Goodness and helping others

The prophet of Islam says of the one who solves a problem of the believers that God will solve seventy-two of his problems in the world and in the hereafter. According to Imam Sadeq, "Make your (religious) brother happy, so that God may make you happy"¹.

The prophet of Islam said that whosoever wishes his prayer to be responded to and his grief to be relieved should relieve the difficulties of one who has confronted a problem². One of the factors in relieving sorrow and attaining happiness is to pray. The Quran says, "and Jonah (Dhal-Nun)-when he went forth enraged and thought that we should have no power over him; then he called out in the darkness, ﴾There is no god but Thou; Glory be to Thee! I have done evil.' So We answered him, and delivered him out of grief, even so do we deliver the believers﴿³.

Imam Ali recommends that we remove grief and sorrow from ourselves by giving alms⁴. The prophet of Islam considers friendship towards the poor as a divine gift, saying to Imam Ali, "God has verily bestowed upon you the love of the distressed and the poor." The prophet introduces the best of persons who are more useful for the people.

The prophet of Islam says that there is a home in the paradise, which is called "the house of happiness"; no one enters it except the one who has made the orphans happy. He also says that whosoever causes happiness to a believer has made him (the Prophet) happy, and the one who makes him happy has truly made God happy. The prophet of Islam also says that for whoever relieves a disaster of the world from a believer, God will surely relieve seventeen disasters of him in the hereafter. He introduces the best works before God, as satisfying a poor one by paying his or her debt or relieving a grief of him or her. He also says that the best people are the ones whom we can hope and expect goodness from them and be safe from their evils. He adds that one who wishes his prayers to be responded to and his sorrow to be relieved should solve the problems of a poor person. The prophet of Islam introduces showing kindness toward orphans and paying attention to the poor and distressed as some factors that cause happiness in the hereafter.

We should ask ourselves to what extent we have acted for tranquility of others that we can expect to have tranquility.

The prophet of Islam asked a person about his feelings toward the believers. He answered that he knows them as himself; what makes them annoyed makes him annoyed too, and what makes them happy makes him happy, too. The prophet of Islam says, "You are the friend of God; none of creatures benefits as you, unless one who is like you. Your success is higher than those who have capital such as wealth, etc. I announce that you are of the wealthy people." The prophet of Islam says that loving others for the sake of God is considered as the firmest hold of "faith."

The Quran considers doing "goodness" as one of the factors of happiness in man's life: ﴾O men, bow you down and prostrate yourselves, and serve your Lord, and do good; haply so you shall prosper﴿⁵. The Quran even says that inviting other people to "goodness" can lead to happiness: ﴾Let there be one nation of you, calling to good, and bidding to honor, and forbidding dishonor; those are the prosperous﴿⁶. The Quran also says, ﴾therefore, hasten to (do) good works﴿⁷.

* Religious, Philosophica and Psychological Foundations of Happiness, by : Dr. Hamid Reza Alavi, section 1.

^{1- Akbari, 2006, p. 123- 126.
2- Akbari, 2006, p. 189.
3- Anbia', 21:87-88, cited in ibid, p. 197.
4- Akbari, 2006, p. 201.
5- Hajj 22:77.
6- Aal Imran, 3:104.
7- Baqarah, 2:148, cited in Loqmani, 2006, p. 49.}