Faith As A Source of Happiness

Faith As A Source of Happiness

Sheikh Omar Suleiman

Opening

اللهُ أَكْبَرُ

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

أَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّحِيمِ، بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَلَا عُدْوَانَ إِلَّا عَلَى الظَّالِمِينَ، وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلَّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَى عَبْدِكَ وَرَسُولِكَ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمْ تَسْلِيمًا كَثِيرًا

MashaAllah, what a crowd. Alhamdulillah, this is seriously the most amazing problem to have. I wish every masjid was like this too, right? Every convention and every class. MashaAllah.

اللَّهُمَّ زِدْهُ وَبَارِكْ

Introduction: A Contradictory Hadith

Dear brothers and sisters, the hadith that I'm about to share with you contradicts absolutely everything you've heard so far in this convention.

I was sitting here last night and I was listening to Shaykh Abdul Rahman Khan talk about how nothing contributes to happiness that is material in its nature. And I'm going to share with you a hadith that conflicts with all of that. It literally refutes everything that you've heard for this entire convention when it's not explained properly.

The Four Components of Happiness

In an authentic hadith by Abu'l-Harith, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم says:

(Ibn Majah 1368)

"There are four components of happiness."

You ready for this? He said:

1. الزَّوْجَةُ الصَّالِحَةُ - "A good spouse, having a good companion is a component of happiness."

2. الْجَارُ الصَّالِحُ - "Having a good neighbor is a component of happiness."

So those are kind of understandable because then you have people, right? A good wife, a good husband, a good spouse, a good neighbor. Then he says:

3. الْمَسْكَنُ الْوَاسِعُ - "Having a big house."

4. الْمَرْكَبُ الْهَنِيءُ - The literal translation of الْمَرْكَبُ الْهَنِيءُ literally translates into a sweet ride, doesn't it? Literally مَرْكَبُ هَنِيءٌ means a sweet ride.

:said صلى الله عليه وسلم And Rasulullah

"And misery comes from four components":

1. A bad spouse

2. A bad neighbor

3. الْمَسْكَنُ الضَّيِّق - "A very constricting small home"

4. A bad ride

The Prophet's Own Circumstances

Now, what is amazing about this hadith, number one is that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم just acknowledged that these things contribute to a person's happiness. These are components of happiness, there's no doubt about it.

But here's the question: from those four things, what did the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم have? Just number one, a good wife. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم did not have a good neighbor. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم did not have a big house.

His chambers), his apartments عليه الصلاة والسلام were nine by four. They were so small that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم used to tap the legs of Aisha رضي الله عنها whenever he would make sujood.

Did the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم have a sweet ride? No. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم never rode a good camel or a good horse. In fact, his saddle was described as being worn out.

The Real Message

So what is the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم telling us? You know, he's telling us that, you know what, if you have a car that doesn't break down every five minutes, you're more likely to have a good day than someone who does.

Having a good nice space to live in, having that space can be good. It can contribute to your happiness as opposed to living in a very small place. Having a good spouse can certainly contribute to a person's happiness. Having a good neighbor can certainly contribute to a person's happiness.

But the fact that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم himself does not have except for one of those things shows you what? Your happiness cannot depend upon those things. Your happiness cannot depend upon those things.

The Story of Abdullah ibn Salam

Abdullah ibn Salam رضي الله تعالى عنه one time he walked into a masjid, and the people saw him praying, and there was this man who was from the tabi'een, he never met Abdullah ibn Salam, and the people were talking about how righteous this man was. And now this is a man of Jannah. Abdullah ibn Salam, the man who was a rabbi, the chief of the rabbis before Islam.

And this man sees him praying, and the people see him praying, and they're speaking well of him. So this man goes up to him, and he says to him, "I heard the people saying this and this and this about you. What is it that's so special about you?"

And Abdullah ibn Salam رضي الله تعالى عنه said, "You know, subhanAllah, it's not befitting for people to say that which they don't know. I'm not that good person that they were talking about. But what is it that they were talking about?"

The Dream of Paradise

He said, "I once had a dream that I was in a garden of (الجنّان - jannah) (paradise). And in the middle of that garden was a pole."

So he said, "I walked in that garden of paradise to that pole, to that (عمود - amood). And he said, as I got to that pole, I looked up and I noticed a handhold, a grip at the top of that pole. So I looked up at it, and I was commanded to ascend to grab on to that handhold."

"And I thought, I said, how am I supposed to get all the way up there? And he said, and then an angel came from beneath me and blew until I ascended all the way up that pole, and I grabbed on to that handhold. And he said, I woke up. And I told the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم the next day what I saw."

The Interpretation

:said صلى الله عليه وسلم And Rasulullah

أَمَّا الرَّوْضَةُ فَرَوْضَةُ الْإِسْلَامِ - "As for the روضة (garden), that is the garden of Islam."

وَأَمَّا الْعَمُودُ فَعَمُودُ الْإِسْلَامِ - "And as for the pole, that is the pole of Islam."

وَأَمَّا الْعُرْوَةُ فَالْعُرْوَةُ الْوُثْقَى - "And as for the handhold, that is الْعُرْوَةُ الْوُثْقَى (the trustworthy handhold) that never breaks."

That if a person grabs on to that handhold, they will never be grieved. They will never be taken away. They have entrusted their affairs to Allah سبحانه وتعالى . They have meaning. They are grateful in their times of ease. They are patient in their times of hardship. They have meaning in their lives.

The Source of True Stability

And so as long as that handhold is not being sacrificed, then Allah سبحانه وتعالى will never let it break, and Allah will never let you go. As long as that handhold is still sturdy, and it will always be sturdy, that person cannot be shaken. Because that person's purpose is stable, it's consistent. He has meaning in his life.

Religion and Academia

And you know James Baldwin, because religion always takes this beating, because if you go to any philosophy class, and really it's a war on religion, and a war on Islam specifically, but it's a war on religion in all the circles of academia. History professors will say, religion is responsible for the world's violence, religion is responsible for all of the hatred, religion is responsible for crime, religion is responsible for this, religion is responsible for that.

Of course ignoring that the Crusades were because of the economic bankruptcy of Europe, that all of these terrorist groups that we have today are for political reasons and not religious reasons, but hey, it's under the banner of Islam, the Ku Klux Klan is under the banner of Christianity, religion is to blame for all of this, and we'd all be at peace.

Of course, these people have never read about the Marxist revolution, they've never read about the Tamil Tigers, they've never read about Japanese kamikazes, they've never read about the oppression that takes place in so many different parts of the world under a secular regime. But you know what, it's all religion to blame. You know what, fine.

The Positive Impact of Faith

What about all of the positives? What about the meaning that it gives to a person's life? What about purpose? Because I know for myself, I can say this without any hesitation that if it wasn't for Islam, I would be a miserable creature, I would be a miserable human being, I would have no purpose, and you know what, I would not be able to weather any storm.

And you know what James Baldwin said? He said, the man that needs to be feared most in society is someone who has nothing to lose. People that have meaningless lives, lives of no purpose, that will inflict meaninglessness on other people's lives because they can't deal with their own meaningless lives.

Newtown, right, those types of shootings. What would drive a person, what makes a person so sick to go and murder little children in an elementary school? Meaninglessness. There's no life.

The Call to Life

And you know, subhanAllah, when Allah جل وعز says in the Quran:

"O you who believe, answer the call of your Lord and His Messenger when they call you to that which gives you life."

Because if you don't have purpose, you don't have life, and you know what, that's why people, who have all of the great circumstances for happiness in the world, because people think that happiness means that I can chill and I don't have to do anything, that I live a stress-free life. People equate a lack of stress and a lack of work with happiness.

But the opposite is actually true. Because when people have nothing to do, they become miserable. They give themselves work. Because everyone needs to feel productive. You need to feel like you're achieving something meaningful or else life becomes not worth it and so people will take their own lives.

The Reality About Atheism

So don't, subhanAllah, people think that if I'm not committed to Islam, if I have no commitment, then everything will be okay. You know, man, those atheists, they must be living it up. They don't have to do anything. They don't have to answer to nobody.

Number one, there's no such thing as a true atheist. And this is our creed as Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah. Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله said, no such thing as a pure atheist. They all believe in Allah سبحانه وتعالى.

For those people who need science to confirm Qur'an and Sunnah, read about the God spot. Every single سبحانه وتعالى person believes in Allah

You know, Edward Young, who's a professor in Princeton, who ran lie detector test on atheists and they all failed their lie detector test. You know what he said? He said, you wouldn't be arguing with God and you wouldn't be mad at Him if you didn't believe in Him. You're just mad at Him because your dad didn't buy you a PlayStation when you were 13, right? Something happened in your life and you couldn't understand why.

And so you decided to tell yourself that nobody knows why. It makes no sense. I'm just gonna do whatever I feel like doing.

The Emptiness of Meaninglessness

And let me ask you this question. Have you ever met a happy atheist, content with (سكينة - sakinah), tranquility? Like have you ever met a humble atheist before? Always confrontational. They're angry

people because that void is there and it can't be filled with other than Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى and they're ignoring that.

And so that's misery in and of itself and (شَقَاء - shaqaa), the opposite of (سَعَادَة - sa'ada) that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم describes, the opposite of happiness is (شَقَاء - shaqaa), means deprivation. (شَقِيّ - Shaqee), deprived. Deprived of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى and therefore:

"They have a suffocating lifestyle."

Now imagine that person having a meaningless life in and of itself is miserable. Imagine when that person has to deal with a tragedy in their lives. How are they supposed to weather that storm? Seriously.

Examples from the Sahaba

You know, compare the sahaba who would lose children, lose their legs sometimes, right? A person like Abi Qilaba al-Jurmi رَضِيَ اللهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ who was blind, lost both of his arms, lost both of his legs and was still always saying الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ to Kobe Bryant who rants on Facebook about his torn ACL in his 13 billion dollar mansion or whatever it is. Seriously.

And you know Imam Zaid was just talking about how Islam gives us happiness. It gives us that sense of meaning. It gives us something to live for. It gives us something to keep us going.

Looking at the Lives of the Righteous

But then now here's the question. If you look at the life of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and we need to be honest here. If you look at the life of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and you look at the lives of the companions and the lives of the salaf, do you necessarily see happy people?

How many of you would say that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was happy? Raise your hand.

How many of you would say that Umar ibn Abdulaziz was a happy man? Raise your hand.

The Story of Umar ibn Abdulaziz

Umar ibn Abdulaziz رَحِمَهُ اللهُ تَعَالَى let's start with him. You know Umar ibn Abdulaziz gave up everything when he became khalifa (زَهِدَ الدُّنْيَا - zahad al-dunya), subhanAllah. He really gave up everything. Gave up his nice clothes. Gave up his 14 palaces. Gave up the jewelry in his house. Gave up everything.

Before that, he was a very happy person on the outside. Very happy-go-lucky. Very joyful. Always. Always had a smile on his face. And then subhanAllah, when he becomes khalifa and he comes close to Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى he abandons all of that.

His Wife's Testimony

And I want you to listen to this and tell me if this sounds like happiness. His wife Fatima, she says that Umar ibn Abdulaziz رَحِمَهُ اللهُ he didn't used to pray a lot of qiyamah. He just used to pray two rak'ahs. He did not surpass anyone with many rak'ahs of qiyam al-layl. But it was just two special rak'ahs that he would pray every night.

But she said, you know what? There was a verse that I was afraid he would read. And she said, listen, this wife, she said, I would make dua to Allah that he would not come across this ayah. Because if he read this ayah, I thought that I would wake up the next day a widow and the ummah would wake up without its khalifa.

She said, he was like a bird that was being splashed with water, meaning he would panic when he would come across this ayah. And so I hoped that I would never see him read this ayah. Because when he read it, I thought he was gonna die because of how much he would weep and how much it pains him.

You know what that ayah was? It wasn't even a full ayah. It was part of an ayah. Surah Ash-Shura, the beginning of Surah Ash-Shura:

"A group in paradise and a group in hellfire."

Can you imagine? His wife says, I thought he was going to die when he would read that. Why? Because he feared that he might be فريق في السعير - He might be from the group of the people in hellfire. And he would cry. And he would panic. And I thought he would die.

The Moment of Death

Now if you look at that, you say, wait a minute, Islam is supposed to give me happiness. Islam is supposed to give me tranquility. What happens? And you know, the Quran is supposed to make a person feel good. Why is it making him feel this way? Why is that ayah having that effect on him?

And you know what? Fast forward to the end of his life. As Umar ibn Abdulaziz is dying. And he says to his wife and children, as he kisses them for the last time, to leave the room. And as they leave the room, they peek into that room.

And his face illuminates. And you know Umar ibn Abdulaziz was afraid of how he would die. He told Raja ibn Haywa when he was dying, he said, when you receive my body in the grave, I want you to be the one that's standing in the grave to receive my body. And I want you to uncover my face. If you see it facing the qibla, then say, alhamdulillah. Because Allah has forgiven me. If you see it otherwise, then ask Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى to forgive me. Because I'm in a turbulent situation. So he was afraid.

And as he sends his family out, they look inside and they peek. And they see his face illuminate. And he has a big smile on his face. And you know what he says? He says, "Greetings to these beautiful faces.

These faces that don't belong to jinn or human beings."

And you know what he recited? He said:

"This is paradise. This is the home of paradise. We grant it to those who don't seek status in this world nor corruption. And truly victory belongs to the believers."

SubhanAllah. That same Quran that would cause him to stand up and cry at night. That same Quran that would cause him to panic to a point that his wife thought he would die. Because he didn't know. He wasn't sure of himself. It's the same Quran that comforted him in his last moments.

The Prophet's Life and Happiness

And what about the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم? Because that doesn't sound like a happy life. He didn't live a very happy life then. What happened? Look at the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم

And you know really, what's necessary is that when we read the life of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم as a person who loves Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم,how does it make you feel when you read about the moments in Ta'if?

The Difficult Moments

How does it make you feel about the moments when he's describing the worst day of his life صلى الله عليه وسلم ? The blood running down his body. The people yelling profanities at him. Feeling a sense of rejection. Calling upon Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى all alone.

How does it make you feel when you read about the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم his neck being stepped on? How does it make you feel when you read about the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم being spit on? How does it make you feel when you read about the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم having Urqubah ibn Abi Mu'id placing camel guts on his back? And his daughter having to come and clean his back while he's shivering عليه الصلاة والسلام and saying, "Don't cry, oh my daughter. Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى will support your father. Don't worry about it."

If you love the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم when you read those, that should move you. But you know what? I think we failed to do the other part too.

The Happy Moments

It necessitates sadness when you read about the sad moments of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم . But it also necessitates happiness when you read about the happy moments of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.

You know what? The most emotional part of the seerah is for me. And wallahi, I'm not joking with you. This is the most emotional part of the seerah for me. Is the last day of the life of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.

The Last Day

When Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم as Anas رَضِيَ اللهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ says on his last day, that Monday, as he's in his apartment, and the sahaba are praying salah. And Anas رَضِيَ اللهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ says that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم removed the curtain and was watching us pray. Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم was looking at us pray.

And he says about the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم as he saw us praying. He says:

"That barely his face was like a page of the mushaf."

It was, you know, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم smile was already as bright as the moon as Anas رَضِيَ اللهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ describes him. But he says in those moments, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم his face was as bright as a page of the mushaf.

And he says:

عليه وسلم He said the Prophet" . الصلاة والسلام

Can you imagine how the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم felt? 23 years of blood, sweat and tears. 23 years of rejection. 23 years of:

"You're going to kill yourself over their fate."

23 years of being rejected. 23 years of being physically beaten. 23 years of being emotionally driven to the ground صلى الله عليه وسلم from all of the people's concerns. 23 years of never saying no to anybody. 23 years of trying to establish this deen.

The Fruit of His Efforts

And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is looking at the sahaba, praying. I love the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and I'm happy for him. Wallahi, I read that and I'm happy for him. Because I imagine if I was the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم looking out at the fruit of my effort. Here it is. Here's what it yielded. Here's your ummah praying, accepting your call.

And Anas صلى الله عليه وسلم he says that he says, we look to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and we were excited, the sahaba couldn't even pray anymore. Because they saw the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم smiling at them.

And they wanted him to come. And he said, Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ also in the middle of his salah, Abu Bakr moved back because the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had come the day before. And he prayed with Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ.

So Abu Bakr moved back, thinking that maybe this time he's coming back out again صلى الله عليه وسلم And Anas صلى الله عليه وسلم says the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم signaled with his right hand to keep praying. And he drew the curtain on himself again عليه الصلاة والسلام

And Anas رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ says I never saw his face again. That was the last time I saw his face. Smiling, happy, صلى الله عليه وسلم pleased with his ummah, seeing the fruit of his effort.

I read that and I'm happy for the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. I'm like, I'm so glad he got to see that before he left this world صلى الله عليه وسلم And that's when she says صلى الله عليه وسلم I want الرَّفِيقَ الْأَعْلَى )al-rafiq al-a'la). I just want the highest companionship. I achieved everything I wanted to achieve here.

But what about all of the moments that he suffered before? You know what? That one moment makes it so worth it, doesn't it? That one moment makes it so worth it and takes away everything, everything that came before it.

Understanding True Happiness

And then I quote to you, understanding now happiness, and I'm going to shock you with these words. Eleanor Roosevelt, you know what she says? She says, happiness should not be a goal. Happiness is not a goal.

She says, it's a by-product of a life well-lived. Happiness is not a goal. It's a by-product of a life well-lived.

As Abu Hanifa رَحِمَهُ اللهُ, he said, "If the kings knew the joy that we were in, if they knew how happy we were," he said, "the kings would send their armies to sanction us to try to take it from us." And he was rich before رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمْ رَحِمَهُ اللهُ. But he said, if they knew how happy we were and how much joy we had, because as Ata رَحِمَهُ اللهُ said, and my time is up, I'm sorry.

Three Moments of Happiness

As Ata رَحِمَهُ اللهُ said, that a good deed yields three moments of happiness:

1. When you do the good deed, you feel good. Did you ever feel bad after praying fajr? Or doing some da'wa or doing some relief work? When you do the good deed.

2. Every time you look back and you remember it. Imam Siraj, how sweet is it every time you look back at the origins of (مَسْجِدِ التَّقْوَى - Masjid Taqwa)? When you reflect on that. When you look back on

it.

3. And then he said, and the greatest joy is when you meet Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى.

A Living Example of Faith and Happiness

Dear brothers and sisters, happiness is a disposition, it's not circumstantial. I want to introduce to you one of the greatest inspirations of my life, someone that I love dearly.

In 2006, I remember my father-in-law, as he was the imam in Baton Rouge, getting a phone call that a young man from our community, he was passing away. And we needed to make the janazah arrangements. Young man was riding his motorcycle on his way home. And he was dying and he was done for.

And the doctor said, we don't even think he'll make it till tomorrow. Go ahead and prepare his janazah. And the doctor said, it's over. There's no hope in this person anymore. Go ahead and just prepare the funeral.

And the parents said, no. Never. We're not giving up. Keep him on the machines. They said, we'll have to amputate this. We'll have to amputate that. She said, go ahead. But I want my son. I want him alive. No, keep him. Keep him.

And so the entire community used to visit this brother and make dua for him. And he was in a coma for a very long time. And then that brother woke up a few weeks later. Not remembering anything that happened. But all of a sudden with his legs amputated.

And I used to visit that brother every single day. Every day when I lived in Louisiana. Because I was so inspired by how happy he was to be alive. And how this was the turning point in his life towards Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى. And alhamdulillah, that brother is here today. One of my close friends and one of my inspirations.

Brother Shuaib. And I'm going to let him say a few words inshallah.

Brother Shuaib's Testimony

"Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh"

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ Imam Umar جَزَاكَ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا

جَزَاكَ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا for that introduction Imam Umar. Like Imam Sheikh said, he was one of the most regular visitors at the masjid alhamdulillah. As was his father Abu Abid inshallah. Granted him the highest levels in Jannah inshallah.

He is, I don't know why I'm talking about him in the past tense. But yeah. So this was about seven years ago. And when I woke up from my coma, I had no idea what was going on. And the nurse comes in a couple days later and she says that, yeah we had to cut off your legs.

And the first response from my mouth was (الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ - Alhamdulillah). Because I was glad to be awake at that point. And over the past seven years I had lost everything. When I read the doctor's reports, I found out that at one point during surgeries my heart had stopped.

And alhamdulillah the doctor picked up my heart with his gloved hands and he massaged it. And alhamdulillah with the grace of Allah it started kicking again. And these past seven years have been recovery slowly and steadily.

There was a point when I couldn't move my fingers. I couldn't move my lips. And alhamdulillah gradually things have come back.

Finding Purpose Through Service

When I decided to go back to school the brothers from the local community from Iqra relief they stepped up and they bought me a laptop with voice recognition software. Alhamdulillah. I started back with school.

I did that for a little bit. And I was, like the Imam said, you know, happiness comes through serving the communities. And life wasn't enough. I wanted to go out and do what I can, alhamdulillah.

And I started off with the hunger prevention programs. Whenever the sisters in the local community would prepare the food the least I could do was Iqra relief helped me get the minivan also. So I would drive the food around and deliver that to people's houses. SubhanAllah.

Now seven years later I drove all the way from Louisiana here. Alhamdulillah. (الله أَكْبَرُ - Allahu Akbar) Alhamdulillah.

This year I've also started playing wheelchair tennis. And like the Sheikh was saying that happiness, you know, is a disposition. My coach says something very similar also.

That to win a point in tennis the first opponent you have is the net. It's only three and a half feet high but the first thing you have to do is mentally prepare yourself that no, I can hit the ball over the net. If you can't get it over the net if you believe that you can then you're not going to get the point you're not going to get any further.

Alhamdulillah. This is just a few words inshallah. And hopefully we can have better recoveries and serve the community better and better and better inshallah.

الحمد لله

Conclusion

الحمد لله

Dear brothers and sisters, this brother is a living example of what we've been talking about today. Happiness is a disposition, not circumstantial. When we have faith, when we have purpose, when we grab onto that (العُرْوَةُ الْوُثْقَى - al-ʿurwatu l-wuthqā) (trustworthy handhold), we can weather any storm.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم showed us that material things can contribute to happiness, but our happiness cannot depend on them. True happiness comes from:

1. Having purpose and meaning in life
2. Serving Allah and His creation
3. Grabbing onto the rope of Allah
4. Finding contentment in all circumstances

May Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى grant us true happiness in this life and the next. May He make us among those who find joy in His worship and service to His creation.

Closing Dua

"Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the Fire."

"O Allah, send your peace and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and all of his companions."

"Exalted is your Lord, the Lord of might, from what they describe. And peace upon the messengers. And praise to Allah, Lord of the worlds."

"Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh"