What is true happiness?

Imagine the following scenario: While reading this, you are sedated against your will. Suddenly you wake up and find yourself on a plane. You're in first class. The food is heavenly. The seat is a flatbed, designed for a luxurious, comfortable experience. The entertainment is limitless. The service is out of this world. You start to use all of the excellent facilities. Time starts to pass. Now think for a moment and ask yourself the question: Would I be happy?

How could you be? You would need some questions answered first. Who sedated you? How did you get on the plane? What is the purpose of the journey? Where are you heading? If these questions remained unanswered, how could you be happy? Even if you started to enjoy all of the luxuries at your disposal, you would never achieve true happiness. Would a frothy Belgian chocolate mousse on your dessert tray be enough to drown out the questions? It would be a delusion, a temporary, fake type of happiness, only achieved by deliberately ignoring these critical questions. Now apply this to your life and ask yourself, am I happy? Our coming into existence is no different from being sedated and thrown on a plane. We never chose our birth, our parents or where we come from. Yet some of us do not ask the questions or search for the answers that will help us achieve our ultimate goal of happiness. Where does true happiness lie? Inevitably, if we reflect on the previous example, happiness really lies in answering key questions about our existence. These include: What is the purpose of life? Where am I heading after my death? In this light, our happiness lies in our inwardness, in knowing who we are and finding the answers to these critical questions. Happiness cannot be achieved unless we find out who we really are and search for answers to life's critical questions. However, under naturalism these questions do not have any real answers. Why are we here? No reason at all. Where are we going? Nowhere. We will just face death. We all need to answer the fundamental question of why we are here. In Islam, the answer is simple yet profound. We are here to worship God.

Happiness in a nutshell is a state of equilibrium. A state where one is at peace, tranquility and without stress or anxiety. This is ultimately a mental or cognitive state. That can be agreed upon by most. The differences arise about whether this state extends beyond death, is a destination or should be an ongoing state. The Islamic perspective is that it can and should be an ongoing state through life and perpetuity in jannah. It is achieved through serving and pleasing God, how that is done is detailed in the shariah. It cannot be achieved without Islam. Flourishes here and there of this state is all that can be achieved via various styles and means, none profound, long lasting, authentic and genuine.