Know Yourself, Know Happiness

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Qasim Choudhary, USA

Who am I? What’s important to me? Why? 

These existential questions pop up in life from time to time. Perhaps you just graduated from high school and are now scrambling to select a future path. Or you’ve been stuck in a 9-5 rut that is slowly draining your ambitions and passions. Or, like me, your twenties are on their last breath and fading away. Amidst all the ups and downs in life, our inner voice asks another question:

Am I happy?

Wait…what even is happiness? If you’re anything like me, your mind is a mixed smoothie of doubts, questions, and apprehension. In the modern age, those searching for answers often turn to the ever-expanding self-help section in bookstores. As these questions swirled in my mind, I stumbled upon a book to aid me in my quest to better understand the subject of happiness.

In his popular book, The Happiness Trap, Russ Harris explores different methods for living a rich and meaningful life. Of course, we all want to live a happy life. But where do we start?

According to Harris, it starts with clarifying our most important values and then acting accordingly—becoming the person we envision by doing the things that deeply matter to us.

There are many who have an outlook on life grounded in spirituality and maintaining a connection with the Creator of the universe. 

This is crucial. 

The first step towards living a meaningful and fulfilling life is understanding who we are and envisioning the kind of person we strive to become. Religious discipline is no stranger to self-awareness and introspection. In fact, the following saying beautifully highlights how crucial these traits are, 

من عرف نفسہ فقد عرف ربہ

‘One who knows himself, knows his Lord’

At times, we navigate through long stretches of life on cruise control, avoiding a deeper examination of our actions and way of life. Perhaps we evade these inner conversations out of fear of confronting long-standing insecurities and fears. It’s worth noting that the Holy Qur’an, the divinely revealed scripture of Muslims, advises its followers not to shy away from introspection and to tackle existential questions, especially those regarding the existence of the Creator of the universe. Under the Islamic paradigm, forging a living bond with the Creator is the means of true contentment. However, in the present age, it is easy to be distracted and lose sight of this eternal truth. The Holy Qur’an describes the fate of such people:

‘And be not like those who forgot Allah, and whom He has consequently caused to forget their own souls.’^[1]

About the Author: Qasim Choudhary is a graduate of the Ahmadiyya Institute of Languages and Theology in Canada, and serves as an Imam of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the United States of America.

ENDNOTES

^[1] The Holy Qur’an 59:20