True Happiness

by Makgotso Hlabana

Bismillah

"Beautified for people is the love of that which they desire - of women and sons, heaped-up sums of gold and silver, fine branded horses, and cattle and tilled land. That is the enjoyment of worldly life, but Allah has with Him the best return." (Surah Al-imran : Verse 14)

I grew up in Soweto, south Africa, where getting the biggest house and flashiest car was the reason people woke up. But in my journey to find out what my reason for being was, Allah swt brought me to his mercy. In that light I wanted to give my all and concentrated solely on the deen, thinking that the pursuit of dunya was trivial, unaware that Allah would teach me the greatest lesson of all.

Fast forward a year or so I had completely lost focus and the reason/purpose for our existence. We are not here for our desires! For money, big cars, big houses and the likes. Alhamdulillah if you are blessed/tested with these but our main objective is not the attainment of these. True success can only come from being at peace in whatever decree Allah has ordained for you. Your searching for success in a system that has nothing to do with Islam.

I remember how I used to view sisters and brothers who worked and compromised their deen as crazy and delusional. How could you work where you are not able to practice your deen? Is rizq not from Allah swt ? So if you abandon Allah and his path where do you expect to find success? Yes Allah permits us to work and earn a living, Alhamdulillah. But once it compromises your deen then it certainly is not worth it.

Some of us have fallen into the trap of us have fallen into the trap of procrastination. Islam teaches us to live each day as if its our last day as we are not guaranteed another day let alone another breath yet we keep putting off things which are pertinent to our well being both in this life and the akhira.

self perception: per·cep·tion

 •The act or faculty of perceiving
 • Insight
 •The result of perceiving

We all have a perception about ourselves. If we lived in a desert somewhere we'd all have high self-esteem. But because of the media we have a thwarted perception on what a woman should look like. We measure ourselves up to unrealistic objectives. In this case perception is deception. Islam on the other hand elevates women. We are not mere boobs and skin. We are great character, educators, mothers, daughter, wives, people. The greatest role models are the sahabas and the greatest man to walk this earth, prophet Muhammad salAllahu aleyhi wasallam. He and his companions should be our inspiration and we should aim to live like them inshAllah.

Our past might also play a role on how we view the world. Lack of love at home might have you looking for love in all the wrong places. Might have you walking around in the flashiest clothes without hijab for that love. But the only love and approval you should be seeking is that of the eternal Al Baaqi.

No one is perfect otherwise life wouldn't be what it is. What we should remember however is we should seize each day to work towards Allah. In conclusion true peace and happiness can only be found from the giver of peace. Nothing out there will fill the void and no success will come from anything other than Allah and his system. And no it’s not easy but we should take it one day at a time. One prayer at a time. We should set up goals and time frames. We should find a balance between this life and the akhira inshAllah. May Allah keep us steadfast on his path, ameen.

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