Republished with the author’s kind permission from https://shukrallahblog.wordpress.com.

Most people, including myself think the goal is to be happy. We search and search for happiness in people, in gifts, in money, in life, in vacations, in a new job, in a shopping trip, in food. In everything we do: we look for happiness, otherwise why would we do it?

Hence some people get lazy when it comes to their religious obligations i.e. salah, fasting, charity. They don’t see the benefit immediately or they don’t feel happiness every time it’s done so like a habit – it gets abandoned.

Happiness is a feeling only. It comes and it goes. It will never be permanent no matter how positive we are however, smiling is a choice. Smiling is something we can control. Happiness is not.

I much prefer to say, “May Allah always keep you smiling” whenever I see someone who appears happy, bashful, positive. Rather than, may Allah always keep you happy.

Because what would happen if Allah really did always make us happy in this life? We would probably long for the feeling of sadness, of misery.

Let’s be honest, especially as women there are times I just want to be sad for a while. I like to watch sad movies and cry my eyes out. I sometimes have a difficult day and I like to reflect on it, I don’t want to necessarily be happy that I didn’t do as well as I should. Maybe someone we love dearly dies, they return to Allah, is it possible to be happy about that?

All of these questions I ask myself and always I find that despite not being happy about something I can always smile. A sad smile, a happy smile, a grateful smile, a genuine smile, a wise smile.

A smile is something we can always wear to show Allah that we are patient and throughout all of our emotions we want to show Him that we are grateful. We are telling Allah that we are thinking good thoughts about Him, in Allah we place our trust through thick and through thin.

The prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) said: