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The Muslim has a Sense of Humour
By Dr. Muhammad Ali Al-Hashimi
The Muslim has a
sense of humour, which makes people like him. He mixes with them and jokes with
them when it is appropriate to do so, without going to extremes or saying
anything hurtful.
Similarly, when he is serious, he does not go to extremes of harshness and
strictness. His humour is within the limits of Islamic tolerance, and does not
go beyond the bounds of truth. This is the example of the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi
wa sallam) and the Sahabah (Companions) in their jokes and humour. It is
reported that the Sahabah said to the Prophet (SAWS): "You are joking with us."
He said, "But I never say anything but the truth." (Bukhari)
The Prophet (SAWS) used to joke, but he never said anything but the truth in his
jokes. The Sahabah took the same approach to humour. There are many delightful
reports about the jokes exchanged between the Prophet (SAWS) and the Sahabah.
Among the stories related in the books of hadith and sirah is the report that
the Prophet (SAWS) used to joke with the small child of one of the Sahabah, a
boy called Abu 'Umayr, who had a small bird he used to play with. One day he saw
the child looking sad, so he said, "Why do I see Abu 'Umayr looking sad?" The
Sahabah told him, "The nughar [a small bird, like a sparrow] which he used to
play with has died, O Messenger of Allah." The Prophet (SAWS) began to gently
joke with the child, saying, "O Abu Umayr, what happened to the nughayr?" [Nughayr:
diminutive of nughar. In Arabic, this is a play on words, because of the rhyme
between the boy's name and that of the bird.]
A man came to the Prophet (SAWS) to ask him to give him a beast to ride. The
Prophet (SAWS) jokingly told him, I will give you the offspring of a she-camel
to ride." He said, "O Messenger of Allah, what will I do with the offspring of a
she-camel?" The Prophet (SAWS) said: "Are riding-camels born except from
she-camels?" [Reported by Ahmad, Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi]
Imam Ahmad reported from Anas (radhiallahu `anhu) that there was a man from the
desert people whose name was Zahir. He used to bring gifts from the desert to
the Prophet (SAWS), and in return the Prophet would provide him with whatever he
needed when he went out to fight. The Prophet (SAWS) said, "Zahir is our man of
the desert, and we are his town-dwellers." The Prophet (SAWS) loved him very
much, and he (Zahir) was an ugly man.
One day the Prophet (SAWS) came to him whilst he was selling some goods. He
embraced him from behind. The man could not see him, so he said, "Let me go! Who
is this?" Then he turned around and recognized the Prophet (SAWS), so he tried
to move closer to him once he knew who it was. The Prophet (SAWS) started to
say, "Who will buy this slave?" Zahir said, "O Messenger of Allah (SAWS), you
will find me unsellable." The Prophet (SAWS) said, "But in the sight of Allah (subhanahu
wa ta`ala) you are not unsellable," or he said, "But in the sight of Allah you
are valuable."
An old woman came to the Prophet (SAWS) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, pray to
Allah that I will enter Paradise." He said jokingly, "O Mother of So-and-so, no
old women will enter Paradise." The old woman went away crying, so the Prophet
(SAWS) said, "Tell her that she will not enter Paradise as an old woman, for
Allah (SWT) says: "We have created [their Companions] of special creation, and
made them virgin-pure [and undefiled]) (Qur'an 56:35-36)." [Reported by al-Tirmidhi]
One of the hadiths that reflects the Prophet's sense of humour and enjoyment of
fun is the report that Ahmad gives ftom 'A'ishah who said: "I went out with the
Prophet (SAWS) on a journey. At that time I was a young woman and was quite
slender. The Prophet (SAWS) told the people, 'Go on ahead,' so they went ahead,
then he said to me, 'Come, let us have a race.' So I raced with him, and I won.
He let the matter rest until I had gained weight. Later, I accompanied him on
another journey. He told the people, 'Go on ahead,' so they went ahead. He said
to me, 'Come, let us have a race.' So I raced with him, and he won. He began to
laugh, and said, 'This is for that!"'
The Sahabah saw nothing wrong with joking or having fun, as they saw the Prophet
(SAWS), their leader and teacher, occasionally doing so. The many delightful
stories about their sense of humour reflect the easy-going nature of the first
Islamic society, and how far removed it was from narrow-mindedness and gloom.
In al-Adab al-Mufrad, Bukhari reports from Bakr ibn 'Abdillah who said: "The
Companions of the Prophet (SAWS ) used to throw melon-rinds at one another, but
when the matter was serious, they were the only true men." This is moderate,
Islamically acceptable humour, which does not go beyond the bounds of truth, or
lessen the gravitas or manhood of a person. Rather, it serves its purpose of
refreshing hearts and minds.
An example of the Sahabah's sense of humour, which made the Prophet (SAWS)
laugh, is the report given by Imam Ahmad that Abu Bakr (RA) went to do business
in Busra, and with him were Nu'ayman ibn 'Amr al-Ansari (who was known as al-Nu'ayman)
and Suwaybit ibn Harmalah (radhiallahu `anhuma), both of whom had been present
at Badr Battle.
Suwaybit was in charge of food on the journey, and Nu'ayman said to him, "Feed
me!" Suwaybit said, "Not until Abu Bakr comes."
Nu'ayman was a fun-loving man with a sense of humour, so he went to some people
who had brought livestock with them, and said, "Will you buy a sturdy Arab slave
from me?" They said, "Yes." He said, "He has a big mouth, and he may tell you
that he is a free man. If that means that you do not want to take him, then
forget the matter, and do not cause trouble for me with him." They said, "No
problem, we will buy him." So they bought him for ten young she-camels.
Nu'ayman brought the animals back, and told the people: "There he is!" Suwaybit
said: "I am a free man!" They said, "He has already told us all about you," and
put a rope around his neck and led him away. Then Abu Bakr came, and was told
what had happened. He and his companions went and returned the animals and took
Suwaybit back. They told the Prophet (SAWS) what had happened, and he and his
Sahabah would laugh about the story for a year afterwards!
A Bedouin came to the Prophet (SAWS). He entered the mosque and left his camel
in the courtyard. Some of the Sahabah said to al-Nu'ayman: "If you slaughter it,
we will eat it, because we want to have some meat, and the Messenger of Allah
(SAWS) will pay for it." So al-Nu'ayman slaughtered it. Then the Bedouin came
out and saw his saddle, so he shouted, "They have slaughtered my camel, O
Muhammad!"
The Prophet (SAWS) came out and asked: "Who did this?" They said, "Al-Nu'ayman."
So he went looking for him, and found him at the home of Duba'ah bint al-Zubayr
ibn 'Abdul Muttalib (radhiallahu `anha), where he had hidden in a ditch and
covered himself with palm branches and leaves. A man pointed to where he was and
said, loudly, "I have not seen him, O Messenger of Allah."
The Prophet (SAWS) brought him out of the ditch, and his face was dirty from
where the leaves had fallen on him. The Prophet (SAWS) asked him, "Why did you
do that?" Al-Nu'ayrnan said: "The ones who told you where I was, O Messenger of
Allah, are the same ones who told me to do it." The Prophet (SAWS) began wiping
his face and laughing, then he paid the price of the slaughtered camel. [See
Hayat As Sahabah, 3/154, 155]
There is no clearer indication than these and similar reports of the
lightheartedness and sense of humour that Islam wants its followers to have.
These qualities will make a person good-natured and likeable, which will enable
him to win people's hearts. No one needs such characteristics more than the
Muslim who seeks to call others to Islam.
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