Feel awful for wanting to enjoy life/be happy?

[TDWT]

I mean, I do want to enjoy my life(not to a self-destructive level/habit or hedonistic, like doing hobbies for example, exercising, cooking etc. However, I see all these people suffering around the world and think, how can I when they are having it much worse than I do. Does anyone else feel like this? Maybe I should be miserable for the rest of the my life as a way to make up. I mean, I do come from a privileged background and have basic needs, so perhaps I should limit my happiness to compensate.

[Blueflame]

Why not just do more ibaadah and give to charity?

[Eric H]

Greetings ad peace be with you TDWT;

so perhaps I should limit my happiness to compensate.

Happiness is an elusive quality like a butterfly, the more we chase after it, the more it flies away. I think real happiness comes in helping other people to be happy.

The feeling of being miserable, is God's way of challenging us to do something. But just bear in mind, whatever we do is like a small drop of water in a huge leaky bucket, the problems are vast and the solutions are beyond what any individual can do. So we try and do something.

Blessings
Eric

[azc]

If you see any person in need, looking at you for help. Give him the money and purchase extreme happiness.

['Abd-al Latif]

I mean, I do want to enjoy my life(not to a self-destructive level/habit or hedonistic, like doing hobbies for example, exercising, cooking etc. However, I see all these people suffering around the world and think, how can I when they are having it much worse than I do. Does anyone else feel like this? Maybe I should be miserable for the rest of the my life as a way to make up. I mean, I do come from a privileged background and have basic needs, so perhaps I should limit my happiness to compensate.

[Supernova]

Asalaamualaykum

Dear brother in islam

Your initial feeling for less fortunate is admirable however your deduction of possible action is not.

When you see someone less fortunate, our duty is to help to upgrade their lives - not downgrade your own life !!!

Let me give you hypothetical situation to think about so as to clarify:

Imagine if a patient is chronically ill, dying with disease X. Next to that patient is an injection which if injected will cause disease X into the organism its injected into. Now a Dr comes along with the intent to help the patient and instead of finding a possible solution, the Dr now takes upon himself your ideology, and thinks well....instead of helping this patient let me suffer with him/her and then injects himself with injection.

Common sense will tell you that the Dr has put himself in a situation that is most unhelpful to the patient who he initially wanted to help. Simply put it becomes a paradox. The Dr will now become critically ill exactly to that of the patient and render himself useless in any form of possible assistance.

When a person comes from a privileged home like yourself - his duty in islam is to use the blessing of that wealth in terms of sadaqa/lilla/zakaat towards the less fortunate.

If you reject your glad tidings - then logically we would end up with just more needy person and one less person to help the needy.

Wasalaam.

[sister herb]

I mean, I do want to enjoy my life(not to a self-destructive level/habit or hedonistic, like doing hobbies for example, exercising, cooking etc. However, I see all these people suffering around the world and think, how can I when they are having it much worse than I do. Does anyone else feel like this? Maybe I should be miserable for the rest of the my life as a way to make up. I mean, I do come from a privileged background and have basic needs, so perhaps I should limit my happiness to compensate.

These kind of feelings have been more than familiar to me during my works for human rights. How I can be happy in my life while so many live miserable life with no hope? Have I right to be happy and enjoy my life or should I feel guilty while doing so? I have realised that my feelings don´t change anything but my acts may do. How it would help others that I feel miserable? It doesn´t, but for being able to help others I have to take care about myself, live balanced life and enjoy about it. It keeps me health and active. If not, it may makes me sick and depressed and then I am not able to help anyone at all.

So, how it would helps others if you limit your happiness? It only makes you tired, passive, maybe sick and surely unable to help others.

[M.I.A.]

you know there are a lot of young people out there with similar mindset, within our local community people have set up charities, fundraisers that help those you are worried about.

24 hour football tournaments, charity runs and neighbourhood cleaning projects.. its just a matter of finding those people or initiating those actions.

may allah swt help you fulfill your potential.

[Eric H]

Greetings and peace be with you 'Abd-al Latif;

Thanks for the video link, very helpful.

Blessings

Eric