Jokes: pros and cons

It is hard to imagine our life without jokes: they help to cheer us up and instill joy in our hearts and the hearts of our interlocutors. This, in turn, is considered as the best good deed.

It is transmitted from Abdullah ibn Umar (may God be pleased with him) that the Messenger of the Lord (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The most beloved people to God are those who are most beneficial to people, and the most beloved deed to God is to make a fellow believer happy...” (Narrated by At- Tabarani).

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) often smiled and joked with his companions, family members, children. Abdullah ibn Al-Haris (may God be pleased with him) said, “I have never seen anyone smile more than the Messenger of God.” (Narrated by At-Tirmidhi).

It is transmitted from Abdullah ibn Umar and Abu Hurayrah (may God be pleased with them) that the Companions once asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “O Messenger of God, do you joke with us?” To which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “Verily, I do, but I do not say anything but the truth” (Narrated by At-Tirmidhi and AtTabarani).

Mahmud ibn ar-Rabi (may God be pleased with him) said, “When I was a boy of five, I remember, the Prophet took water from a bucket (used for getting water out of a well) with his mouth and threw it on my face.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari).

Imam Badruddin al-Ghazzi said, “As for the joking of a man with his wives and a good attitude towards them, this is the quality of the messengers and the character of the prophets.”

At the same time when we joke we must not forget about etiquette, so as not to go beyond the boundaries of what is permitted and not turn a joke, which should instill joy and good mood in a person, into a sin that darkens the heart.

It is unacceptable to tell lies or tales in jokes. Mu'awiyah ibn Haidah (may God be pleased with him) heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say, “Woe be to him who lies in his talk to make people laugh. Woe be to him! Woe be to him!” (Narrated by Abu Dawud). We often hear such kind of lies and tales in anecdotes, as well as see them on images and videos spread on the Internet. It mostly happens with famous people, who are, just for a joy, credited with funny statements that they have not said.

It is forbidden to scare and cause fear to anyone, even as a joke. Sometimes some people, when they get bored and want to have a fun, make false calls to specialized services, reporting the finding of explosives, etc. in schools or institutions, thereby disturbing a huge number of people and frightening them.

Today, a new kind of joke is rapidly gaining popularity among people. It is called pranks. People do them for popularity. Prank - is to play with people, so as to embarrass and frighten them in various ways, and next fix their reaction to the camera, and then expose them to the public.

Such people are called prankers. They try to justify their actions by saying that they do it for a joke, for a laugh, but this is a sin for which they will be accounted on the Day of Judgment.

Excessive jokes are frowned on as well and should be used moderately. It is transmitted from Abu Hurayrah (may God be pleased with him) that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Do not laugh too much, for excessive laughter kills the heart (spiritually).” (Narrated by Ibn Majah).

Imam al-Nawawi (may God have mercy on him) said, “The scholars said that such jokes are forbidden, in which there is excess and yet they are done all the time. They gross hearts, distract from the remembrance of the Lord and often lead to hurtfulness, hatred, and loss of dignity. However, if jokes do not contain the above- mentioned, then there is no prohibition in them.

The Messenger of the Most High sometimes joked for good and in order to bring on a good mood and express his good feelings. It is not forbidden to joke in this way; on the contrary, this is Sunnah and is a desirable action.”

The kind of joking which is forbidden is that which is excessive and persistent, for it leads to too much laughter and hardening of the heart, it distracts from remembrance of God, and it often leads to hurt feelings, generates hatred and causes people to lose respect and dignity. But whoever is safe from such dangers, then that which the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do is permissible for him (i.e. to joke for a benefit or to cheer up a person).

ABDULLAH ABDULKERIMOV Theologian, As-Salam correspondent