The Idea of Happiness in the Qur’an | Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research

the Qur'an uses the word 'ata' to describe happiness felt in the hereafter means giving and refers to God's uninterrupted giving to those in paradise

when humans give freely in this world they will become the recipients of divine giving in the hereafter

this kind of happiness is different to the mere physical enjoyment that we receive through our physical senses because the happiness we get from our external virtues like our friends or our wealth is temporary and will fade while the happiness the Qur'an refers to is a permanent state of happiness in paradise.

next the quran talks about the happiness that is felt in this world and categorizes this kind of happiness into two types of joy

• number one negative joy and
• number two positive joy

negative joy is also called blameworthy joy and we feel this when we celebrate the material things of this world for the sake of worldly gains

positive joy is also called praiseworthy joy and it's the joy that comes with celebrating the material things as gifts from God and for the benefit that they bring 

The Qur'an keeps reminding us that on the day of judgment those who do good in this world will get their book of righteous deeds and be eternally happy in the hereafter in paradise and

those who don't, will receive misery instead  

according to islamic philosophers humans strive for eternal happiness in paradise

this happiness is earned through the purification of the soul

and all of the bounties that are granted to us like wealth and friends are used to help us purify ourselves

so for islamic philosophers the answer to what is happiness is that there are two kinds of happiness

happiness of this world and happiness of the hereafter

and the answer to how to achieve this happiness is that we must pursue worldly pleasures in 'moderation' and with proper intentions

according to the philosophers we feel happiness in this world through three means

• one the soul through virtues of wisdom justice and temperance
• two the body through health strength and beauty and
• three through external virtues like wealth and status 

there are two perspectives to wealth according to swiss-born british philosopher alain de button the primary driving force for humans is status

and wealth is a means to achieve status but he states that wealth doesn't always bring happiness.

according to the stoics, virtue is what makes people happy but they were also indifferent to the death of their loved ones

the stoics see socrates as a true hero because of his calm self-sufficient demeanor in misfortune and his low evaluation of worldly goods.

Islamic philosophers on the other hand agree that wealth doesn't equal happiness but the basic well-being of a person contributes to their happiness as well

if wealth is seen as a means to achieve a higher spiritual existence then it is beneficial

when it comes to our external virtues moderation is the key to our happiness

• temperance is a key virtue that allows us to be masters of the things that bring us joy rather than slaves to them
• it is the practice of being moderate in our actions and in our desires
• remember our desires are just a means to an end and our end is to serve the soul
• the soul in turn is a means to serve god
• simply put, our desires are a means of serving our souls
• so we have to make sure we moderate our desires so our souls don't become dependent on them
• in turn our souls serve God...if our desires take over our souls we cannot serve God properly

moderation of desire through reason and guidance of the qur'an has been highlighted as the key to happiness

• our souls have three faculties or departments

1. number one the rational
2. number two the concupiscent which is where our desires lie and
3. number three the irasable where our emotions are found

the virtue of our souls emerges when the rational department has control over the other two

so in other words when the rational has control over our desires and our emotions, the goodness in our soul emerges

the key is to focus on controlling the concupiscent

this refers to controlling our desires meaning our abdomens and our private parts

so basically food, physical intimacy and wealth humans enjoy fulfillment of these parts in the same way animals do

exercising self-control and moderation when it comes to food physical intimacy and wealth leads to happiness

remember the key to happiness is virtue and temperance is the key to virtue

so when we live according to our needs and not our desires we attain the virtues of temperance.