Jokes in Islam

from the words of Abu Hurairah and Anas (may Allah be pleased with them) it is reported that when people said to the prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him ): “O Messenger of Allah, are you making fun of us?” He replied: “Truly, I am joking, but I am not saying anything but the truth.”
See “Sahih al-Jami'” 2494, “As-Silsila as-Sahiha” 1726.

Imam Ibn Muflih said: “A reasonable person, when left alone with his wives or slaves, leaves seriousness in the corner, like a respectable and wise old man. And he begins to flirt and joke, thereby giving the right to his wives and his soul. And when he stays with his children, he leaves the image of a child.”
See “al-Adab ash-shar’iya” 3/228.
Imam Ibn al-Ghazzi said: “As for the jokes of a man with his wives and a good attitude towards them, this is the quality of the messengers and the temper of the prophets.”
See “al-Marah fil-mizah” 38.

Imam an-Nawawi said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sometimes joked, pursuing a certain benefit, which was to put the interlocutor in a good mood and express his good feelings towards him. Joking in this way is not forbidden, on the contrary, it is in accordance with the Sunnah and is desirable.
See “al-Azkar” 343.
 Companions did the same, who joked with the prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and among themselves. Bakr ibn ‘Abdullah said: “The companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to throw watermelon skins at each other , but when it came to serious things, they were men!”
al-Bukhari in al-Adab al-mufrad 266. Sheikh al-Albani confirmed the authenticity.

Prohibitions in jokes

Allah Almighty also said: “The inhabitants of the Fire will call upon the inhabitants of Paradise: “Pour water on us or what Allah has endowed you with.” They will say: “Allah forbade it for the infidels who turned their religion into fun and play and were seduced by worldly life” ( al-A’raf 7: 50-51).

From Abu ad-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) it is reported that the prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever jokingly gave a divorce or freed a slave, it will be as he said
See“ Sahih al-jami’ » 6530.

Imam al-Khattabi in Ma’alimu-Ssunan said: “The words of anyone who jokes about the things mentioned in the hadeeth come into force. And his excuses are not taken into account.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The servant of Allah will not truly believe until he refuses to lie in jokes.”
See “Sahih at-targhib” 4250.
Shaykh Ibn Baz said: “To have fun with words or stories that are true, there is no problem in this, especially if you do not do it often. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sometimes joked, but at the same time he did not say anything but the truth. As for jokes with the help of lies, this is not allowed, because the prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Woe to the one who tells something and at the same time lies to make people laugh. Woe to him, woe to him!”
See “Majmu’u fatawa wa maqalat” 6/391.

‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “Once I said to the prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “It is enough for you and the fact that Safiyya (his wife) is such and such (small in stature)!” Hearing this, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) exclaimed: “Verily, you said something that would defile the whole sea if you mixed with it!”
Abu Dawud 4875, Sheikh al-Albani called the hadith authentic .

Confidence in jokes

‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “A joker is treated with disdain.”
Ibn Abu ad-Dunya in as-Samt 395

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Do not laugh too much, for indeed, a lot of laughter kills the heart.”
al-Bukhari in “al-Adabul-Mufrad” 253 ,

scare as a joke

‘Abdur-Rahman ibn Abu Layla said: “The companions of the prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told me that once during one of the campaigns, together with the prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), one of them fell asleep, and while he was sleeping, they took his arrows. When he woke up, he was frightened, and they began to laugh. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked them: “Why are you laughing?” They said, “We took his arrows while he was sleeping, which frightened him.” Then he said: “It is forbidden for a Muslim to frighten a Muslim!”
at-Tirmidhi 3/431. Shaykh al-Albani called the hadeeth authentic.

Joking around with guns

Abu Hurairah ( may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ( peace and blessings of Allah be upon him ) said: “Let none of you point iron (weapon) at his brother, for verily the angels will curse the one who directs on his brother with the point of a weapon until he takes him away, even if this person is his brother by father and mother!” al-Bukhari 7072, Muslim 2617.

Imam an-Nawawi said: “In this hadeeth, there is an indication of the greatness of the inviolability of a Muslim and an indication of a strict prohibition to frighten him … And it does not matter if it is done in jest or seriously.”
See Sharh Sahih Muslim 8/448.
Some examples from the life of the Salaf

Once a man came to Abu Hanifa and asked: “If I take off my clothes and go into the river to take a bath, where should I look towards the Kaaba or somewhere else?” Abu Hanifa replied: “It is better to turn your eyes towards the clothes so that they do not steal them.”
 See “al-Marah fil-mizah” 35.

One day Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen was riding in a taxi and the driver asked, “What is the name of the Sheikh?” He replied, “Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen.” The taxi driver thought he was joking, because he did not suspect that sheikh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen was actually carrying. When Ibn ‘Uthaymeen asked him: “And what is your name, brother?” The taxi driver replied: “Abdul-Aziz ibn Baz.” Then Ibn ‘Uthaymeen laughed and said, “However, Shaykh Ibn Baz is blind and does not drive.”
See “Ibn ‘Uthaymeen al-imam az-zahid” 330.