Why do we want to be happy? What is happiness? What makes people happy? Why do psychologists connect happiness with some objects? What if that object is no longer available? These are questions that drive worldwide surveys of happiness and inspire many of us on our personal journeys to find our own happiness. What makes "you" happy? And what classifies you as being happy? These questions have fascinated researchers for years, resulting in a lot of studies on happiness, making it one of the most researched areas of psychology today. Throughout the ages, happiness has been a focus of philosophers, psychologists, economists, and people. Each culture, each time period, and every person has their own unique way of defining what it means to have a happy life. While there are many different definitions of happiness, many people believe that happiness is a human goal that is influenced by a balance between oneself and one's family, friends, and world.

Happiness is a complex notion that describes an emotion, a mental state, a lifestyle, and an idea that all people around the globe share. The ancient Greeks viewed happiness as the ultimate goal in life, attainable when one fulfilled both physical needs and the higher, more profound ones that address one's soul. Aristotle specifically associated happiness with the quality of one's life or the quality of one's actions. The current view of happiness, however, has shifted from an eudaimonic interpretation of happiness to a more hedonistic interpretation of happiness. In fact, today happiness is defined largely by pleasure and contentment, as well as the overall evaluation of one's entire life, both of which are closely connected to subjective well-being.

Garcia explained that achieving personal and psychological well-being requires knowing an individual’s inner self as well as understanding the mental and emotional factors that contribute to happiness. Garcia also indicated that emotional well-being is important to achieving happiness. In the field of clinical psychology, happiness is most commonly measured by life satisfaction, and researchers have found that people who experience mental health problems are likely to experience lower levels of well-being. Therefore, while attaining happiness begins within yourself, it also looks outward into the lives of others and how to build processes to achieve happiness at home through building positive relationships within the community and outside communities and by creating a supportive environment that positively affects daily living.

Psychologists often look at psychological well-being as a measure of our current mental and emotional balance. One way to think about this is called "The Mental Health Continuum," which looks at what factors contribute to feelings of happiness, such as having purpose, feeling in control of your life and making choices for yourself, developing positive friendships, growing as an individual, and accepting who you are. Researchers have begun to look beyond mental health and have expanded their definitions of well-being by looking at general satisfaction and the search for meaning in people's lives. Even though researchers are examining many different aspects of well-being, happiness is not limited to these areas; it also includes personal agency and social & community factors. Happiness can be understood through the complex interplay among individual feelings, thoughts, traits, life situations, etc. In this regard, psychologists and researchers link happiness to social conditions.

Many scholars argue that social well-being is closely correlated with individual happiness because one's relationships with family, friends, etc., provide supportive assistance during life's challenges, thus helping to reduce isolation. Supportive interactions enhance emotional wellness, while friendships and caring connections create feelings of safety and happiness. In addition, small forms of interaction, i.e., humor, light-hearted conversations, etc., uplift the spirit and create a positive atmosphere. Therefore, happiness flourishes not only within each individual but also through the generosity of social interactions. Psychologists note that community involvement fosters social interaction, emotional support, trust, and a sense of belonging, which strengthens personal identity and long-lasting relationships, ultimately contributing to shared happiness within the community. What if these social conditions are harmful, unjust, or unsupportive, and instead of nurturing happiness, they become a source of distress and unhappiness for the individual?

Adding yet another layer of complexity to this already complicated picture is economic stability. Diener and Seligman concluded that financial well-being plays an important role in one's happiness; however, financial well-being is not simply about wealth, but rather about being satisfied. Hart determined that environmental conditions, cultural activities, religious practices, and supportive neighborhoods all have strong correlations to happiness and are indicative of the varying levels of life satisfaction throughout the world. When people are economically stable, they have the freedom, security, and peace of mind to make useful choices, form strong connections with others, and participate in their communities. But, when people experience economic hardship and increasing costs of living, they tend to experience feelings of insecurity, emotional distress, and other problems related to health and well-being. This empirical evidence highlights the close connection between material conditions and mental states; however, money should not be regarded as an end in itself for achieving happiness, for how many wealthy individuals possess great riches yet remain deeply unhappy?

Scholars also emphasize that cultural and religious beliefs are additional elements that enrich this combination by providing meaning and direction in life. They are sources of strength during difficult times, gratitude during good times, and daily guidance. Cultivating gratitude helps an individual take a moment in time that produced an enjoyable or pleasurable experience and transform it into a lasting source of fulfillment and, likewise, an individual’s sense of peace and resilience. Activities such as prayer, acts of kindness, and compassion not only provide nourishment to the spirit but also contribute to emotional stability and social harmony. Resilience, which is defined as the ability to see the challenges poverty creates as opportunities for growth, brings together these values and psychology because individuals can sometimes develop from the challenges they face. Therefore, in this event, happiness is not only the absence of pain or discomfort, but it is also a mindset that takes challenges as opportunities for growth. Isn’t true happiness, then, a way of living that transforms hardship into growth and meaning?

In light of these observations about happiness and human well-being, the various viewpoints indicate that satisfaction results from 5 distinct types of experiences: oneself, relationships with others, financial security, culture, and spirituality. Each type contributes to happiness, but none can provide long-term sustenance on its own. For example, personal resilience allows a person to endure hard times; however, without a supportive community or stability in material resources, their sense of well-being would be and continue to be very fragile. Similarly, financial abundance may offer comfort, but without a sense of gratitude, belongingness, or peace of mind, it will feel like an empty or unproductive experience to them.

In this context, the ultimate goal of psychology was to help people attain happiness. However, understanding of happiness was not limited to temporary pleasure, emotions, or feelings of comfort, which are often used as superficial indicators of well-being. Instead, happiness is something deeper and more meaningful. True happiness is a spiritual condition that reflects inner peace, moral integrity, and a meaningful relationship with God. It is a state in which the individual experiences harmony between the mind, the heart, and the soul while living a life guided by purpose, responsibility, and compassion. Therefore, generations of Muslim scholars and philosophers have defined a deeper understanding of happiness long before our time. They never regarded happiness as the temporary feeling of pleasure or the brief experience of enjoyment that would go away when the environment around them changed, but rather looked at happiness as a soulish state of happiness that is long-lasting.

In fact, true happiness was regarded as a state where the heart, the mind, and the spirit were in harmony and could then follow a meaningful purpose in life. Therefore, happiness was not about achieving one’s desires or worldly comfort, but rather developing an inner balance between oneself, living morally and ethically, and developing one's spirituality. With this understanding of happiness, psychology should not only analyze what makes people feel happy (the indicator of happiness) but also encourage people to understand a deeper level of happiness. Indeed, happiness is both an emotional response and an essence of spirit; the only true way to know happiness is to understand how the human soul is connected to God. True happiness is not based on feeling happy; rather, it is a connection to God, a feeling of inner contentment, and a sense of spiritual well-being.

According to this perspective, happiness occurs when the individual acts in accordance with the truth of the self, has self-knowledge, and acts responsibly towards others, at which point, the soul is at ease, the mind is clear, and the actions of that individual demonstrate an understanding of the purpose of life. From this understanding, happiness is a holistic state of spiritual growth, intellectual thoughtfulness, and moral integrity, leading the individual toward a state of harmony, happiness, and a life of value.