MAKE OTHER PEOPLE HAPPY

Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Umar Razi Allah Anhu has narrated that the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said;

“One of the actions liked by Allah Ta’alah is making a Muslim happy.”

Even though this is a weak Hadith in terms of its authenticity, but the subject of this Hadith is supported by other Ahadith and evidences. The Holy Prophet ﷺ has made it clear in many Ahadith and through his own behaviour that making any Muslim happy greatly pleases Allah Ta’alah.

KEEP MY SUBJECTS HAPPY
Hazrat Dr Abdul Hai Rehmatullah Elaih used to say that when a person expresses his love for Allah Ta’alah, Allah Ta’alah replies that you can’t meet Me in this world for you to have an opportunity to show your love to Me. So, if you truly love Me then that should lead you to loving My subjects and My creations, and it is a prerequisite of loving My creations that you try to make them as happy as you can.

MAKING A PERSON HAPPY IS THE GREATER HAJJ
People go to two extremes in our society in this regard. There are some people who do not give any importance to make someone happy, and have no idea that it is a great act of worship (Ibadah). We do not realize how much reward Allah Ta’alah grants if a person makes another person happy. Wise elders have said;

دل بدست آور کہ حجِ اکبر است

It means that making a person happy is the greater Hajj. Wise elders have not called it the greater Hajj trivially, making another person happy is one of the favourite Ibadah (acts of worship) of Allah Ta’alah.

THE RESULT OF MAKING OTHER PEOPLE HAPPY
If all human beings start following the teachings of the Hadith mentioned above and start making efforts to make other people happy, this world would become a heaven on earth. There would be no enmities between people, there would be no jealousy, and no one would hurt another person. So, we should start making efforts to make other people happy from today. Even if it means that we tolerate a little bit of inconvenience, even if we have to make some sacrifices in bringing people happiness and comfort, the rewards that Allah Ta’alah will shower upon us in Akhirah (Hereafter) will be much greater compared to the little inconvenience we may have to tolerate in doing so.

MEETING SOMEONE WITH A SMILE ON THE FACE
In a Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ has described several types of Sadaqah (charity). In this Hadith he has also described a number of actions as being Sadaqah too, meaning that a person will get the same thawab (merits) on performing those actions as they would have on giving charity. In the end of that Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ said;

“It is also a Sadaqah that you meet your brother with a smile on your face.”

It means that if a person meets us they should feel that seeing them has made us happy, and they should also feel happy as a result. People who remain reserved when meeting people and do not show happiness on meeting other people are not following the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ. The Sunnah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ is that if a person meets another person they should do so with a smile and should try to make them happy.

MAKING OTHERS HAPPY BY COMMITTING SINS
On the other hand, some people go to the other extreme. Because they have heard that making another Muslim happy is an Ibadah (act of worship), they insist that they make others happy by whatever means, even if it means committing a sin, and by doing so they are committing an act of worship. This is a gross misunderstanding, because when Allah Ta’alah says ‘make other people happy’, it means making them happy through actions allowed and permitted by Allah Ta’alah. If a person commits a sin to make someone happy, it means they disobeyed and displeased Allah Ta’alah in order to make a human being happy. This is not an act of worship. Engaging in sins in an attempt not to hurt another person’s feelings or because one is impressed by them, is not an act of Deen, not an act of worship.

How can an act be an Ibadah (act of worship) if a person disobeys and displeases Allah Ta’alah, and violates His commandments, to please a human being? No act can be an Ibadah if it ends up making Allah Ta’alah angry. The intention of this Hadith is that we should try to make other people happy using permissible means.

THE PRACTICE OF SUFIS
While elaborating upon this Hadith Maulana Ashraf Thanvi Rehmatullah Elaih said;

“This practice is second nature to Sufis.”

It means that the practice of making other people happy becomes second nature to Sufis, who are close to Allah Ta’alah or are known as Allah’s friends (Wali-Ullah). Whenever a person visits them, they leave their company happy, because by the grace of Allah Ta’alah upon them they keep practicing this Sunnah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ that they make other people happy.

Hazrat Thanvi (may Allah Ta’alah bless him) further said that there is a condition one needs to be mindful of in following this Hadith, which is that a person should not get involved in sins themselves while trying to make others happy. He further said that, “there are some people who say that we do not want conflict with anyone. Whatever anyone does, we are not going to criticize them. We won’t even call a sin a sin.” This is not correct.

DO NOT GIVE UP BIDDING THE FAIR (امر بالمعروف)

Hazrat Thanvi RE further said that;
“Some people stop bidding the fair (امر بالمعروف) and forbidding the unfair (نہی عن المنکر) for this reason.”

For example, they fear that if they would ask someone to pray Salah, or stop someone from committing a sin, then their feelings would be hurt, and these people do not want to hurt anyone’s feelings. He then said;

“Did these people not see the commandment of the Quran that you should not feel any pity towards them in matters of Allah’s Deen.”

It means that if a person is breaking the boundaries of Shariah, then we should not feel kind-hearted towards them that if I point it out to them that they are committing a sin, they would feel bad.

PREACH SOFTLY
It is hugely important that when a person does Tableegh (peaching), they take care that they do not hurt anyone’s feelings deliberately and do not cause any offence. They talk to people politely, with sympathy, love, affection, and care for them. They should do so purely with an intention to please Allah Ta’alah. The purpose should not be to vent one’s anger against someone. However, if a person refrains from preaching even in a soft and polite manner for the fear that it will hurt other people’s feelings, that thinking is not correct. Because trying to please Allah Ta’alah takes precedence over trying to please all of His creations.

AVOID BOTH EXTREMES
Both the extremes are wrong. Neither should a person start acting as if they have directly been given a mission by Allah Ta’alah to change everyone else’s behaviour, nor should they refrain from conveying Allah’s message even politely and gently fearing that it will upset other people. We should try to make other people happy as much as we can, in whichever way we can, but when it comes to Allah’s boundaries, when it comes to Hara’am (forbidden) and Halal (permissible), then a person should only follow Allah Ta’alah’s commandment and should not care whether someone else feels happy or upset. On such occasions, we must only obey Allah Ta’alah and His messenger the Holy Prophet ﷺ, and should not care about anyone else’s feelings. However, we should try to be as gentle and as polite as possible when doing so. May Allah Ta’alah grant us the ability (Taufiq) to implement these principles in our life. Ameen.

وآخر دعوا ان الحمد ﷲ رب العالمين