It’s Friday evening. After an exhausting work week, you go to a nice restaurant with friends. Great food, laughter and conversation, pleasant music. But when you return home and find yourself alone in the silence of your room, a strange feeling suddenly comes over you. Not sadness, not regret—something like emptiness. As if all those pleasant moments were just a movie that has ended, and now you’re left with a blank screen.

Why Do Some Pleasures Leave Us Empty? The Roots of a Hidden Tension

Have you experienced this feeling? If your answer is yes, know that you are not alone. According to field research, about 67% of people experience this inner conflict. But why do some pleasures leave us feeling empty? Why do certain enjoyments have a hollow core?

Three Hidden Tensions in Our View of Pleasure

To understand why some pleasures leave us empty, we need to look at the history of Islamic thought. Three fundamental tensions about pleasure have formed there that still flow through our daily lives:

1. Ontological Tension: Is Pleasure Deficiency or Perfection?

The question is this: Is pleasure something good or bad?

On one hand, a great philosopher like Mullā Ṣadrā considers pleasure to be “the perception of perfection.” That is, whenever any being reaches its perfection, it experiences pleasure. So pleasure is a sign of perfection, not deficiency. (Source: Asfār, Vol. 9)

On the other hand, from an ascetic perspective, worldly pleasure is a veil on the path. In a tradition from Imam Ali (AS), the pleasures of the world are divided into seven kinds: foods, drinks, clothing, marriage, riding animals, fragrances, and sounds. And each is, in some way, criticized. (Source: Biḥār al-anwār, Vol. 61)

The result? We are still confused between these two views. Sometimes we feel pleasure is a sign of perfection; other times, after enjoyment, we experience guilt.

2. Teleological Tension: What is the Ultimate Goal?

Is the goal of life “drawing near to God” or “attaining lasting pleasure”?

‘Allāmah Ṭabāṭabā’ī, in his commentary Al-Mīzān, defines happiness (sa’āda) as reaching existential good and consequently experiencing pleasure. According to him, the happiness of anything consists of attaining the good inherent in its existence. (Source: Al-Mīzān, Vol. 1)

But how does this tension manifest in our lives? On one hand, we say the goal of life is lofty things like perfection and proximity to God; on the other hand, all our behaviors are designed to achieve tangible worldly pleasures. This duality exhausts us.

3. Epistemological Tension: By Which Criterion Do We Judge?

The final tension concerns the criterion for discerning true pleasure. How can we know which pleasure is authentic and which is superficial?

In a interesting hadith, Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓim (AS) introduces pleasure as a part of life’s program. He states: “Divide your time into four parts: an hour for worship, an hour for seeking a livelihood, an hour for socializing with trustworthy brothers, and an hour for permissible pleasures.” (Source: Biḥār al-anwār, Vol. 75)

But the question is this: Does a pleasure being merely “permissible” (ḥalāl) guarantee its meaningfulness? How many times have we enjoyed something completely permissible, yet its core felt empty?

So What is the Solution?

These three tensions are the root of much of our confusion when facing pleasure. But the good news is that in the book Mindful Pleasure: Toward a Theology of Aware Happiness, we have shown how Mullā Ṣadrā’s Transcendent Philosophy, with its theory of the “analogical gradation of existence” (tashkīk al-wujūd), can resolve these tensions.

Simply put: Pleasures are like the steps of a ladder. Some are on the lowest rungs: superficial, fleeting, and meaningless. Some are on higher rungs: deep, lasting, and full of meaning. Our problem is that we substitute a low-level pleasure for a high-level one. It’s not that the low-level pleasure is bad, but rather that we are made for the higher level.

Final Word

What experiences have you had with these tensions in your own life? Which pleasures have, over time, become empty and meaningless for you?

References

· Mullā Ṣadrā. Al-Ḥikma al-muta’āliya fī’l-asfār al-arba’a (Vol. 9). Tehran: Bonyād-e Ḥikmat-e Eslāmī-ye Ṣadrā.
· Majlisī, M.B. Biḥār al-anwār (Vols. 61, 75). Beirut: Mu’assasat al-Wafā’.
· Ṭabāṭabā’ī, S.M.H. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qur’ān (Vol. 1). Qom: Dafatr-e Enteshārāt-e Eslāmī.
· Comprehensive Humanities Portal. Article: “Happiness from the Perspective of Mullā Ṣadrā and ‘Allāmah Ṭabāṭabā’ī.”