Perfect Happiness: Now and Forever

One of the most elusive objectives of every human being is "Happiness." The Quran reveals the secret of attaining perfect happiness in this life and forever. We learn from the Quran that happiness is an exclusive quality of the soul. Thus, a body that attains all the material successes it longs for - money, power, fame, etc. - often belongs to an unhappy person. Happiness depends totally on the degree of growth and development attained by the soul, the real person. The Quran provides a detailed map towards perfect happiness for both body and soul, both in this world and in the eternal Hereafter.

In the numerous verses throughout this proven Testament, God personally guarantees the believers' happiness, now and forever (10:62-64)

ROAD TO HAPPINESS
Seek to Please God

As believers in God alone, our priority in this life should be to fulfill God's expectation of us. We should live a life that will please God. What pleases God is not our utterances, but our actual intentions or actions to carry out His commandments. When pleasing God becomes the most important aspect of one's life, God will make every thing wonderful for him or her:

God promises those among you who believe and lead righteous life, that He will make them sovereigns on earth, as He did for those before them, and will establish for them the religion He has chosen for them, and will substitute peace and security for them in place of fear. All this because they worship Me alone, without setting up any idols besides Me. Those who disbelieve after this are the truly wicked" (24:55).

If you want to become a "king" or a "queen" on earth, then, you have to examine yourself sincerely at every opportunity. Anytime you have a problem in any aspect of your life -money, health, relationships, any problem-you must search for the lesson. As soon as you understand the lesson, everything will be all right. The problem will simply go away, and, more importantly, God will make it up to you. All bad effects of the past will be wiped out.

If you are sincere, God will perfect your relationship with Him, by putting you through tests, based on your weaknesses (3:14, 8:28). For example, if you hold anything to be more important than God, He might take it away from you, in order to test you. Therefore, one must ask himself, "What is the most important thing in my life?" If your job is the most important thing, it may be taken away. If your children are the most important aspect of your life, they may be taken away.

God: Number one priority

The number one priority in everyone's life should be to please God. No one or nothing else should take priority before God. What is the number one priority in your life? Is it pleasing God, or your boss? Is it doing your five daily prayers to please God, or pleasing your friends who may not understand why you bow and prostrate? Is it going to the Friday prayer or taking care of your business? Is it to be with the believers in Quranic study or fulfilling your own desires by seeking recreation on Friday nights? What is it? You have to examine yourself carefully, and you must correct the situation immediately. If you put pleasing your friends ahead of pleasing God, God will embarrass you in front of those friends. However, if you put pleasing God ahead of pleasing your friends, God will shower you with dignity and respect in front of those friends. He will make them, force them, to respect you, and even love you. God controls the minds and hearts of all the people. God is the one who makes them love you, or hate you, or respect you.

Do you act differently with the believers than you normally act? Do you speak up and give your opinion to other believers because you honestly want to share your thoughts and understanding with them, or do you simply want them to be impressed by your knowledge? If the reason you speak out is to be respected by the believers, God will take away that respect. Whereas, if you speak out from an honest and sincere desire to express Quran and learn with those around you, God will shower you with admiration from the believers.

Once you make pleasing God the most important thing in your life, you will possess the most valuable thing one can ask for - God's support. But, if you make anything more important than pleasing God, you will be tested over and over. If you do not realize that fact after all the tests, you will lose both in this world and in the Hereafter.