Humour in the Religion?

The tributes and salutations are all for Allah, ar-Rahmaan and ar-Raheem, and the prayers and the good actions.

One of the questions that constantly crops up is the extent to which humour is "entertained" in our deen. I mean, yes, we need to remind ourselves that our current bad situation is because of our distance from Islam and that something serious must be done.

But even sincere people (these days?) fall asleep if they don't get a chance to feel light-hearted; despite what's happening in Palestine, in Iraq, in the churches, and in the tombs of saints.

So I thought a demonstration of some "safe" light-heartedness was warranted by remembering how the Messenger of Allah entertained humour, may Allah pray for him and grant peace, in the following hadith² (have "fun"):

2. Related twice in Sahih Bukhari, in the "Book of the Farmer" and in the "Book of Tawheed (Ch. Speech of the Lord with the People of Jannah)" , on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him. The translation is my own, may Allah help me.

The Prophet (may Allah pray for him and grant peace) was one day narrating to us [news of the Unseen; literally: he was narrating a hadith], while a man from the Bedouin was with him, that a man from the people of Jannah will seek permission from his Lord to farm crops, when He will say, "Are you not already indulged in all you wanted?" He will say, "O, of course! But I really love to farm crops.

So then he will sow the seeds, [and immediately according to ibn Hajar in the blink of an eye] the crop will grow, become ripe and ready for harvesting and it will become massively abundant, the like of mountains.

Then Allah will say, "Wa doonaka [i.e., Go ahead, have it] O son of Adam, for indeed, there is not a thing that will satiate you."

So the Bedouin said, "O Messenger of Allah, I cannot think of anyone else this could be except a person of the Quraysh or the Ansaar. For they are people given to farming. But, as for us? Then we are certainly not a farming people."

At that, the Messenger of Allah laughed (dahika)³ (may Allah pray for him and grant him peace).

I was reminded of this as our teacher in Tafseer mentioned a brother who asked a shaykh whether he'd get a certain sports car in Jannah. We all laughed at how a person could be so obsessed about a car that even in Jannah that was the best he could think of.

But Al Hamdulillah, Allah the Kind and the Merciful ultimately wants us to have "fun". May Allah enter me and you into this Paradise full of fun.

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3. Some clarification needed here. Yes, there is a hadith from Sunan at-Tirmidhi that states, "The laugh (dahiku) of the Messenger of Allah was not but a tabassum (smile)." [Kitaab-ul-Manaqib; Fi Bashaashatun-Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi wasallam; Sahih Ghareeb with only this chain].

The author of Tuhfatul-Ahwadhi bi Sharh Jami' at-Tirmidhi writes that the linguists say that tabassum is an expression of dahik and that dahik is the "spreading out" of the face such that the persons happiness becomes apparent. Then if it is with a sound and that is such that it can be heard from a distance then this is a qahqaha (exaggerated laugh). And if not then it is a laugh (dahika). And if it is without a sound then the tabassum.

He goes on to explain that this hadith is a restriction that is "extra" (idaafi). That is, it relates to what was usually or predominantly the case. For it is established through repeated (and authentic) reports that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah pray for him and grant peace) would sometimes laugh until his premolar teeth would show, and this was not to the point of exaggeration (all emphasis are mine).

And Allah knows best.