Happiness in Islam : Concepts of Happiness 1   
      
      
      
   Description: The evolution of human thought in regards to the means in   
    which happiness may be attained.   
      
      
   Even though happiness is perhaps one of the most important things in life,   
   science still can not explain much about it.  Its concept itself is elusive.    
   Is it an idea, emotion, virtue, philosophy, ideal, or is it just programmed in   
   the genes?  There is    
   no agreed upon definition for it, yet  still everyone seems to be selling   
   happiness these days - drug dealers, pharmaceutical companies, Hollywood, toy   
   companies, self-help gurus, and, of course, Disney, creator of the Happiest   
   Place on Earth.  Can    
   happiness really be purchased?  Is happiness achieved by maximizing pleasure,   
   earning fame and fortune, or living a life of unlimited leisure?  The series   
   of articles will briefly explore the evolution of happiness in Western   
   thought, followed by the    
   present cultural understanding in the West.  Finally, the meaning and a few   
   means of attaining happiness in Islam will be discussed.   
      
   Evolution of Happiness in Western Thought   
      
   The Christian idea of happiness was based on a reported saying of Jesus,   
      
   "...now is your time of grief, I will see you again and you will rejoice, and   
   no one will take away your joy" (John 16:22)   
      
   The Christian idea of happiness was developed over the centuries and, in turn,   
   rested on a theology of sin, which, as St. Augustine explained in The City of   
   God, taught that because of Adam and Eve's original transgression in the   
   Garden of Eden, true    
   happiness was "unattainable in our present life."[1]   
      
   In 1776, Thomas Jefferson, summarizing a good century of reflection on the   
   subject in Europe and America, deemed the "pursuit of happiness" a   
   "self-evident" truth.  By this time, the truth of happiness had been declared   
   so often and so confidently that,    
   for many, it scarcely needed evidence.  It was, as Jefferson said,   
   self-evident.  To secure the "greatest happiness for the greatest number" had   
   become the moral imperative of the century.  But just how "self-evident" was   
   the pursuit of happiness?  Was    
   it, in fact, so obvious that happiness was our naturally intended end?    
   Christians confessed that human beings pursued happiness during their earthly   
   pilgrimage, but remained skeptical about its attainment.  Elsewhere, Jefferson   
   himself was pessimistic    
   whether the chase would ever be brought to a satisfying conclusion.  "Perfect   
   happiness...was never intended by the Deity to be the lot of one of his   
   creatures," he specified in a letter of 1763, adding soberly that even "the   
   most fortunate of us, in our    
   journey through life, frequently meet with calamities and misfortunes which   
   may greatly afflict us."[2]  To "fortify our minds" against these attacks, he   
   concluded, "should be one of the principal studies and endeavors of our lives."   
      
   Whereas in the fifth century, Boethius could claim that "God is happiness   
   itself,"[3]  by the middle of the 19th century, the formula was reversed to   
   read "Happiness is God."  Earthly happiness emerged as the idol of idols, the   
   locus of meaning in modern    
   life, the source of human aspiration, the purpose of existence, the why and   
   the wherefore.  If  happiness was not, as Freud said, 'in the plan of   
   Creation,'[4]  there were those ready to alter the handiwork of the Maker to   
   put it there by manufacturing,    
   consuming, and exporting it as democracy and free-market economy   
   (materialism).  As the philosopher Pascal Bruckner observed, "Happiness is the   
   sole horizon of our contemporary democracies."  As a surrogate religion,   
   materialism relocated God to the    
   shopping mall.   
      
   Happiness in Western Culture   
      
   In our culture, it is commonly believed that happiness is achieved when you   
   become rich, powerful, or popular.  The young want to be that popular pop   
   idol, the old dream of winning the jackpot.  We often seek happiness by   
   removing all stress, sadness,    
   and irritations.  For some, happiness lies in mood-altering therapies.  Eva   
   Moskowitz, a historian, gives some idea of the American obsession with the   
   gospel of therapy: "Today, this obsession knows no bounds...there are more   
   than 260 [different kinds of]   
    12-step programs in America."[5]   
      
   One reason we have so much trouble attaining happiness is that we have no idea   
   about what it is.  Consequently, we make poor judgments in life.  An Islamic   
   tale illustrates the relationship of judgment with happiness.   
      
   "Oh, great sage, Nasrudin," said   
      
   the eager student, "I must ask you a   
      
   very important question, the answer   
      
   to which we all seek: What is the   
      
   secret to attaining happiness?"   
      
       
   Nasrudin thought for a time,   
      
   then responded.  "The secret of   
      
   happiness is good judgment."   
      
       
   "Ah," said the student.  "But how   
      
   do we attain good judgment?   
      
       
   "From experience," answered   
      
   Nasrudin.   
      
       
   "Yes," said the student.  "But how   
      
   do we attain experience?'   
      
       
   "Bad judgment."   
      
       
   An example of our good judgment is knowing that materialistic comforts by   
   themselves do not lead to lasting happiness.  Having reached that conclusion   
   by our good judgment, we do not retreat into our comforts.  We continue to   
   crave a happiness that seems    
   out of reach.  We make more money thinking that is the way to become happy,   
   and in the process neglect our family.  Most big events we dream of yield less   
   sustained happiness than we hoped for.  In addition to getting less happiness   
   than we expected or    
   hoped for, we frequently do not know exactly what we want, what will make us   
   happy or how to get it.  We misjudge.   
      
   Enduring happiness does not come from 'making it.'  Imagine someone could snap   
   their fingers and give you fame, fortune, and leisure.  Would you be happy?    
   You would be euphoric, but in the short run.  Gradually you would adapt to   
   your new circumstance    
   and life would return to its normal mix of emotions.  Studies show that big   
   lottery winners after a few months are no happier than the average person!  To   
   recover the joy, you would now need an even higher high.   
      
   Consider, too, how we have "made it."  In 1957, our per-person income,   
   expressed in today's dollars, was less than $8,000.  Today it is $16,000.    
   With doubled incomes, we now have double the material goods that money can buy   
   - including twice as many    
   cars per person.  We also have microwave ovens, color TVs, VCRs, answering   
   machines, and $12 billion a year worth of brand-name athletic shoes.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)