Don't Be Sad: Happiness Every Day

By al-Qarni and Imam Ibn Kathir

Don't Be Sad is an absolute must-read for all people. It is full of practical advice on how to replace sadness with happiness. All proceeds are donated to Huntington's research. The author wrote this book after his little girl died from Huntington's disease. The a

• Language: English
• Publisher: al-Qarni
• Release date: Aug 5, 2005
• ISBN: 9781643543482

Book preview

besm

IN THE NAME OF

Allah

THE ALL-COMPASSIONATE, ALL-MERCIFUL

Zakhrafa

Don't Be Sad!

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the Publisher.

I have no money,

no resources, no hopes.

I am the happiest man alive.

They are not long, the weeping and the laughter,

Love and desire and hate:

I think they have no portion in us after

We pass the gate.

They are not long, the days of wine and roses:

>Out of a misty dream

Our path emerges for a while, then closes

Within a dream.

The speaker refers to these blissful and peaceful moments of life as the days of wine and roses. Like all things in life, these splendid periods do not last half as long as we would like — the implication being that we should enjoy them while we can.

About this Book

This book is about finding personal happiness. The author shines a light on why happiness is so elusive for many of us and shows you where to find your greatest joy. al-Aededan originally wrote this book and Imam and Dr. Al-Qarne summarized it further and added his invaluable comments. This book was written for anyone who is searching for happiness or who is living through pain and grief or who has been afflicted with a hardship that results in sadness and restless nights. For the cure, we have filled the pages of this book with prescriptions taken from various sources – God’s Holy Books, poetry, poignant anecdotes, parables, and true stories. On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Allah the Almighty said: I am as My servant thinks I am (1). I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a cubit, and if he draws near to Me a cubit, I draw near to him a fathom. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed. (1) Another possible rendering of the Arabic is: I am as My servant expects Me to be. The meaning is that forgiveness and acceptance of repentance by the Almighty is subject to His servant truly believing that He is forgiving and merciful. However, not to accompany such belief with right action would be to mock the Almighty. It was related by al-Buhkari (also by Muslim, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn-Majah).

Introduction

All praise is for God, the Almighty. May He send peace and blessings on the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, on his family, and on his Companions. I sincerely hope that readers will benefit from this book. On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: When Allah decreed the Creation He pledged Himself by writing in His book which is laid down with Him: My mercy prevails over my wrath. It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah).

To be happy, content and at peace is not only the goal of God's revelation, it is also, naturally, fundamental to human nature. By Divine Will, we are hardwired to seek happiness. It is in our genetic structure, and our very DNA propels us to pursue what is typically the often elusive state of happiness. In seeking happiness, the fundamental error we make is that we often seek satisfaction in the wrong place. Instead of looking within to what truly provides satisfaction, contentment and happiness, modern materialism has misled us into thinking and believing that happiness, safety and security are to be found in the material world, in things and others, in worldly wealth and extrinsic attainment.

And whatever thing you [people] have been given - it is [only for] the enjoyment of worldly life and its adornment. And what is with Allah is better and more lasting; so will you not use reason? Happiness here, and now, and can only be experienced in this perfect, divine moment.

To learn how to make God happy, to learn how to be happy, learn to tune in to the perfection of the present moment, here, now.

Remember, there are no ordinary moments. Each moment is a willful act of creation by the Creator. Each moment is a divine miracle willfully and intentionally created by God. And so, not a single breath should to be taken for granted, to be allowed to pass without gratitude.

God says: remember Me, I will remember you. Give thanks to Me, and reject not faith.

The most meritorious and beneficial of all actions is to fill each moment with remembrance, with consciousness, presence, awareness and gratitude. This then is the path to enlightenment, to awakening from the transitory world of form and temporal illusion. Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah . Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured.

Happiness is essentially attained by being happy, pleased, at peace and surrendered to Divine Will as it manifests in this moment. What better experience and expression of Islam can there be?

How to Make God Happy: Leave Your Self

O Allah, please do not leave me in the hands of myself for even a blink of an eye.

The true path of happiness is the path of selflessness. All suffering results from selfishness, from self, from a psychological position in which me and my needs and wants are preeminent and primary.

Yet true happiness is in providing happiness, joy and love to others. Love is but Unity, for in love, we transcend separation, and come to know God in the only way possible for a human being, through the light of God in the heart and soul of another. And let not those of virtue among you and wealth swear not to give [aid] to their relatives and the needy and the emigrants for the cause of Allah , and let them pardon and overlook. Would you not like that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.

It is precisely for this reason that God provided human messengers, prophets and enlightened teachers in their lineage, so that the rest of us can come to know God in truth.

In hadeeth qudsee Allah said, Neither the heavens nor the earth can contain Me, save the heart of a believer. So that is telling the ego, the self, You are not ilaah (gods), because everyone has taken their desires as their god. Those are the ones of whom Allah knows what is in their hearts, so turn away from them but admonish them and speak to them a far-reaching word.

On the authority of Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhaniyy (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) led the morning prayer for us at al-Hudaybiyah following rainfall during the night. When the Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) finished, he faced the people and said to them: Do you know what your Lord has said? They said: Allah and his Messenger know best. He said: This morning one of my servants became a believer in Me and one a disbeliever. As for him who said: We have been given rain by virtue of Allah and His mercy, that one is a believer in Me, a disbeliever in the stars (2); and as for him who said: We have been given rain by such-and-such a star, that one is a disbeliever in Me, a believer in the stars. (2) The pre-Islamic Arabs believed that rain was brought about by the movement of stars. This Hadith draws attention to the fact that whatever be the direct cause of such natural phenomena as rain, it is Allah the Almighty who is the Disposer of all things. It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Malik and an-Nasa'i).

We must remember that God, the Creator of all that is, the Eternal Lord of all creation, is utterly independent of any need whatsoever, and that all of our acts of piety and devotion in reality do nothing for Him. Worship has been prescribed purely for our benefit.

O mankind, you are those in need of Allah, while Allah is the Free of need, the Praiseworthy.

Yet what is greater than seeking that which is for our benefit? And seek help through patience and prayer, and indeed, it is difficult except for the humbly submissive [to Allah]. I heard the messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: Your Lord delights at a shepherd who, on the peak of a mountain crag, gives the call to prayer and prays. Then Allah (glorified and exalted be He) say: Look at this servant of Mine, he gives the call to prayer and performs the prayers; he is in awe of Me. I have forgiven My servant [his sins] and have admitted him to Paradise. It was related by an-Nasa'i with a good chain of authorities.

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace be upon him), who said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says: The first of his actions for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayers. If they are in order, then he will have prospered and succeeded: and if they are wanting, then he will have failed and lost. If there is something defective in his obligatory prayers, the Lord (glorified and exalted be He) will say: See if My servant has any supererogatory prayers with which may be completed that which was defective in his obligatory prayers. Then the rest of his actions will be judged in like fashion. It was related by at-Tirmidhi (also by Abu Dawud, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah and Ahmad).

On the authority of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace be upon him) is that among the sayings he relates from his Lord (may He be glorified) is that He said: O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another. O My servants, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you, O My servants, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed, so seek food of Me and I shall feed you. O My servants, all of you are naked except for those I have clothed, so seek clothing of Me and I shall clothe you. O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness of Me and I shall forgive you. O My servants, you will not attain harming Me so as to harm Me, and will not attain benefitting Me so as to benefit Me. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as pious as the most pious heart of any one man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man of you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to rise up in one place and make a request of Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, any more that a needle decreases the sea if put into it. O My servants, it is but your deeds that I reckon up for you and then recompense you for, so let him who finds good, praise Allah, and let him who finds other than that, blame no one but himself. It was related by Muslim (also by at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah).

This is the true and humble path to God, and protects a human being from the self-righteousness, pride and arrogance that can arise otherwise.

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) will say on the Day of Resurrection: O son of Adam, I fell ill and you visited Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I visit You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant So-and-so had fallen ill and you visited him not? Did you not know that had you visited him you would have found Me with him? O son of Adam, I asked you for food and you fed Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I feed You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant So-and-so asked you for food and you fed him not? Did you not know that had you fed him you would surely have found that (the reward for doing so) with Me? O son of Adam, I asked you to give Me to drink and you gave Me not to drink. He will say: O Lord, how should I give You to drink when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: My servant So-and-so asked you to give him to drink and you gave him not to drink. Had you given him to drink you would have surely found that with Me. It was related by Muslim.

How to make God happy? Be happy.

How to be happy? Forget for a moment about your own personal happiness. Help others be happy. Serve others, humanity, the creation of God. The path to truth and success is, not surprisingly, counterintuitive. Yet this is the Way. When you lose all sense of self the bonds of a thousand chains will vanish. Lose yourself completely, return to the root of the root of your own soul.

You were not created to suffer. And God is not selling Paradise in the afterlife with suffering, misery and unhappiness in this life. As to those who hold fast by the Book and establish regular prayer,- never shall We suffer the reward of the righteous to perish.

Yet suffering serves a valuable purpose, one that is designed, ultimately, to lead to happiness and the transcendence of suffering. And be steadfast in patience; for verily Allah will not suffer the reward of the righteous to perish.

Suffering lets you know that you are out of alignment with divine will. Suffering is indicative of that fact that you are still experiencing the symptoms of the self, of ego-mind, and that there is work to be done to become purified of the self that leads to and continually creates unhappiness. Suffering is but the result of error, and of a mistaken sense of self. [Who say], "Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us and grant us from Yourself mercy. Indeed, You are the Bestower.

Although some may insist otherwise, Islam does not advocate belief in an angry god that must be appeased with human suffering and sacrifice. Such an idea is idolatry perhaps at its worst, for in believing and advocating such a concept of God, we are in reality projecting our own egoism unto the Divine, our own human faults and primitive qualities, our own anger, fear and frustration, creating a mental idol of God, utterly inadequate of His true beauty, light, love and incomprehensible mercy.

Suffering, or hell, is but a result of our actions and our choices. Yet hell is not God’s will for humanity. Divine Will for humanity is precisely the opposite. Can there be any doubt that God wants for His creation other than happiness, health, wellness and peace — Paradise? Is this not the very reason He Almighty sent prophets and messengers to humanity? Have they ever called to anything other than goodness and peace, to Paradise, to Heaven Eternal?

Religion was sent for but one reason: To lead humanity to happiness, joy, peace, strength, health and wellness, to lead mankind and each individual to ultimate and absolute success, to Truth.

In Islam, the verses in the azhan, the Call to Prayer, Come to Prayer, Come to Prayer. Come to Success, Come to Success. All of Islam is but for this.

This day have I perfected your Way for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam, Surrender, as your Path. — Surah Al-Ma’ida (Holy Quran Quotes, 5:3)

Yet commonly, we are seeking happiness in the wrong places. In things. In material security. And this is hopeless. As much as we try, Nature continually seeks to and will eventually destroy all that we build. All forms will fade and fall. Yet that which is Eternal, the Divine Presence of God, shall never fade. And true happiness is in transcending the self and re-uniting individual consciousness with Source, the Lord of Heavens and Earth.

Eternally remains but the Face of thy Lord, full of Majesty, Bounty and Honor. — Surah ar-Rahman (Holy Quran, 55:27)

How to Make God Happy : Eternal Presence

Make God Happy by Cultivating Joy in Others

If you do not find God in the next person you meet, it is a waste of time looking for Him any further.

The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) advised to continually smile, for a smile is charity. Charity is to share of the bounty, the goodness, the light and presence of God. On the authority of Abu Harayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace be upon him), who said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said: Spend (on charity), O son of Adam, and I shall spend on you. It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim). On the authority of Adiyy ibn Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I was with the Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and there came to him two men: one of them was complaining of penury (being very poor), while the other was complaining of brigandry (robbery). The Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: As for brigandry, it will be but a short time before a caravan will [be able to] go out of Mecca without a guard. As for penury, the Hour (Day of Judgement) will not arrive before one of you takes his charity around without finding anyone to accept it from him. Then (1) one of you will surely stand before Allah, there being no screen between Him and him, nor an interpreter to translate for him. Then He will say to him: Did I not bring you wealth? And he will say: Yes. Then He will say: Did I not send to you a messenger? And he will say: Yes. And he will look to his right and will see nothing but Hell-fire, then he will look to his left and will see nothing but Hell-fire, so let each of you protect himself against Hell-fire, be it with even half a date - and if he finds it not, then with a kind word. (1) i.e. at the time of the Hour. It was related by al-Bukhari.

By smiling to your brother or sister, your fellow human being, you are literally sharing the light of God with another. And you will see that beautiful light reflected back to you, for what you give of goodness always returns, often manifold. This is the cultivation of abundance, the attraction of divine providence, and the cultivation of prosperity consciousness.

Seek happiness in simplicity. Happiness is attained and experienced always in the simplicity of this precise moment, and what enables you to appreciate that. Be it a cup of tea, a walk in nature, holding the hand of your beloved, or a moment of meditation, seek to appreciate the Eternal in this moment, and allow creation to serve its true purpose, namely, to lead you back to the Hidden Source.

Be continually cognizant of the fact that the material world is but illusion, and follow the trail inward to the soul of things rather than their physical appearance and manifestation. In this way, you advance your consciousness to freedom and liberation from the world of form, life, and come to develop a real and authentic awareness and relationship with the Creator.

Happiness the Duty of a Believer

It is the duty of a believer to be happy, for being happy is being in alignment with divine will. If an individual is unhappy, complaining and miserable, he or she is in error, and in a state of resistance to what is rather than an internal state of surrender.

It is the duty of life to overcome us and bring us to despair, hopelessness and unhappiness. Yet the Way of the Spiritual Warrior is to stand firm in faith and keep his or heart and soul alive in joy in the Divine Presence of God.

Happiness, like sadness, is contagious. We do not help anyone with suffering and sympathy, and engaging in such only reinforces victimhood, a psychology based in subservience to external circumstances, dunya, and far removed from the Islamic ideal of liberty, freedom, and pure and total dependence upon the Divine. Remember, independence for humanity is the goal of Islam, and this is only attained through in-dependence, i.e. dependence within.

Spirituality is designed to lead to such freedom and independence, and the practice of Islamic Meditation is invaluable in cultivating a healthy mind and spirit liberated from form, connected to Divine Source, and free from fear, suffering and unhappiness.

While sympathy reinforces suffering and a victim-mindset, empathy holds a space for another’s suffering, but provides an opportunity for them to awaken and to rise. Through empathy, clear and prescient presence, and providing a clear example for what is possible, happiness, you become an anchor and a lifeline for others.

It is especially important for parents to cultivate personal happiness, a state of peace and presence, for our children inherit not what we want for them, but what we have for them. They learn from and ultimately inherit our states, our psychology, our errors. The greatest thing parents can do to ensure the ultimate happiness of their children is to personally cultivate peace and joy in their own beings.

It is for this reason that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, Paradise is found at the feet of the mother.

How to Make God Happy : Preserve Innocence. We are our children’s first and foremost teachers, and it is our level of spiritual development, our state of Islam, our happiness or its opposite, that our children literally learn from us. We can best preserve their purity, their innocence, their perfection and beauty, by taking personal responsibility with regards to our own states of being, our own thoughts and emotions, our own choices, by doing the work necessary to cultivate personal happiness, for it is this our children will learn and take from us.

No child is born but in a state of purity and innocence, and it is their parents that change them. As animals produce their offspring healthy, do you see anything defective?

So set thy purpose for religion inclining towards truth. Preserve the pure nature of Allah, in which He hath created human beings. No change should there be in the creation of Allah. That is the correct religion, yet most among mankind understand not. — Surah ar-Rum (Holy Quran, 30:30)

Believe in Happiness and in Simplicity

God is not concerned with what you believe, except in that what you believe either leads you to Truth, Reality, and thus to happiness, or away from it.

The foundation of joy, peace and prosperity is the statement that There is no god but God, the One and Only. This is the foundation for a life of independence, for all suffering is the result of being victim to external circumstances, people and things, being a slave to this life rather than an honored servant and deputy of the Divine.

We must remember that God, the Lord of Creation, is utterly independent and transcendent of any need whatsoever, including our acts of piety and our intellectual belief systems.

I have created jinn and men but that they may serve Me. No sustenance do I require of them nor do I require that they should feed Me. For it is Allah Who provides sustenance, the Lord of Power, the Steadfast. — Surah adh-Dhariyat (Qur’an, 51:56-58)

The benefit of prayer is that it leads us to happiness, security, stability, to joy, awareness and awakening. What you believe (thoughts and ideas) is less important than that you do believe. Belief is a spiritual state rather than a ideological position, and such thought-forms are ultimately mental idols, only creating continuing separation among human beings. Faith and fasting also go together! the benefit of fasting during the day for one month is undeniable. Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says: Fasting is Mine and it is I who give reward for it. [A man] gives up his sexual passion, his food and his drink for my sake. Fasting is like a shield, and he who fasts has two joys: a joy when he breaks his fast and a joy when he meets his Lord. The change in the breath of the mouth of him who fasts is better in Allah's estimation than the smell of musk. It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim, Malik, at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah).

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace be upon him), who said: Allah (glorified and exalted be He) has supernumerary angels who rove about seeking out gatherings in which Allah's name is being invoked: they sit with them and fold their wings round each other, filling that which is between them and between the lowest heaven. When [the people in the gathering] depart, [the angels] ascend and rise up to heaven. He (the Prophet (peace be upon him)) said: Then Allah (mighty and sublime be He) asks them - [though] He is most knowing about them: From where have you come? And they say: We have come from some servants of Yours on Earth: they were glorifying You (Subhana llah), exalting you (Allahu akbar), witnessing that there is no god but You (La ilaha illa llah), praising You (Al-Hamdu lillah), and asking [favours] of You. He says: And what do they ask of Me? They say: They ask of You Your Paradise. He says: And have they seen My Paradise? They say: No, O Lord. He says: And how would it be were they to have seen My Paradise! They say: And they ask protection of You. He says: From what do they ask protection of Me? They say: From Your Hell-fire, O Lord. He says: And have they seen My Hell-fire? They say: NO. He says: And how would it be were they to have seen My Hell-fire: They say: And they ask for Your forgiveness. He (the Prophet (peace be upon him)) said: Then He says: I have forgiven them and I have bestowed upon them what they have asked for, and I have granted them sanctuary from that from which they asked protection. He (the Prophet, peace be upon him) said: They say: O Lord, among them is So-and-so, a much sinning servant, who was merely passing by and sat down with them. He (the Prophet peace be upon him) said: And He says: And to him [too] I have given forgiveness: he who sits with such people shall not suffer. It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, at-Tirmidhi, and an-Nasa'i).

There is but only one belief that truly matters, and that is the universal belief in One God, the foundation of all spiritual development. On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: The first of people against whom judgment will be pronounced on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who died a martyr. He will be brought and Allah will make known to him His favours and he will recognize them. [ The Almighty] will say: And what did you do about them? He will say: I fought for you until I died a martyr. He will say: You have lied - you did but fight that it might be said [of you]: He is courageous. And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hell-fire. [Another] will be a man who has studied [religious] knowledge and has taught it and who used to recite the Quran. He will be brought and Allah will make known to him His favours and he will recognize them. [The Almighty] will say: And what did you do about them? He will say: I studied [religious] knowledge and I taught it and I recited the Quran for Your sake. He will say: You have lied - you did but study [religious] knowledge that it might be said [of you]: He is learned. And you recited the Quran that it might be said [of you]: He is a reciter. And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hell-fire. [Another] will be a man whom Allah had made rich and to whom He had given all kinds of wealth. He will be brought and Allah will make known to him His favours and he will recognize them. [The Almighty] will say: And what did you do about them? He will say: I left no path [untrodden] in which You like money to be spent without spending in it for Your sake. He will say: You have lied - you did but do so that it might be said [of you]: He is open-handed. And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hell-fire. It was related by Muslim (also by at-Tirmidhi and an-Nasa'i).

Whoever dies knowing and affirming, bearing witness that there is no god but God, shall enter Paradise.

Everything else can quickly lead to unnecessary complexity and confusion, and highly complicated belief systems ultimately but serve the purpose of ego. We cannot know God through the mind, and beliefs do not lead to belief, but can in fact prevent true belief, for beliefs are mind-dependent whereas belief is heart-dependent.

An imbalanced dependence upon a litany of catechisms only traps one in mind, and it is advisable to avoid spiritual paths or associations that are heavily dependent upon belief structures and systems, organizations that focus primarily on justifying their position or authority through complex and highly selective belief systems.

The path to God is not through the mind, but rather, through the heart. Typically, the mind is under the reigns of the ego, except when we are led by the heart and soul, in which case the mind is then in the service of the spirit.

Again, nothing we do or believe does the least for God. Worship is purely for our benefit.

The essence of belief is but the Oneness of God. All error, and thus all suffering, comes from not understanding and not building upon this primary foundation.

God has said, I am to My servants as they expect Me to be. I am with them when they mention Me. If they remember Me by themselves, I remember them by Myself. And if they remember Me in an assembly, I remember them in a greater assembly. If they draw near unto Me a hand’s length, I draw near unto them an arm’s length. And if they come to Me walking, I go to them running.

God wants your joy. Your success. Your happiness.

The only thing ever in the way is… You.

Gratitude is the essence of faith, the Way, and is indicative of the highest form of surrender.

The truly grateful, is grateful even for trials and tribulations:

1) Because he or she knows they lead to self-purificaiton, and that all suffering is but a symptom of self, ego, nafs.

2) Because they are truly happy and independent of external circumstances, so in-dependent, so present, that fear and pain cannot taint their souls, for these things exist but in past and future, and cannot be in the present moment.

Lo! Verily upon the friends of God, there is no fear, nor do they grieve. — Surah Yunus (Holy Quran, 10:62)

Ingratitude is in essence disbelief, and it shares the same root word as does the word for unbelief, kufr.

In short, if you want to make God happy with you, be happy. And remember the the true path to happiness is in selflessness, in being free from the prison of self.

How to Make Go Happy by Cultivating Personal Joy: 5 Simple Suggestions

1. Purify Your Paradigm - Accept and affirm the truth. Realize and remember that God wants your happiness, joy, success and prosperity. He wants your success.

2. Be Grateful - Consciously practice gratitude. As a simple suggestion, after offering each of your five daily prayers, as you begin to make dua, supplication, begin first with mentioning five things you are grateful for. You will be amazed at how much we take for granted.

3. Smile - It is said, When you smile, the Universe will smile back at you. This is the Way of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and by smiling, you re-affirm to yourself truth and goodness, true belief in God. The simple act of smiling also spreads joy, love and light to others, and attracts back to you these very things that you give to others.

4. Serve Others - Spread joy. Spread love. Spread goodness. It all comes back to you. But do not do to receive. Simply do for the sake of doing. Because it is the right thing to do.

None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.

Selflessness leads to happiness. Selfishness leads to suffering. And this is why modern materialistic individualism, despite greater abundance and prosperity than ever before, has led to the greatest epidemic of fear, unhappiness, depression, despondency and hopelessness the world has ever known.

Yet Islam and the Way of the Spiritual Warrior is to remain grounded, centered and rooted in Be-ing, in the Divine Presence, and thus in-dependent, independent of dunya embracing only what is necessary for this moment and thus living free and unencumbered.

5. Meditate Daily - Still the mind, and take back control of your self. Fulfill your divine purpose. Transcend the self, the ego-mind. Learn to fight the battle within. Overcome your one true enemy. Yourself. This the true and real jihad.

Recall the story of Ali at the Battle of Khandaq, when he disarmed his opponent, Amr Abdawud, who then instead of surrendering, instead spit into Ali’s noble face. Rather than slay his opponent, Ali instead sheathed his blade and stepped away.

After the battle, he was asked why he attempted to spare the life of Amr who had fought to kill him and the believers. Ali replied that initially he was fighting for the sake of Truth, but when Amr spit on him, he became angry, and could no longer fight for his heart had become tainted with anger, which then taints all action with impurity and wrong intention. On the authority of Abu

Reviews for Don't Be Sad

[Rehana · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful read...so many things happening in our world yet the cure for everything is found in Islam.. Alhamdulillah

[Sule Amuju Ibrahim · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is comprehensively put together to address all problem of life. You must read it.