I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard someone say “money can’t buy happiness”, but is that really true? For many, accumulating wealth becomes a lifelong pursuit. Surely this should be a means towards our happiness, if not then why do we do it?

Whether money buys happiness is a well know question that has kept many sages and philosophers busy over the years. Recently many studies have been conducted to determine whether more money can indeed make you happier or not. A well-known study by Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton used 450,000 responses to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, a daily survey of 1,000 US residents, and concluded that high income buys life satisfaction but not happiness, and that low income is associated both with low life evaluation and low emotional well-being. In another study Killingsworth collected 1.7 million data points from more than 33,000 participants and found that that money does influence happiness without any satiation level.

In addition to the different conclusions that studies have come to regarding happiness, it should be noted that the precise definition as well as the manner happiness is measured is itself not clearly defined. The study by Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton itself mentions recent research has begun to distinguish two aspects of subjective well-being. Happiness is inextricably linked to our perceptions thereof. More research needs to be done to determine to which extent the acceptance of a capitalist and consume centric paradigm contributes to our perceptions, and thus dependency on wealth for happiness. Wealth is inextricably linked to the provision and attraction of human needs which plays a major role in contributing towards our happiness in the current society.

From within the Islamic paradigm, we acknowledge that ultimate feelings of happiness will only be felt in the afterlife (Qur’an 11: 105-108). Therefore, wealth is a potential means to happiness, but wealth for the sake of it isn’t. This is also shown by research independent of the Islamic tradition. Killinsworth mentions that “although money might be good for happiness, I found that people who equated money and success were less happy than those who didn’t”. It is our objective to look beyond the fleeting joys of this world and strive towards supreme happiness. We earn supreme happiness through the purification of the soul. All the bounties that Allah has granted us can assist us in the purification of the self. Thus, if we pursue worldly pleasures in moderation and with the proper intention, we serve the immortal soul and not merely our base desires. Ultimately, true happiness can only be achieved by the leave of Allah.

Allah Knows Best