Joking and sense of humour in Islam

Translated, or compiled by Engr. Afsaneh Cooper
​Aug 3, 2019

Holy Qur'an:
1. “O you who believe! Be patient, and excel in patience, and remain steadfast and fear Allah, that you may be successful.” (Qur'an_Surah Al-Imran 3:200)
2. " Allah (SWT) said the following in Noble Qur'an: "We have created (their Companions) of special creation, and made them virgin - pure (and undefiled)." [Sura Al-Waqiah 56:35-36]
3. "O' ye who believe! Let not some men among you laugh at others: It may be that the (latter) are better than the (former): Nor let some women laugh at others: It may be that the (latter) are better than the (former): Nor defame nor be sarcastic to each other, nor call each other by (offensive) nicknames. Evil is a name connoting wickedness, (to be used of one) after he has believed: And whoever does not desist is unjust." [Sura Al-Hujraat 49:11]
The first principle referred to in this verse is respecting the Muslims. Muslims should respect each other in social encounters. Materialists have a different world outlook than Muslims. Materialists respect one for his physical beauty and financial stability, but Muslims respect man's moral values. In the above verse, making fun of others is forbidden. Men are unaware of each other's inner thoughts and feelings. It may be that an ugly man has a very beautiful character. He might be made fun of for his looks, but if others knew him well they would never make fun of him. That is why it is not allowed to make fun of anyone and it is forbidden to make fun of the crippled.
4. “If you ask them, they declare: ‘We were only talking idly and joking.’ Say: ‘Was it at Allah, and His verses and His Messenger that you were mocking? ’Make no excuse; you disbelieved after you had believed” (Surah al-Tawbah_ 9:65-66)
5. “O you who believe! Let not a group ridicule another group, it may be that the latter are better than the former. Nor let (some) women scoff at other women, it may be that the latter are better than the former. Nor defame one another, nor insult one another by nicknames. How bad is it to insult one’s brother after having Faith” (Qur'an, Surah Hujuraat 49:11)

Islamic Traditions [Shi'a]: 
6. Allah does not punish a man who jokes if he is telling the truth
     in his joke.
7. There are three things that being serious about them is serious
    and saying jokes about them is also serious:

• ​Marriage
• Divorce
• Return after divorce

​8. It is not allowed to joke about divorce, marriage and releasing slaves.
9. Don’t say Jokes that it decreases your value. Don’t lie that it will turn off your light.
10. Do not deceive your brother. Do not say jokes about him and do not break your commitment with him.
11. Silence is the best manner and whoever jokes, others will think he is a low status person.
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a. Reference for items [6-11]:
Nahj ul-Fasaha, collection of maxims of the Messenger of Allah [s.a.] in Arabic and Persian translation, Researcher and Translator: Abul Qasim Payandih, Printed by: Muhammad Hassan A`lmi, Published by: Javidan Publication, Edition 13, 1360 [H.Q.]
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12. Imam Al-Sadiq (A): "Laughter causes loss of faith like the water dissolving the salt."
13. Imam Al-Sadiq (A): "Laughing for no reason is a sign of ignorance"
14.  Imam Al-Sadiq (A): "Do not joke or quarrel with your friend, jest is like abuse and the cause of hate and enmity."
15. Imam Al-Sadiq (A): "Do not expose your teeth in laughter when your bad deeds are there to put you to shame. You cannot prevent yourself from the onslaught of death! [Ain-All Hayat, Vol.2, pp.722] 
16. A man who would come to the prophet (S) with a present and say, "Gove me the price of my present (as a joke), so the Prophet (S) would laugh (his laugh was a smile not a loud sound) and whenever the prophet (S) would fell gloomy he would state "where is that man if only he was here to make us laugh". 
17. Imam Al-Sadiq (A) who stated: Every Believer has Du'aba and when asked what Du'aba is he replied, "Good sense of humor".[Ain-All Hayat, Vol.2, pp.73]
18. The Prophet (S) stated: "I joke but state only what is rightful". [Mizan Al-Hikam, Vol.9, pp.140]
19. Imam Ali (A) stated: Excessively joking topples dignity". [Mizan Al-Hikam, No.18892]
20. Alama Al-Majlisi stated: "A mu'min will have gracefulness on his face even if he is sad at his heart. A person remaining morose all the time is not good. A Mu'min must keep a broad forehead, pleasant mien and good nature. He should also have a good sense of humor. But all this should be in moderation". 
[https://en.shafaqna.com/149572/sense-of-humor-in-a-muslims-life/​]
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12. Imam Ali (as) said: "Jokes that make you laugh will take away the intellect and make you look bad." [Nahjul Balagha, Short Saying 450]
13. It is reported in Al-Kafi that Imam Sadiq (a.s.) said:
'Once, Fatima approached Allah's Messenger with a problem. The Prophet listened to her problem and gave her a wrapped piece of material and said: 'Learn that which is written in it.' (When she opened it) she found written in it:
"He who believes in Allah and the Last Day, shall not harm his neighbor."
"He who believes in Allah and the Last Day, shall honor his guest."
"He who believes in Allah and the Last Day shall say that which is useful or keep silent.' [Bihar v.10]
14. Rasulullah (pbuh) said 'I joke but I do not speak other than the truth'
15. Rasulullah (pbuh) said 'A believer is fun and playful, and a hypocrite is grim and angry'
16. Imam al-Baqir (a) said 'Indeed Allah loves those who are playful among people without obscenity'
17. Imam al-Sadiq (a) said 'Every single believer should have playfulness in him' (the narrator said) I asked, 'what is playfulness?' He replied, 'joking'
18. Imam al-Sadiq (a) asked Yunus al-Shaybani, 'How much do you jest around with each other?' I said, 'Little.' He said, 'this is not how it should be, for playing is part of good character, and through that you bring happiness to your brother, Rasulullah (pbuh) would jest with people wanting to make them happy'
19. Also I heard a story, that goes something along these lines:
"Rasulullah (pbuh) and Imam Ali (a) were sitting with some other people eating some dates, after every date that Rasulullah would eat, he would put the seed next to Imam Ali, when they were finished he said ‘Look at the son of abu Talib, he was so hungry he ate twice as many dates as everyone else’ to which the Imam replied, ‘look at Rasulullah, he was so hungry he even ate the seeds’."
This idea that you should always frown is a wahabi idea that is not in line with the behaviour of rasulullah (pbuh)
20. Imam al-Kadhim (a) said 'Yahya ibn Zakariyya Úáíå ÇáÓáÇã, cried and never laughed, and Isa ibn Maryam (as) would laugh and cry, and what Isa (a) used to do was better than what Yahya (a) used to do.
Though, obviously, it isn't about joking the whole time
21. Rasulullah (pbuh) said 'Excessive joking takes away one's honour'.
22. Imam Ali (a) said 'Joking brings about grudges'
23. Imam Ali (a) said 'He who jokes will not be taken seriously'
There are others along these lines, but the main point is (in my opinion) there is a time and place for every thing, joke but not rude jokes.
24. Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: "Avoid arguing with your brethren and abstain from excessive joking around."
25. Prophet Muhammad (saw) also said: "I tell jokes, but never excessively tell jokes and never say what is not right."
Prophet Muhammad's (saw) Jokes:
Prophet Muhammad (saw) told some nice jokes. As an example, consider the following.
26. One day an old lady went to see Prophet Muhammad (saw). Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: "An old lady does not go to Heaven." The old lady started to cry. Then Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: "On that day you will not be old. You will be young.
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b. Reference for items [12-26]:
https://www.shiachat.com/forum/topic/234991809-what-islam-says-about-joking-a-lot/
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Imam Sajjad's (as) views on Clowns:
27. A clown once pulled off Imam Sajjad's (as) cloak. Imam Sajjad (as) did not say anything. The people followed the clown and took back the cloak. They brought it back and put it on Imam Sajjad's (as) shoulder. Imam Sajjad (as) asked: "Who did that?" The people said: "It was a clown who makes the people laugh." Then Imam Sajjad (as) said: "Tell him that there is a day for Allah (SWT) in which those who waste their life and make others laugh will not gain anything but loss."
Making Fun of others:
Scholars in ethics have considered making fun of people as one of the factors that corrupt the tongue.
28. A man came to Rasulullah (SAW) and said: “Give me an animal to ride on” Rasulullah (SAW) replied: “I will give you the son of a female camel”. The man said with astonishment: “What could I do with the son of a female camel?” (Thinking that he would be given a camel too small to ride). Thereupon Rasulullah (SAW) replied: “What do female camels deliver except camels?” (i.e., that every camel, even if it is fully grown, is the product of a female camel!). (Abu Dawud & Tirmidhi).
29. ​Rasulullah (SAW) said: “A slave (of Allah) would utter a word, without paying attention to it, which would result in him going down into the Hellfire further than the distance between the east and the west.” (Muslim)    [source: a Sunni website]
​30. Someone asked Rasulullah (SAW)): “Do you joke with us?” Rasulullah (SAW) replied: “I do, but I only say that which is true” (Al-Bukhari, Tirmidhi)27. Rasulullah (SAW) said, “Woe to the one who speaks and tells a lie in order to make the people laugh at it. Woe to him. Then again, woe to him.” (Al-Tirmidhi)
31. Rasulullah (SAW) said, “Do not express malicious joy towards your brother’s misfortune, for Allah may have mercy on him and you may be stricken by the thing you made fun of.” (Al-Tirmidhi)
32. Rasulullah (SAW) said: ‘It is not permissible for a Muslim to frighten another Muslim.’” (Abu Dawud).
33. “(Backbiting is) your mentioning about your brother something that he dislikes.” (Muslim)
34. Rasulullah (SAW) said: “Do not laugh too much, for laughing too much deadens the heart.” (Sahih al-Jaami)

35. Iranian famous Poet's "cloths swap over" and invitation to a wedding ceremony, do clothes eat?
Once upon a time in the Iranian city of Shiraz, there lived the famous poet Sheikh Saadi. Like most other poets and philosophers, Sheikh Saadi was not a rich man. He led a very simple life. A rich merchant of Shiraz invited Sheikh Saadi along with a lot of other big businessmen of the town on the occasion of his daughter's marriage which was to be a grand affair. Sheikh Saadi accepted the invitation and decided to attend.

On the day of the wedding, the host and his family were receiving the guests at the gate. They were ushering all the guests towards the dining hall. All the rich people of the town attended the wedding. They had come out in best of their attires. Sheikh Saadi wore simple clothes which were neither grand nor expensive. He waited in a corner for someone to approach him but no one gave him as much as even a second glance. Even the host did not acknowledge him and looked away. Seeing all this, Sheikh Saadi quietly left the party and went to a shop from where he could hire clothes. There he chose a richly brocaded dress which was embroidered in gold on the margins. He selected a fancy turban and a waist-band to go with it. As he put on the hired dress and looked into the mirror, he found himself a changed person.
With this, Sheikh Saadi entered the dining hall and this time was welcomed with open arms. The host embraced him as he would do to an old friend and complimented him on the clothes he was wearing. On seeing Sheikh Saadi, host said? And here comes our favorite poet. What took you so long, friend? We have been waiting for you for ages! How good of you to have come. The gathering surely would have been incomplete without your gracious presence! Sheikh Saadi did not utter a word and allowed the host to lead him to the dining room where other guests had assembled. Tasty dishes had been laid out on grand carpets. Sheikh Saadi was offered a seat with soft cushions. The food was served in fine crockery and cutlery made out of silver.
The host led Sheikh Saadi by hand and himself served out the chicken soup and the fragrant rice to him. After this, something strange happened. Sheikh Saadi dipped the corner of his waist-coat in the soup and sprinkled some rice on it. Addressing the clothes, he said: This is a feast for you, you should enjoy it.
All the guests were now staring at him in surprise. The host said? Sir, what are doing? How can your clothes eat? And why should they? To this query, Sheikh Saadi very calmly replied: My dear friend, I am indeed surprised with the question coming from you?
Aren't you the same person who did not even throw a look at me when I came dressed in simple clothes? I can guess that it is my clothes and appearance that matter with you, not my individual worth. Now that I have put on grand clothes, I see a world of difference in reception here. All that I can now say is that this feast is meant for my clothes, not for me.
Al-Jahiz and the effect of making fun of others:
Al-Jahiz was an educated man who lived in the ninth century. Many books and writings have remained from him. He was a very ugly man. Al-Jahiz was always supported by the Abbasid Caliphs since he expressed his opposition to Imam Ali (as). One day he told his students that he was never belittled as much as he was done by a lady once. She had run across him once and asked him to follow her. She had taken him to a sculptor, and said to him: "That is it." Then she walked away. When he asked the artist what the story was, he was told that the lady had ordered the artist to make a sculpture of Satan. The artist had told her that he could only make the sculpture if he sees Satan. Then the lady had brought him in and shown him to the artist as a model for Satan.
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c. Reference for items [27-35]:
https://shiastrength.blogspot.com/2009/11/shiastrength-islamic-perspective-joking.html
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​1. Prince Philip is criticised for his comments about the Queen of UK, which are of joke type, by media, however languages these days are changed and the reporter might be with changed language in compared to the time Prince was younger. Also the Islamic traditions about jokes distinguishes about the joke and the Truth. If the comments of this Prince are truth we can say the language at the time this Prince was younger they used allowed synonyms, but now a days synonyms are not used anymore and languages are more hiding rather telling the truth.

2. ​A man joked about virginity of Saint Mary and made Most believers stressed. Does Human Rights Act consider how much believers would go under abuse of arrogant and atheists with these comments about Saints of Islam?
3. Muslims backlash against Macron gathers pace after police raids.

4. France urges EU to adopt measures against Turkey at next summit