Happiness Vs. Pleasure

Why is it that Bangladesh has less suicides rates than the more developed Switzerland? Why are many westerners abandoning the comfort of urban life in search of happiness and inner peace in rural areas, away from city life and all its pleasures.

Islam instills happiness, capitalism, on the other hand, tries to provide sensual pleasure. There is, no doubt, some overlap between the two (happiness & pleasure), but they do diverge at a certain point. You can be happy without being sensually gratified, and you can be sensually gratified, without really being happy.

Take wealth as an example. Wealth is seen by capitalism as a goal in itself because it is a major facilitator of pleasure, whereas, in Islam, it is a means because it's not a major contributor to happiness (to be happy, you should give). The Prophet, peace be upon him, did not spend much time on the topic of how to get rich and become a millionaire.

Islam has aligned itself to provide happiness to the individual and to society. This is not to say that it shuns worldly pleasures. On the contrary, the All Mighty says in the Quran, “Say who has forbidden the beauty that Allah has created for his servants”. This is to say it places more emphasis and instruction on things that provide happiness for its followers.

Ironically, people who are happy and are at peace usually are more productive and thus more financially well off than others who are stressed. The latter tend not to be able to deal the strain and pull of every day life.

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