The Secret of Happiness

Here's what philosophers discovered about the secret of happiness.

Bertrand Russell

"Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness."

It's out of character for someone like Bertrand Russell, a lover of mathematics, science, and logic, to dabble in something so negotiable as happiness. 

But his idea that happiness can be found in the surrender to visceral feelings of love rings true — and contemporary science seems to be on his side.

Friedrich Nietzsche

"Happiness is the feeling that power increases - that resistance is being overcome."

For Nietzsche, the famous mustachioed nihilist, happiness is a kind of control one has over their surroundings.

The German philosopher wrote frequently on the impacts that power (and a lack of power) can have on people's lived experiences. When people resist, they take back their agency. That sense of self can then turn into happiness.

John Stuart Mill

"I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy tem."

John Stuart Mill was a titan of liberalism, perhaps its most important figure in history. He spread the gospel of liberty wherever he could.

When it came to happiness, he adopted the wisdom of the ancient Greeks. Instead of inundating his life with goods, Mill believed in utilitarianism. He believed in using things for a purpose, and if they served no purpose, he banished them from his life.

Socrates

"The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less."

For Socrates, one of the greatest ancient thinkers, happiness doesn't come from external rewards or accolades. It comes from the private, internal success people bestow upon themselves. 

By paring down our needs, we can learn to appreciate simpler pleasures.

Confucius

"The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large."

Confucius' sentiment about happiness has echoed through history in books such as "The Power of Positive Thinking" and recent research in cognitive behavioural therapy, which seeks to help people see the connections between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.

According to a Confucian mindset, happiness is a self-fulfilling prophecy that replicates itself the more we find reasons for its existence.

Seneca

"The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not."

Beloved by contemporary philosophy nerds like the investor Nassim Taleb and marketing whiz Ryan Holiday, the Stoic philosopher firmly believed in what psychologists would now call the "locus of control."

For some people, the locus lives externally. They feel like outside forces guide their actions. For others (in Seneca's mind, the happy ones), the locus lives within. 

Lao Tzu

"If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present."

Translated simply as "Old Man," nobody is quite sure who Lao Tzu really was. But the figure's wisdom on living in the moment has transcended millennia.

And psychologists uphold its benefits.

Some research suggests people report the greatest happiness when they are engaged in things that require their full and present attention: good conversation, creative tasks, or sex.

Soren Kierkegaard

"Life is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be experienced."

Before there was the stellar mash-up Twitter account Kim Kierkegaardashian, there was the Danish philosopher who inspired it. 

Kierkegaard was of the mind that happiness comes from being present in the moment and enjoying the ride. Once we stop turning our circumstances into problems and start thinking of them as experiences, we can derive satisfaction from them.

Henry David Thoreau

"Happiness is lke a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder." 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the transcendentalist author and advocate for civil disobedience took a passive approach to happiness.

As he detailed in "Walden," Thoreau preferred to break convention. He avoided habit. Perhaps through the commitment to randomness, he thought, he could find some larger, more cosmic sense of happiness. 

Prophet as a Social Activist

The deeds of the Prophet, even before that time, were in accordance with his noble character and the teachings which he later received. One of the major aims of his career was social reform. Even before Islam, the rite of Haj was observed at the Kaaba, and war was forbidden in that sacred month. Once when this ban was violated and a visiting tribe’s members were looted and their local protector killed, a war broke out.

The war ended according to an agreement known as the Hilf-al-Fudul. According to M. Akhtar Muslim, in Quran aur Insani Huquq (‘The Quran and human rights’), around the year 586 CE, another trader visiting Makkah was deprived of his goods without being paid. He cried out for help. With regard to this, Dr M. Hamidullah writes in Muhammad Rasulullah (‘Muhammad the Prophet of Allah’) that Al-Zubair, the head of the Prophet’s family, convened a meeting. In this meeting, in which the Prophet took part as a young man, it was decided to bring a group into action under the revived Hilf-al-Fudul.

According to some scholars ‘fadal’ also means ‘right’, the plural of which is ‘fudul’. Therefore, one of the meanings of this could be, ‘the agreement for the protection of rights’. The group’s activists pledged to come to the help of anyone who had been wronged in Makkah, without discrimination, to favour the weak and downtrodden against their powerful persecutors. The tribes of Taim, Zuhra, Muttalib and Hashim took the oath for this agreement.

The important objectives and clauses of the Hilf-al-Fudul were as follows: lawlessness would be done away with; security of the travellers and newcomers would be ensured; victims of cruelty would be helped regardless of whether they were residents of Makkah or visitors; and the powerful persecutors would be stopped from being unjust to the weak. Dr M. Hamidullah in Rasul-i-Akram ki Siyasi Zindagi (‘The political life of the Prophet’) describes the oath as: “We swear by God that we will together become one (strong) hand. This hand will remain by the side of the weak and will continue to be raised against the strong and the unjust until the persecutor returns to the persecuted his right. This will remain so until the sea keeps the seashells wet and the hills of Hira and Thabir remain in their place. There will be equity in our society.”

The last sentence can mean that even the most humble of citizens would be able to challenge and demand redress from the most powerful. Only a handful of tribes participated in the Hilf-al-Fudul, yet it was a revolutionary agreement, the fundamental principle being non-alliance. Previously, all help had been given on the basis of tribes and the pacts made with them.

In this pact, it had been agreed that anyone and everyone who had been wronged, could ask for help. They went so far as to say that even those strangers and travellers who belonged neither to Makkah nor to any of its tribes would be eligible for help.

Previously, travellers were an open target for persecution. Not only were they robbed, but often their wives and daughters were taken away from them forcibly.

Another reason for its being a revolutionary agreement was that the Hilf-al-Fudul was not based on social class. Anyone who had been wronged, whether he was a free person or a slave, rich or poor, was eligible for help. Through this agreement, to a large extent Makkah became safe for the weak, the persecuted and strangers. The activists, acting with great speed, saw to it that the person who had been wronged was given back all that had been taken away from him forcibly.

Very soon, powerful thugs, including Abu Jahal, started to fear reprisal from the activists. The Makkans can be truly proud of the fact that at the time when the whole world was steeped in darkness and injustice, these conscientious activists were able to provide free protection and justice to the weak and the helpless through their humanistic ideals. In trying to create some kind of law and order in Makkah, the activists of the Hilf-al-Fudul were really helping to formulate some laws based on the concept of modern-day human rights. Dr M. Hamidullah says that the law of Islam in its early phase was the customary law of Makkah until such time as parts of it were specifically amended or abrogated. The principles of the Hilf-al-Fudul can safely be said to be a part of the law of Islam.

Even though many of the participants of the agreement remained non-Muslim, the Prophet kept acting on it after his declaration of Islam. He is reported to have said later: “Even if red camels were given to me in exchange for the Hilf-al-Fudul, I would not accept them.” This agreement can also be looked upon as the beginning of the attempt to codify laws and enforce a policing system with the objective of establishing peace and equity through practical social activism.

The pact also gives Muslims a precedent for the moral responsibility of all citizens to protect the weak and to speak for them, to critique the rulers and the powerful and the concept of establishing citizens’ groups that advocate and lobby for social rights.

Prophet, Father of Universal Human Rights

Prophet Muhammad was the best example and the greatest leader who came to promote human welfare. Allah sent him as a “mercy to the worlds.” As a Prophet and Messenger of Allah, his mission was to guide human beings to the path of truth and salvation. He, however, did not limit his work to preaching faith and prayers alone; he also emphasized helping all human beings, regardless of their races, colors or religions. He was good to all human beings.

From the beginning of his mission until he left this world, Prophet Muhammad emphasized that all human beings are one family, descending from the one and same father and mother, Adam and Eve. He spoke against racial or color discrimination. He spoke against tribalism and against all kinds of prejudices. There is not a single incident or a single statement in which he showed directly or indirectly any prejudice against any person of any race, color or tribe. In the society in which he was born such discrimination were common; but he always spoke against them and reminded his followers to treat all people with respect. He emphasized justice towards all people. He was just not only to Muslims, but also to non-Muslims. He was just not only to his friends but also to his enemies. Allah gave him the message of universal justice: “O you, who believe! stand out firmly for Allah, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: that is next to Piety: and fear Allah. For Allah is well-acquainted with all that you do”. Al-Ma’idah 5:8).

Prophet Muhammad - peace be upon him- preached this message and practiced it in the best way. Neither in the time of peace nor in the time of war he did injustice to his enemies. Actually, in many instances when he defeated his enemies in battles, he forgave them and let them go free.
He emphasized the human rights of all people. Before Prophet Muhammad there was no concept of universal human rights; it was he who gave the world this idea that all human beings have some God-given and inalienable rights. He spoke about the rights of life, right of basic necessities of life, right of property, protection of honor, personal freedom, freedom of expression, freedom of conscience and conviction, equality before law, the right of consultation. It was he who taught that women must be treated with respect and honor. It was he who taught the dignity of workers and said that workers should be given fair wages and paid promptly. It was Prophet Muhammad - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him - who taught the first time in history that rulers are responsible before their people and they can be removed by the people.

Prophet Muhammad taught kindness to family, love of children, respect of parents and elders and kindness to neighbors. He told us that even if our parents or other relatives reject Allah’s message and continue in their unbelief or idol worship, we should not mistreat them. We should not follow their wrong ways, but in worldly matters we should be good to them. He told us that we should treat all our neighbors with care and kindness. He told us, “He/she is not a believer who eats while his neighbor is hungry.” He did not distinguish between a Muslim and non-Muslim in this humanitarian treatment of relatives and neighbors.

Prophet Muhammad was not only kind to Muslims; he was also kind and respectful to non-Muslims. He listened to their arguments and answered them in the nicest manner. He criticized their misconceptions and gave them the message of Islam, but never forced them to accept Islam. Some of his own relatives did not accept Islam but the Prophet did not mistreat them even when he had full powers to do that. He rather helped them whenever they were in need. He taught kindness to neighbors and to all relatives whether Muslims or non-Muslims. Prophet Muhammad never allowed fighting any person or group unless they attacked first. He urged peaceful relations, agreement and treaties and he reminded his followers to observe all treaties and covenants as long the enemies observe them. 

Prophet Muhammad - peace be upon him - also gave us a perfect example of a humanitarian leader. In his early age, before Allah appointed him as His Prophet and Messenger, Prophet Muhammad was known as an honest, trustworthy and truthful person. He was called al-Sadiq and al-Amin. It was due to his loving and peaceful character that Quraish asked him to arbitrate in their dispute on who should place the Black Stone in the wall of the Ka’bah when they were repairing its building. It was due to his humanitarian spirit that he joined a group of noble people in Makkah who wanted to protect the widows, orphans or strangers in their city. He joined the Hilf al-Fudul and even after he became the Prophet of Allah, he continued speaking highly of this group, its humanitarian efforts and indicated his willingness to respond to them whenever they would call.
When the leaders of various tribes in Makkah made life difficult for Prophet Muhammad; surrounded his house and came to kill him; the Prophet did not leave his home without making sure that anything that he had borrowed or kept as a trust with him must be returned to its rightful owners, although some of them turned against him and became his enemies because of his message of Islam. This is a most unique example of sincerity and honesty as well as of humanitarian spirit. 

It is reported that after the Hijrah while the people of Makkah were still his enemies, it came to the attention of the Prophet that they were going through shortage of food due to some famine; the Prophet immediately sent some food for them from Madinah. This is another unique example of humanitarian spirit towards the enemies, even when they are at war. Prophet Muhammad never allowed the starvation of any person, even animals. He warned about Allah’s punishment of hell for a woman who kept a cat in some place, did not allow the cat to go out nor gave her food or water. The poor cat died of starvation. On the other hand, the Prophet praised a person who gave water to a very thirsty dog and thus received special blessings of Allah. There are many examples of his compassion and kindness towards the animals. 

As the leader of the community, in Madinah, the Prophet used to receive charity (Sadaqat and Zakat), but he never used it on himself or his family. He was, however, very generous in helping the poor people. He used to give with such a generosity that people used to say that he gives like a person who does not fear poverty. Beside teaching and preaching the message of Allah, it was his mission to remove the suffering of all people. 
It is important for us Muslims to remember this humanitarian spirit of Islam. We should be kind and generous towards all people. Because of the lack of understanding of the humanitarian nature of Islamic teachings and humanitarian example of Prophet Muhammad - peace be upon him - many Muslims today think that our social work, relief work and humanitarian efforts should be only directed towards Muslims. 

We lag behind in supporting the humanitarian causes here in America and around the world. This is against the clear teachings and spirit of Islam. We should emphasize more and more humanitarian works. We should establish institutions for the assistance of all poor people, regardless of their religions. We should feed the hungry, provide clean water and clothes to those who are in need. We should establish medical clinics for free treatment of all those who are sick and need our help and assistance. We should take care of the senior citizens, orphans and widows to the best of our capacities. We should organize systematic relief programs for those who are victims of natural or man-made disasters everywhere in the world. We should establish educational institutions not only for Muslims but also for others. Just as da’wah is important; humanitarian work is also very important. Actually no successful Da’wah work can be done without sincere humanitarian work.