OKAWA’S CONCEPT OF HAPPINESS: AN ANALYSIS FROM THE ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE BY NOR ATHIRAH BT. MOHAMED INDERA ALIM SHAH A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Heritage (Usuluddin and Comparative Religion) Kuliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences International Islamic University Malaysia FEBRUARY 2020 ABSTRACT Among the active and widely spread New Religious Movement (NRM) that are receiving attention all around the globe is Happy Science Religious Organization. Having its origin in Japan, Ryuho Okawa, the founder of Happy Science, plays an influential role in order to spread the teaching of happiness to the people all over the world. Malaysia, without exception also have been exposed by the teaching of this new religious movement. Thus, this research seeks to explore the background of this religious organization and its founder. In the meantime, it explores the concept of happiness that has been the main teaching in this organization and the concept of happiness in Islam based on the two Islamic philosophers which is Al-Ghazali and Ibn Miskawayh. Hence, the main gist discussed in this research is the analysis about Okawa’s concept of happiness from Islamic perspectives. This research is theoretical and descriptive in nature; therefore, it is qualitative and depends much on the textual analysis. The resources of this research include printed and online materials. To analyze the data, the researcher has used analytical and comparative methods. The findings show that there are a few syncretic elements that existed in Okawa’s teaching and there is a difference between Okawa’s concept of happiness and the concept of happiness discussed by Al-Ghazali and Ibn Miskawayh. The concept of happiness by Okawa is simple yet organized in structure whereas, the concept of happiness by Al-Ghazali and Ibn Miskawayh are more systematic and comprehensive. In addition, the way of understanding about the definition of happiness also different among Okawa and these two Islamic philosophers. Apart from this, much has been written on the background of this organization but there is little research done on the fundamental teaching of this organization. This research, therefore, fill this gap. ii خﻻصة البحث من احلركات الدينية اجلديدة اليت حتظى ابﻻهتمام يف مجيع أحناء العامل منظمة علم السعادة، وملؤسسها Ryuho Okawa يف الياابن دور مؤثر يف نشر تعليم السعادة يف دول العامل، ومنها ماليزاي، ومن مثَّ؛ يسعى هذا البحث إىل حت ِّري بداايت هذه املنظمة الدينية ومؤسسها، وبيان مفهوم السعادة لدى املنظمة ومفهومها يف اﻹسﻻم كما ذكره الغزايل وابن مسكويه؛ أي حتليل مفهوم أوكاوا للسعادة من منظور إسﻻمي، ويتو َّسل البحث هن ًجا نوعيًّا ابستخدام املنهجني الوصفي واملقارن واﻻعتماد على التحليل النصي للمصادر واملراجع، وتبني النتائج أن هناك بعض العناصر التوفيقية يف تعاليم أوكاوا، مع فرق يف مفهوم السعادة بينه وبني الغزايل وابن مسكويه، فاملفهوم لدى أوكاوا بسيط ومنظم يف هيكل يف آن مًعا، يف حني أن املفهوم لدى الغزايل وابن مسكويه أكثر منهجية ومشولية، ابﻹضافة إىل اختﻻف طريقة تعريف السعادة بني أوكاوا وبني الفﻻسفة اﻹسﻻميني، ورغم ك ثرة الدراسات اليت تناولت بداايت منظمة علم السعادة؛ قلة منها تناولت تعاليمها ِّ اﻷساس ابلتفصيل، وعليه؛ يسعى هذا البحث إىل س د هذه الفجوة. iii APPROVAL PAGE I certify that I have supervised and read this study and that in my opinion, it conforms to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Science (Usul al-Din and Comparative Religion). …………………………………… Asma M. Uthman El-Muhammady Supervisor …………………………………… Nur Suriya bt. Mohd Nor Co-Supervisor I certify that I have read this study and that in my opinion it conforms to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Science (Usul al- Din and Comparative Religion). ……………………………………. Wan Mohd Azam b. Mohd Amin Examiner This dissertation was submitted to the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Science and is accepted as a fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Science (Usul al-Din and Comparative Religion). …………………………………… Nur Suriya bt. Mohd Nor Head, Department of Usul al-Din and Comparative Religion This dissertation was submitted to the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Science and is accepted as a fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Science (Usul al-Din and Comparative Religion). …………………………………… Shukran Abdul Rahman Dean, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Science iv DECLARATION I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently submitted as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions. Nor Athirah Binti Mohamed Indera Alim Shah Signature………………… Date…………………….. v INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH OKAWA’S CONCEPT OF HAPPINESS: AN ANALYSIS FROM THE ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE I declare that the copyright holders of this dissertation are jointly owned by the student and IIUM. Copyright © 2020 by Nor Athirah Binti Mohamed Indera Alim Shah and International Islamic University Malaysia. All rights reserved. No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder except as provided below. 1. Any material contained in or derived from this unpublished research may be used by others in their writing with due acknowledgement. 2. IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit copies (print or electronic) for institutional and academic purposes. 3. The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in a retrieved system and supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by other universities and research libraries. By signing this form, I acknowledged that I have read and understand the IIUM Intellectual Property Right and Commercialization policy. Affirmed by Nor Athirah Binti Mohamed Indera Alim Shah ……………………….. …………………… Signature Date vi This dissertation is dedicated to my beloved parents, Mohamed Indera Alim Shah B. Jamaludin & Norma Bt. Ismail. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to gratefully acknowledge various people who have journeyed with me in recent years as I have worked on this thesis. I would like to thank my beloved parents, Mohd Indera Alim Shah bin Jamaludin and Norma binti Ismail, my loving husband, Al Syamir bin Al Amin Malim and my caring siblings, Mohd Iqbal, Nur Afiqah, Nur Ainaa, and Nuha for standing by me through thick and thin, for being patient with me even when I made it difficult for them, for believing in me when I did not believe in myself, for trusting every single choice that I have made, for encouraging me to dream, for showing me how to strive, for entertaining my call every day, for loving me for who I am, for always keeping me company when I was feeling down and lonely, for the comforting words they always seem to be able to find and for every single thing they have done for me. I would also like to express my special gratitude towards my lovely supervisor Asst. Prof. Dr. Asma M. Uthman El-Muhammady and my co supervisor Asst. Prof. Dr. Nur Suriya bt. Mohd Nor, for their continuous support, motivation, and immense knowledge, for always being there when I was perplexed and had no one to turn to, for always guiding me when I ran into a trouble spot or had questions about my research. They have guided me in the right direction whenever I needed it. For this, I will be forever be thankful. I would also like to thank Mr. Kota Nagochi, the Happy Science Branch Manager in Malaysia, who was involved in this thesis. Without his passionate participation and input, the interview could not have been successfully conducted. My special thanks also go to my beloved friends, Nurul Azani, Nurul Fathiah, Nur Hannani, Siti Nur Aliya, Nur Sa’adah and Najwa for always be with me through thick and thin. Lastly, I wish to express my appreciation and thanks to those who provided their time, effort and support me throughout this journey. May Allah bless each and every one. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ................................................................................................................... ii Arabic Abstract ....................................................................................................... iii Approval Page ......................................................................................................... iv Declaration .............................................................................................................. v Copyright Page ........................................................................................................ vi Dedication Page ...................................................................................................... vii Acknowledgement .................................................................................................. viii Table of Contents .................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ................................................................