Pursuit of Happiness
By Mohammed Faqih | 2026-01-16T19:47:22.358789+00:00 | Topic: Iman
Pursuit of Happiness
Speaker: Sheikh Mohammed Faqih
Opening
"Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you."
"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful."
Khutbat al-Hajah (Opening Sermon)
"Indeed, all praise is for Allah. We praise Him, and we seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils within ourselves and from the evils of our deeds. Whomever Allah guides, none can misguide, and whomever Allah misguides, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah alone, without any partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, His chosen one from among His creation and His beloved. He conveyed the message, fulfilled the trust, and advised this nation. May the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him."
"O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims."
Surah Ali 'Imran 3:102
"O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer."
Surah An-Nisa 4:1
"O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment."
Surah Al-Ahzab 33:70-71
Introduction
My dear brothers and sisters, I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to bless this community. And hope that we all have a better year than the past year. And in the beginning of this year, I wanted to talk about something very basic.
However, tonight inshallah 'azza wa jal, I want to discuss with you a very important topic. One of the most wished elements around this time of the year is happiness. And happiness means different things to different people.
And then there's that whole debate about happiness being the result of success. And those who disagree with that and say, no, happiness is what leads to success. Happiness is the ultimate pursuit of every human being.
And we have this whole debate about it. And it's something that started a long time ago. And I intend today just to share with you a very simple concept.
But before I do that, I would love to have inshallah all of you squeeze in, fill in all the gaps. Leave no gaps. If there's a gap between you and the person next to you, try to just squeeze in.
Inshallah 'azza wa jal, due to the rain, we won't be able to have anyone stand outside or pray outside. So if you can inshallah ta'ala squeeze in. And I see a lot of gap.
Almost each row can take two or three more individuals. Inshallah.
The Story of Adam and Hawa in Jannah
So this simple concept begins with the story of the arrival of the first human being to this planet.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told Adam and Hawa:
Surah Al-Baqarah 2:35
"Enter Jannah. Live in Jannah."
And everything was given to them. All means and elements of happiness were granted in Jannah. The ultimate success, the ultimate prize was handed to them. It was given to them.
So they were granted this access to Jannah. In another surah, Allah says:
Surah Ta-Ha 20:118
"You're not going to feel any hunger in it. Everything is given."
Can you imagine a life like that? That's something that we're all hoping for and ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala not to deprive us from that due to our own sins. Jannah, the ultimate prize. Adam and Hawa were given this.
Then there was that sin or mistake. And the cost was to come to this planet. So coming to this planet was, if you will, a demotion, a downgrade.
And the test was make it back to Jannah. The goal was make it back to Jannah. Adam and Hawa, Adam and Eve, our parents, their ultimate goal and their focus in life was how to make it back to Jannah.
Now for Adam and Hawa, they experienced Jannah. They knew what Jannah was like. They told their children what Jannah was like and what Jannah is and how they should work hard to get back to Jannah.
And the children told their children. And then at some point we lost track and we forgot. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, every generation that keeps getting distracted with this dunya, which means the lowest or the lower, every time we settle for this, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sends us prophets and messengers to remind us.
And then other things happen in our own individual experiences and lives. We have all these things that are happening to remind us that this dunya is really not worth it and that there is something bigger that we should be aspiring for, something that we should be looking forward to. And inshallah this Sunday inshallah 'azza wa jal we'll talk about that as well.
This whole weekend inshallah we'll focus on that. Allah 'azza wa jal in the Quran says:
"Successful are the believers."
And then Allah 'azza wa jal tells us what the road map is to that beautiful place.
Three Major Ways to Enter Jannah
Today I would like to share with you three major ways to enter Jannah or to get back to Jannah and three practical ways.
First Way: Belief and Righteous Deeds
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the Quran makes it very clear:
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told Adam and Hawa that I will send you guidance and those who follow my guidance will be no fear upon them nor shall they grieve. And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told them that those who believe in Allah 'azza wa jal, maintain their belief and do righteous deeds, will be indeed the dwellers of Jannah.
They will live in it forever. In another surah Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:
"Those who believe in Allah, those who believe in Allah, the giver of Jannah, the creator of Jannah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the Lord of Jannah."
"Those who believe in Allah and they say Allah is our Lord."
"And then they live an upright life."
"When the angels come at the time of their death, the angels will let them know that they should be at peace today. And there will be no grief after this day for you."
Yes, there will be grief for the members of that individual who is passing away. There will be sadness and sorrow around that individual. But that individual, that would be the happiest day for that individual.
The day they leave. That's why the Prophet said, that when the believer sees what Allah jalla jalaluhu has prepared for him or her at the moment of their death, they will be cheerful and they look forward to that, to what Allah jalla jalaluhu has prepared for them.
The Prophet himself, Aisha, said that right before he passed away, the last words that she heard from him was:
"Nay, I'd rather be with the highest companion."
Meaning Allah jalla jalaluhu. She said:
"That's when I realized that the Prophet has been told that he's about to die. And the Prophet was given the choice to stay or to go. And the Prophet chose to go."
These were the last words that she heard from him. Before his soul, his blessed soul left his pure body. So the believer looks forward for that which Allah jalla jalaluhu has prepared for her or for him.
So at the moment of death, the angels come and they tell that person:
"That you should not grieve and there will be no sadness on you."
"You're going to have access to Jannah."
Anas ibn Nadhr on the way to Uhud to defend the Prophet. When everyone was fleeing the battlefield, Sa'd ibn Mu'adh stopped him and he said, "Where are you going? Medina is in the other, you know, where everybody's fleeing."
"It's the other way." He said, "Where are you going?" Sa'd was asking Anas ibn Nadhr, "Where are you going? This is the wrong direction."
Anas ibn Nadhr told him without any hesitation. He said:
"By the Lord of Nadhr. He swears by his own Lord, by Allah jalla jalaluhu. And he says, I can actually smell it. I can smell it. It's calling me."
So he went and fought.
So Allah jalla jalaluhu gives glad tidings to the believers who believe in Allah jalla jalaluhu and follow His commandments and do righteous deeds that they are granted Jannah.
So that's the first major cause or gateway to Jannah.
Second Way: Taqwa (Consciousness of Allah)
The second one is the concept of taqwa. Taqwa.
"Being fearful of Allah jalla jalaluhu."
Taqwa is one of the major causes for someone to enter Jannah. And the Prophet in the hadith when he was asked, what qualifies most people to enter Jannah? The Prophet ﷺ mentioned two elements.
One of them was taqwa. The fear of Allah jalla jalaluhu. To be mindful of Allah jalla jalaluhu. To be mindful of Allah jalla jalaluhu. Mindfulness is something that many of us are really struggling with. We find it to be very
difficult and challenging.
Because we have way too many distractions. And maybe tonight inshallah, when we talk about what comes before happiness, we will shed some light on being able to cancel the noise and the distractions. Because we have a lot of distractions around us.
So mindfulness, just to be aware of your own reality. And to be aware of the presence of Allah jalla jalaluhu in your life. And to think about Allah jalla jalaluhu as much as you can, every moment, every day, every night.
Every step that you take, whether it's major or minor in your life. You think about Allah jalla jalaluhu. Is this going to please Allah or not? This type of attitude is going to qualify the person to enter Jannah. To be amongst the dwellers of Jannah.
To have the fear of Allah.
The Prophet ﷺ in this hadith, he mentioned something else. He said:
(Sunan At-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2004; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4246)
"When the Prophet was asked about what most causes people to enter Jannah, the Prophet said: Taqwa of Allah and good character."
To have good character. That qualifies most people to enter Jannah. The people of Jannah.
If the people of Jannah are surveyed, and they will be, the people of Jannah will be asked, how did you end up here? One of the most common answers, some of the top answers the people of Jannah will give, is the way they treated other people. The way they treated their fellow human beings. The way they treated everything.
The creation of Allah jalla jalaluhu. And the opposite is true. The people of Hellfire, when they're asked about what caused them to enter Hellfire, and inshaAllah 'azza wa jal we'll discuss this Sunday inshaAllah. We have Sunday breakfast inshaAllah 'azza wa jal.
And we'll talk about the verses that talk about what causes most people to enter Jannah and what causes most people to enter Hellfire per the Quran. According to the Quran. InshaAllah ta'ala.
Join us this Sunday. So, when the people of Hellfire are asked, part of it is the way they treated other people. The way they treated God's creation.
The Prophet ﷺ in a hadith told us that a woman entered Hellfire. She used to be, apparently, she used to be righteous. Or people thought that she was righteous.
But she was an abusive person. She was cruel to a cat. The Prophet said, "Cat."
"She held that cat against its own will. She abused that cat."
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3318; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2242)
"She neither allowed the cat, she neither fed the cat, or allowed it to eat on its own."
But instead, she held it. And Allah jalla jalaluhu caused her to go to Hellfire because of that.
And SubhanAllah, every time I come across this hadith, I say to myself, what is going to happen to those people who torture large populations of people? Who torture human beings? Who torture children, and women, and innocent people? Hold them against their own will.
Take away their freedom from them. And then abuse them. Physically and emotionally.
So, how you treat other people? Good conduct. Aisha radiAllahu anha said, she reported, the Prophet ﷺ told the Sahaba, that one of you may reach the degree or the level of someone who prays at night and fasts. Voluntary fasts.
Allah jalla jalaluhu promises these people who pray extra prayers, and they fast, not only to enter Jannah, but some of the highest places in Jannah. So the Prophet ﷺ said that an individual, an ordinary individual may be able to achieve and attain the same level:
(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 24951; Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4798)
"Due to his or her good character, because of their conduct, and how they treat fellow human beings."
May Allah jalla jalaluhu make you and I of those who humble themselves, those who overcome their weaknesses and their shortcomings.
First Khutbah Closing
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَكَفَى وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى عِبَادِهِ الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَى وَبَعْدُ
May Allah jalla jalaluhu make us of those who listen and follow the best of what they listen to, and make more space for our brothers and sisters, that would be great.
Second Khutbah: Third Way to Enter Jannah
Third Way: Obedience to Allah and His Messenger
The third major element that will allow you and I, inshaAllah ta'ala, to enter Jannah by the grace of Allah, is to obey Allah and His Messenger. That whenever we are told to do something, is to listen and obey.
Surah An-Nisa 4:69, 4:14
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, "Whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, Allah 'azza wa jal will allow that person, will admit that person to Jannah."
Abu Huraira reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has said, listen to this hadith, the Prophet ﷺ:
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 7280)
"Everyone in my ummah will enter Jannah. Every single person in my ummah will enter Jannah."
And ummah here can be defined as the 1.8 billion people now and those who came before them and those who will come after them.
Or all 7 point something billion people who are alive now and those who will come after them and those who are before them. Right? Everyone. Everyone that came from the time of the Prophet ﷺ and until the end of time is from the ummah of the Prophet ﷺ.
Some responded, scholars define, consider them to be ummah al-ijabah, those who actually answered. And some are in defiance and they turn away, ummah al-da'wah and they're the ones that we're supposed to reach out to. Right?
So the Prophet ﷺ says, "My ummah, everyone in my ummah will enter Jannah, except those who refuse."
The sahaba said, "Who would refuse, messenger of Allah?"
So the Prophet ﷺ said, "Whoever obeys me, listen to what I have to say and follows me, will enter Jannah. And whoever turns away from me and disobeys me, is the one that refuses."
Very simple formula. Hard to, of course, implement and follow, but very simple.
"Whoever obeys the messenger of Allah."
Whenever you have, now someone might say, okay, what does that look like? Anytime you're told that the Prophet ﷺ said something and there is a good possibility that the Prophet actually said it or did it, and you follow it, you're good.
And anytime you know for sure that the Prophet said something, or there is, most likely there is a good chance that the Prophet said it and you decide to ignore it and walk away from it, you're at the risk of losing your share or your chance to enter Jannah.
Three Practical Ways to Enter Jannah
Then brothers and sisters, the Prophet in the hadith told us about many ways to enter Jannah. I would like to highlight three of them, inshaAllah ta'ala if you allow me. They are very relevant in every way when you think about it. For those of us who are here today.
First Practical Way: Attending the Masjid
One is going to the Masjid. The Prophet said, go to the Masjid frequently.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 662; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 669)
The Prophet said, "Every time you go to the Masjid, whoever goes to the Masjid, obviously to go to pray and join the jama'ah. Every time you go there whether it's in the morning or in the evening. Every time you go to the Masjid in the morning or in the evening, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will prepare lodging for that individual in Jannah."
Every time. So that's number one. Has to do with the Masjid.
Every time you go to the Masjid, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala prepares a place for you. Lodging for you in Jannah. In other words, if that person is gone on their way to the Masjid or on their way back from the Masjid or between their trips to the Masjid even if it's at home or at the hospital or anywhere.
That individual whose life, whose schedule basically revolves around the Masjid. That person insha'Allah is from the people of Jannah. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala imagine someone basically on their way to the Masjid or on their way back to the Masjid and their moment comes.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has prepared lodging for them in Jannah. According to the Prophet ﷺ in an authentic hadith. Where do you think they're going to go? There's a lodging that Allah jalla jalaluhu prepared for them that awaits for them.
Of course, obviously that's where they're going to go. So that's one.
Second Practical Way: Building a Masjid
Number two.
The Prophet ﷺ has said, and subhanAllah, this is one of the few hadith that was reported by none other than Uthman ibn Affan. Someone that gave out of his wealth more than anyone else. When the Prophet asked for a property to be purchased so that the Masjid can be expanded, the first person to come forward was Uthman. He paid for the whole thing.
And Masjid al-Nabawi was expanded. Doubled the size of the Masjid. Was doubled because of that property that Uthman bought and the Prophet said, "Whoever does that is guaranteed Jannah."
So Uthman said that he heard the messenger of Allah and obviously he was one of if not the main person that actually responded to that. He said that he heard the messenger of Allah saying:
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 450; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 533)
"Whoever builds a Masjid, house of worship for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah will build its equivalent or similar to it for him in Jannah. A property."
A house. In another hadith the Prophet was reported to have said, "Whoever builds a house for Allah, even if it's as small as a nest of a bird, Allah will build a palace for him in Jannah."
So yeah, you want to expand the Masjid and make it big inshaAllah ta'ala your property in Jannah will be bigger inshaAllah.
So this is another another way we can earn a place for ourselves in Jannah.
Third Practical Way: Dhikr After Salah
Last but not least the Prophet ﷺ talked about what we say after the salawat.
Praying five times a day and saying sitting after the salat and saying subhanAllah and saying alhamdulillah and saying Allahu Akbar.
These are very simple practical steps that the Prophet ﷺ told us. And reading ayatul kursi after each salat will qualify you to enter Jannah. A hadith that I wish I had discovered long time ago that I learned recently maybe in the past two, three years.
The Prophet ﷺ in the hadith said whoever prays five times a day and does remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala after each prayer and then recites ayatul kursi there will be nothing between that individual in Jannah except death. In other words, death will lead them straight to Jannah.
These are three steps brothers and sisters that we can take advantage of.
Come to the masjid regularly. Participate in building and maintaining the houses of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Sit in the masjid and remember Allah 'azza wa jal.
Mention his name. Celebrate the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Read ayatul kursi and inshaAllah you will be guaranteed Jannah.
Closing Du'a
I ask Allah 'azza wa jal to bless this gathering of ours and I ask Allah 'azza wa jal to gather us together in Jannah in the presence of our Prophet ﷺ and our righteous predecessors.
End of Khutbah