When asked about the goal of life, who would not exclaim: happiness! But what is happiness?

The 14th century philosopher Ibn Khaldun, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “Happiness is the attainment of pleasure and delight by the acquisition of that which every ghareezah (sense, natural inclination) longs for and desires in accord with its own nature.”

Each ghareezah possesses certain needs.  When it achieves those needs, it experiences or attains pleasure.  And this is its happiness.  The stomach, the vessel for the ghareezah of eating, for example, attains its delight by eating and drinking; the olfactory senses by smelling beautiful scents; and the ear by listening to pleasurable sounds.  Overall happiness is the sum total of the delights experienced by every ghareezah.

Happiness varies in quality, duration and intensity.  The most noble happiness, however, can only be experienced by the qalb (heart).  The qalb is not a physical entity.  It is a creation of Allah, Glory be to Him in the Highest, from the world of the unseen, the world of the spirit.  It is connected in an unknown and imperceptible way to the physical heart -- akin, for example, to the relationship between the brain and the mind.  The qalb is an organ of cognition; it was created to know and to love. Various forms of knowledge infuse the qalb with varying forms of delight.  Some quloob (plural of qalb) find delight in prose, poetry, others in math and natural sciences, yet others in masonry, culinary arts, and so forth. Different “knowables” confer qualitatively different pleasures.  Some knowables confer more pleasure than others -- the degree of delight based on the subject of knowledge that is being sought.

And what is the greatest object of knowledge, the end beyond which there is no end to be known?  It is surely Allah, the Creator of knowledge itself, the Creator and the Source of happiness, the Creator and Source of peace, the Creator and Source of love, the Creator and Source of all that is.  Every perfection besides Him is imperfection.  The quloob of the inhabitants of jannah (paradise) attain perfect happiness and peace when allowed to be in His presence and know Him.

And what is the greatest object of knowledge, the end beyond which there is no end to be known?  It is surely Allah, the Creator of knowledge itself, the Creator and the Source of happiness, the Creator and Source of peace, the Creator and Source of love, the Creator and Source of all that is.

The scribe of this ummah (Muslim community, past and present), Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, once noted that  to show ‘uboodiyyah (servitude to Allah) is to know Him.  Knowledge and ‘uboodiyyah are inseparable.  ‘Ilm (knowledge) that enables us to know Allah is the most valuable and the most noble of all knowledge. The serene overwhelming quality of happiness it engenders is irreplaceable.

Every delight in its absence is pain. The happiness of the qalb, however, does not offer itself without pursuit, just as the eyes and ears that are not clean and healthy will not be able to enjoy the delights of sights and sounds.  The qalb needs to be alive and healthy in order to attain its own happiness.  The qalb needs to be cleansed and purified.

The above is an introduction to the science of tazkiyat al-nafs (purification of the self).  Look for Part 2 of this introduction in the June 2011 edition of the Muslim Link, as taught by Shaykh Mokhtar Maghraoui – who will be visiting Ottawa from May 20th to May 23rd.  For more information on his program: “Rekindling Our Light: Embracing Our Spiritual Legacy” please visit:  www.zawiyah.net/ottawa  and see the poster on the back cover of this month’s issue of Muslim Link.

Shaykh Mokhtar Maghraoui is one of the most well renowned scholars in North America. Originally from Algeria, he is thoroughly versed in the Islamic sciences and holds a doctorate joined between the fields of physics and engineering.  His expertise includes the disciplines of tazkiyah and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), and he is best known for his enlightening retreats and seminars empowering Muslims on their spiritual quest. ■