman allah
w'salaam
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roohani.doctor
03-24-2009, 09:40 PM
I think happiness does exist in this world, but not in the way many of us think of it as. Like with the girl who got her candy, that was happiness for her. In the sense that happiness is the emotion you experience when you feel well. When you have achieved something.

Only happiness is not eternal in this world. it never lasts.
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Ansariyah
03-24-2009, 10:40 PM
Happiness is wen my lil baby niece speaks to me from her heart, n I hear it in my heart. Alhamdulilah.
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جوري
03-24-2009, 11:38 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Osman
It's interesting that so many people spend their entire lives seeking this thing called happiness, yet when it comes to defining it, they don't know what it is.
you are absolutely right, but I think a few people mentioned contentment and I think that is the secret to happiness..
I have seen people with wealth alot more than that little girl with her little 7alwa could dream of and they are absolutely miserable.. I wonder if when she grows older she would lose that genuine state... I wonder if happiness is stage of life related?

:w:
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alcurad
03-24-2009, 11:54 PM
it's very hard to put it in words,the simplest questions are hardest to answer,, I think the answer lies somewhere along the line of you getting what you truly lack ie. want, being true to your ideals, making someone else happy. also, it's created, as in we have to strive for it, actually more like we need to,,
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-Elle-
03-25-2009, 12:22 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Gossamer skye
you are absolutely right, but I think a few people mentioned contentment and I think that is the secret to happiness..
I have seen people with wealth alot more than that little girl with her little 7alwa could dream of and they are absolutely miserable.. I wonder if when she grows older she would lose that genuine state... I wonder if happiness is stage of life related?

:w:
:thumbs_up

Sounds like your making a connection between happiness and "innocence"...the little girl can find joy in the simple things in life, whereas, when people get older, ambitions develop(well, not all of us of course), and they always want more,more, more, thinking it will make them happy.

Simply put;

Happiness is peace at heart. Peace at heart is rare in this world; Allah(Swt) is constantly testing us, whether it be with sickness, poverty or wealth, failures,etc... Even if calamities aren't affecting us directly, as muslims, when we see our brothers & sisters suffering in war, can our hearts truly be at peace? Mine can't.

Therefore look for happiness in moments, as described in earlier posts (hugs from a loved one, for example), because true bliss is not eternal in this world.
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coddles76
03-25-2009, 12:41 AM
Happiness for me is measured on how content your heart is that your doing your utmost best to recieve the rewards of the hereafter. That means loving for the sake of Allah SWT and seeing the best results of my hard efforts to benefit my family and closest friends.
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Shukri18
03-25-2009, 01:21 AM
We all search for the beam of happiness that life claims to bring. I don’t have a direct definition as to what happiness means to me, because I don’t think I have reached that state of being where I was genuinely happy. I personally feel that… erm… well how can we be happy if we are always preparing to live? We go to school to get into a great college, go to college to get a degree, get that degree so we can a have a secure job, and some where along those lines we have to prepare for marriage and kids. Then when we work we work for retirement. Not only do we prepare in this life, but the hereafter as well. Now I’m not saying we should be careless and live our days as if it was our last. You are never promised tomorrow, nor are you ever promised your next breath. Now back to the question what is happiness? That answer to me personally sadly is yet to be discovered.
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syilla
03-25-2009, 01:38 AM
:salamext:

believe that a truly happy person will be happy no matter what trials and hardships they face.
I believe this too...

But i came to know (for a year), i can never be truly happy if i don't take extra care with my salah... imsad

“Truly, to a happy state shall attain the believers:
those who humble themselves in their prayer,
and who turn away from all that is frivolous,
and who are intent on inner purity.”
[Qur'an 23:1-4]

So...if i'm happy i'm just imagining it myself.
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Amat Allah
03-25-2009, 03:48 AM
I think and I am sure that the real happiness is being close to Allah and living just for his sake laa ilaha illa Allah

I swear by Allah the One who has our souls in his hand that living just for the sake of Allah is the true happiness ever coz when u do wa Allahi u will live happialy for ever and give up in this Dunya and its pleasuers and no matter what u will face and matter what u will lose u will be happy really happy coz Allah is in ur heart and ur thoughts always ....

trust Allah and u will feel like u r in heaven wa Allah and u r when being with Allah...

I am with my brother Woodrow %100

may Allah help us to worship him right and to get closer and closer to him and may he be pleased with us all Ameeeeeeeeeeen
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Amadeus85
03-25-2009, 10:58 AM
Hapinnes is being happy of the small things that happen more or less often, like meeting with the family, seeing friends, watching Champions League semi finals, eating fried rice with chicken from the vietnam bar or owning the long awaited album.
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MO783
03-25-2009, 12:15 PM
:sl:

I would say happiness is different things to different people.
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Musaafirah
03-25-2009, 12:35 PM
Happiness is when I eat my favourite chocolate bar.
No, I reckon I was happiest when I was little. I have the best memories from childhood.
Then I grew up.
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جوري
03-25-2009, 12:55 PM
Masha'Allah, I learned alot from all of you who have participated on this thread.. I think perhaps happiness is 'contentment' as far as this life is concerned.. since our mortality and the mortality of those around us will always detract from it...
unfortunately I am not a happy person.. I think I have come close to being happy but never really in the supreme state.. I was surprised that happiness can be attained looking inside a small candy box .. I was hoping it is just a childhood thing since she made me feel bad about the collective state of adulthood, on the poor and rich front of it..

sob7an Allah

Jazakoum Allah khyran

:w:
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NIKKY
03-25-2009, 01:14 PM
i dont fink u need much in life 2 b happy...lot's of little fings make me happy, i fink happiness lies within u and da way u fink...:)
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Muhaba
03-25-2009, 01:31 PM
happiness: being content, having inner peace, smiling genuinely no matter what happens, having faith that Allah wants the best for us & knowing that everything is in Allah's control and therefore everything will be all right no matter what happens and how bad things look. And, yeah, praying to Allah & striving to be as close to Him as possible.
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Imam
03-25-2009, 01:46 PM
:sl:

Some Happiness Quotes I like:


You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. Albert Camus


Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.Franklin D. Roosevelt

Bette Davis
You will never be happier than you expect. To change your happiness, change your expectation.

George Sand:
There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved.

Albert Camus:
But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?


Albert Schweitzer:
Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.

H.H. the Dalai Lama:
Happiness comes when your work and words are of benefit to yourself and others.
The basic thing is that everyone wants happiness, no one wants suffering. And happiness mainly comes from our own attitude, rather than from external factors. If your own mental attitude is correct, even if you remain in a hostile atmosphere, you feel happy.

Albert Schweitzer:
Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.

Aristotle:
Happiness belongs to the self-sufficient

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn:
One should never direct people towards happiness, because happiness too is an idol of the market-place. One should direct them towards mutual affection. A beast gnawing at its prey can be happy too, but only human beings can feel affection for each other, and this is the highest achievement they can aspire to.


Mahatma Gandhi
Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.

Edward de Bono:
Unhappiness is best defined as the difference between our talents and our expectations.


Edith Wharton:
If only we'd stop trying to be happy we'd have a pretty good time.
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Tony
03-25-2009, 02:04 PM
If the little girl is Muslims and the box is islam, the reward inside was small but the girl was ecstatic. Imagine upgrading your box continually untill the corners can hardly be seen, the reward inside will blow our minds. Praise Allah and get a big box. Allahu akbar
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Intisar
03-25-2009, 05:51 PM
:w: Happiness for me, is being able to leave all of my affairs to Allaah and have complete trust in him. Knowing that Allaah swt is the only one who knows my outcome, makes me happy. And praising the Prophet saws makes me happy as well. The only one other happiness that I have besides that, is when my parents smile at me. It really makes me feel like I've accomplished so much in this world alhamdulilah. If they are to die before me, I hope they are pleased with me inshaAllaah.

I'm a content person, small things make me happy too. Like my Dad doing things for me that I've begged for, for a very long time lol.
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جوري
03-25-2009, 09:03 PM
Happiness I suppose like everything else needs to be measured against something to be understood.. and I think the measuring unit is a personal meter.. though the feeling might be the same from one person to the next, we all start at different baselines..
but is the lowest common denominator for happiness the same?
How does an adult achieve the childlike state of happiness?
how does an atheist or a theist achieve happiness.
is it simply a state of mind that comes from being healthy?
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Woodrow
03-25-2009, 09:52 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Gossamer skye
Happiness I suppose like everything else needs to be measured against something to be understood.. and I think the measuring unit is a personal meter.. though the feeling might be the same from one person to the next, we all start at different baselines..
but is the lowest common denominator for happiness the same?
How does an adult achieve the childlike state of happiness?
how does an atheist or a theist achieve happiness.
is it simply a state of mind that comes from being healthy?
:sl:Ukhti,

do not try to quantify, qualify or measure happiness by any definition or method. It is a state of being. Just as existance is a state of being.

It is something we are born with, just as we are all born Muslim, it is only through time we learn how to loose it and wonder where it is.

We can not find happiness by looking for it, rather we need to dust off the clutter that keeps us from seeing it. we do have happiness, it is that we become so concerned with the trials of life we loose sight of it.

too often we become so overwhelmed with the pains, trials, and tribulations of life, we become blinded to happiness. Happiness is always there, we only need to reach out and not let our pains cloud our vision of it. Happiness is not dependent on the removal of pain, but we can remove the blocking of it by learning to accept and control pain, see our trials as learning experiences and understand pleasure will not bring happiness.

Striving to obey Allaah(swt) and following the path of Islam, will clear the clutter of what blocks us from seeing happiness. While it does not take much to be happy, it also takes very little to block our view of happiness.

Lastly, do not expect any of life's pleasures to bring happiness. But, expect happiness to help you enjoy life's true pleasures.
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YusufNoor
03-26-2009, 03:37 AM
:sl:

REAL happiness is that Allah [SWT] guided me to Islam!

worldly happiness is seeing my wife's beautiful smile!

Hopeful happiness would be seeing my Mom in Jannah, In Sha'a Allah!

:w:
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saba muslimah
03-26-2009, 06:09 AM
Asalam alikum to all..
well happiness....hhhmmm is very much mean to me, because i think its also from GOD Gifted to us... as i believe... When i feel happy...?? try to make others happy if they r in little sorrows,if the person need help just lil from my side .. then i feel happy... whenevr i giv litl support my mother in her work ...then its make me more happy..whenevr my family giving smile & appreciate my work ...then i feel more Glad & Happy.... Lots of lil thing makes me Haapy ..."Alhumdolilah M thankful to my Allah, Because he give All Happiness in our Life & sorrows too for after teking sorrows We realize the Happiness,mean to us" :D
Be Happy Always:thumbs_up
:w:
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syilla
03-26-2009, 08:43 AM
I found a thread on true happiness...hope it'll be beneficial to us all :)

http://www.islamicboard.com/manners-...happiness.html
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