An Islamic perspective: Joking Around (10)
Joking around is considered to be bad in Islam. Prophet Muhammad (saw) said:
"Avoid arguing with your brethren and abstain from excessive joking around."
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. 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." 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]
Imam Ali (as) said: "Jokes that make you laugh will take away the intellect and
make you look bad."
Imam Sajjad's (as) views on Clowns:
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."
11 - Making Fun of others:
Scholars in ethics have considered making fun of people as one of the factors
that corrupt the tongue. Allah (SWT) said in the following verse of Noble
Qur'an: "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:
Ill-seeming is a name connoting wickedness, (to be used of one) after he has
believed: And those who do not desist are (indeed) doing wrong." [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.
An Islamic perspective: Making Fun of others (A Feast for Clothes):
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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