With Sarah Joseph, Editor of a Muslim lifestyle magazine.

I felt so happy inside it was almost euphoric. I had been working to get myself to this point for a long time; and suddenly I felt it. It was a feeling of profound joy.

"No one and nothing can stop me feeling happy" I boldly told myself. Then another thought entered my head, "What if someone dies or gets hurt?" "Not even that could take this feeling away" I decided.

But how God likes to test us!

It was early afternoon when my mum called to say she felt very dizzy and was swaying. I told her to call the doctor and call me back. A few minutes later she called back, breathless, and obviously in some distress. The doctor was worried it was her heart and told her to call an ambulance. I grabbed my bag and coat, and ran to the train station.

Throughout the journey I was plagued by my thoughts of the morning. I had been so sure about how happy I was, but I wasn't laughing now. On the contrary, all I could think about was the day my father died. I had been so happy that day, sorting things out for my wedding, which was the next week. The laughter soon turned to tears and confusion.

I prayed to God for my Mum and pondered the question, "Are you still happy?"

The answer came in the words "Alhamdulillah"—Praise be to God.

We have to praise Him in every state.

The happiness I was feeling was not the same as I had felt when preparing for my wedding before my father died. That had been a happiness born of something—a wonderful something I grant you-but still a thing. My happiness now was different. It was born of an acceptance of the human condition, a profound love of my Creator, and a real appreciation of His Love for me.

Happiness is to live, with all its joy, but in all its pain too. It is not the search for perfection, nor can it be frivolous, material, or superficial. Ultimate happiness is, I believe, connecting with something beyond our material existence, to feel a higher purpose. Such connection and consciousness allows one to develop the patience and wholeness necessary to be accepting of life, and to still feel blessed.