Joy and gladness (al-farah wal-surur)

Sheikh Omar Abdelkafy begins by asking what happiness is and how to reach it. He notes that people seek it in different things: the frightened in safety, the sick in health, the indebted in relief. ¹ He lists related words for happiness, among them optimism, delight, joy, cheer, glad tidings, a radiant face and good news, and holds that each has its own meaning. ²

He defines surur as pure gladness, free from grief, and cites a verse on its meaning without giving the verse's place in the recording. ³ He cites a passage on rejoicing in God's bounty and on counting His blessings, which cannot be counted. ⁴ He holds that being a believer, morning and evening, is the greatest blessing, and that faith is sincere belief confirmed by action. ⁵ He cites a verse about the gardens of the people of Paradise and their gladness, and holds that this shows as radiance on the face. ⁶ He notes that the faces of elderly relatives glow with inner peace, while worry shows as tension. ⁷

He holds that the blameworthy sense of farah is worldly joy linked with pride and boasting, and that it is not the same as smiling or happiness. ⁸ He criticises the joy of a victor over an opponent, comparing it to a wrestling or boxing match, and calls it boastful. ⁹ He holds that pride in oneself prevents gratitude, since people credit their own work to themselves. ¹⁰ He says that the human being is weak: a small insect or a drop of sweat can disturb him, so pride is foolish, since people come from earth and return to it. ¹¹ He holds that all people share one origin, and that the proud are arrogant toward God's creation. ¹² He cites a hadith that no one with an atom's weight of pride in his heart will enter Paradise. ¹³ He warns against being deceived by the world's smiles or grieving over its frowns, and calls this alternation a sunna of God that gives provision to whom He wills. ¹⁴ He cites a saying of the righteous, whose source is not named in the recording, that it is better to sleep repentant than to pray in self-admiration (needs_source: the saying is unnamed in the recording). ¹⁵

He says that a voyage to the sea or elsewhere does not help one whose worry stays within him, and that a person should remove grief from inside and accept God's decree. ¹⁶ He cites a line of verse holding that happiness lies not in wealth but in piety. ¹⁷ He says God created people to seek happiness in this life and to avoid oppressing one another. ¹⁸ He holds that joy opens the chest and pushes grief out, so a believer should try to smile and to be glad. ¹⁹

He cites a hadith about meeting a brother with a cheerful face and not despising any kindness, and gives the example of a frowning doctor who makes the patient worse. ²⁰ He criticises people who hold back laughter out of pessimism, and tells a joke about a pessimist. ²¹ He says that the Prophet ﷺ smiled at his companions, and that Umar laughed heartily when something pleased him. ²² He calls for kindness and a cheerful face, and holds that the Prophet's cheerfulness is a model. ²³