Happiness and Faith (hell, prophet, blessing, God, Lord)

[Cordoba]

Rida (resignation)

Rida (resignation) means showing no rancor or rebellion against misfortune, and accepting all manifestations of Destiny without complaint and even better peacefully.

In other words, one should welcome all things and events, even those normally associated with distress. Another beautiful definition of resignation is having or showing pleased acceptance of God's treatment whether it seems agreeable or disagreeable to us.

Even though believers must adopt resignation of their free will at the beginning of the spiritual journey, in reality it is a direct gift of God to those whom He loves. For this reason, unlike patience, neither God Almighty nor the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, commanded it; they only recommended it.

http://fethullahgulen.org/a.page/boo...fism/a885.html

[Cordoba]

The Journey Beyond Being

O Creator, Most High and Most Beautiful, Who brought us into this existence and allowed us to feel the infinite pleasure thereof. You have opened to us vast worlds as a book. You have made our consciousness the shore at which Your Divine mysteries lap, and so enabled us to have a sense of those mysteries. If You had not unfolded to us as in a book these magnificent worlds, if You had not disclosed Yourself to us, according to our capacity to understand, by sending Prophets, we would not have known You at all.

O Ruler of hearts, on the remembrance and meditation of Whom hearts are fixed, we strive to determine the ways leading to Your Presence and the windows opening upon Your Existence.

http://fethullahgulen.org/a.page/books/pearls.of.wisdom/a617.html

[Cordoba]

For the Conquest and Dominion of Hearts

Modern man, who spends his energies in pursuit of transient material advantages, is wasting himself and all the nobler, truly human feelings in the depths of his being.

It is no longer possible to find among his resources either the serenity that comes from belief, or the tolerance and depth of spirit enabled by knowledge of God, or the traces of love and spiritual joys.

This is so because he weighs everything on the scales of material advantage, immediate comfort and the gratification of bodily appetites, and thinks about only how he can increase his profit or what he will buy and sell, and where and how he will amuse himself. If he is unable to satisfy his appetites through lawful means, he rarely hesitates to resort to unlawful means, however degraded and degrading.

In order to be delivered from the suffocating world of unbelief and egocentricity, from shuttling aimlessly between the false modern concepts of thought, action and life, man should strive to re-discover the true human values that lie in the depths of his being. To escape the various stresses and afflictions in the psychological, spiritual and intellectual dimensions of personal life, and the strains and conflicts in collective affairs within and between nations, he should re-consider the worth of believing, loving, moral values, metaphysical thinking and spiritual training.

http://fethullahgulen.org/a.page/books/towards.the.lost.paradise/a558.html

[Cordoba]

Hope

Hope is a condition of mind connected, above all, with belief. Those who believe have hope, and their degree of hope is directly proportional to their degree of belief.

It is because of this that certain effects of strong belief can strike some people as miracles. And those who do not experience belief on this level therefore consider such hope and belief in others as something quite out of the ordinary.

Despair and pessimism do not arise in the mind and spirit of one who has chosen well what he believes in and, believing, has set his whole heart upon that belief.

http://fethullahgulen.org/a.page/books/towards.the.lost.paradise/a560.html

[Cordoba]

In the Shade of the 'Light' Coming From Heaven

I wonder whether we can study, as consciously and appreciatively as we should, this book of nature which stretches before us with its ‘lines’ ‘embroidered in silk threads’, and each page of which is an exhibition of different types of beauties.

This brilliant and magnificent book, offered to us contemplation in the embrace of the sun, every season of it having a different beauty and elegance, is a source of reference and a mine of happiness and energy requiring careful analysis.

If we can study this book in the ‘light’ coming from heaven, and also in the light of the ‘lamp’ lit in our souls, and thereby feel elevated into the realms of existence on the wings of belief and knowledge, we will never fall into pessimism and feel loneliness. Rather, we will overflow with happiness each moment through a different ‘pleasure’. ...

If only man can remove the veil between his soul and eyes to see the reality of things, then the book of nature, which surrounds us with all its beauties, colours, smells, and dazzling designs, will be reflected in his soul and, saving him from the imprisonment of fancies and indulgences, take him through the corridors of Paradise.

He will then find that everywhere he can reach with his sight and imagination is decorated with the most delicious of fruits and the most striking of views, in which his heart, spirit, eyes and ears will all have share to enrapture himself with happiness.

http://www.fethullahgulen.org/a.page/books/towards.the.lost.paradise/a553.html

[Cordoba]

Finding happiness in knowing God:

When a worshipper knows his Lord, he feels at peace. He sees Allah’s workings in Creation and appreciates the greatness and innovativeness of Allah’s handiwork that is all around him and how it is full of mercy and wisdom. We cannot see our Lord but we can see the effects of His handiwork that proclaim His most excellent names and attributes.

This is why the Prophet (peace be upon him) describes excellence in worship as: “…to worship Allah as though you see Him, and though you do not see Him, truly He sees you.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim]

When the worshipper sees the results of Allah’s creative power and knowledge in the world around him, he feels a very intimate closeness to Allah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “He tastes the sweet flavor of faith who is pleased with Allah as his Lord, with Islam as his religion, and with Muhammad as the Messenger.” [Sahîh Muslim]

There was a CEO of a major American corporation who had attained wealth, power, prestige, and position but felt bitterly unhappy. He would toss and turn in bed at night, unable to sleep. He was impressed to find among the company’s employees a young Muslim man of modest position and salary who was always happy and cheerful. He would eat in peace, sleep in peace, and would come to work and go home smiling. Not once did he see this man with a dark expression on his face.

He brought the man into his office and asked him: “What is it with you that you are so happy all the time?”

The man replied: “By God, I know my Lord and I know my job. I believe in God and therefore I have peace.”

The CEO then asked: “Do you have anything that might guide me or show me the way?

The man took the CEO by the hand and took him to an Islamic center where he learned about Islam and had the religion explained to him. Ultimately, the CEO declared: “I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”

As soon as he said this, he broke into tears and said: “I have just felt happiness that I had never before felt before in my whole life.”

http://sisters.islamway.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=326

[Cordoba]

Happiness at Home

The Prophet (peace be on him) loved spaciousness in the home and considered it as an element conducive to happiness in this life, saying, Happiness has four elements: a good wife, a spacious house, a good neighbor, and a comfortable riding beast.

(Reported by Ibn Habban in his Sahih)

He often used to pray fervently, "Our Lord, forgive me my sin, make my house spacious, and bless me in my sustenance." He was asked, "O Messenger of Allah, why do you supplicate so often in these words?" He replied, "Is anything left out?"

http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/Q_LP/ch2s3pre.htm

[Cordoba]

God's Mercy

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

"Truly God possesses a hundred mercies; of these He has stored up ninety nine beside Himself and has revealed one mercy in this present world. By virtue of it men show compassion to each other and the mother is compassionate to her child, and the beast is humane with its offspring.

And, when the Day of Resurrection comes, He will join this mercy to the ninety nine; then He will spread them out upon all His creation and every single mercy is the match of the heavens and the earth, and only the child of perdition will perish at the hand of God at that time."

And according to another hadith:

"There is not a single person among you whose work will give him entrance to the Garden or will save him from the Fire. They said: Not you either, O Messenger of God? He said: Not me either except that God should cover me with His mercy."

Source: The Revival of the Religions Sciences, by A.H. Al-Ghazali
http://www.ghazali.org/site/ihya.htm