Anas bin Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) delivered a Khutbah to us the like of which I had never heard from him before. He said, "If you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much". Thereupon those present covered their faces and began sobbing.
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Another narration is: Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) heard of something about his Companions upon which he addressed them and said, "Jannah and (Hell) Fire were shown to me and I have never seen the like of this day in good and in evil. If you were to know what I know, you would laugh little and weep much". His Companions experienced such suffering on that day that had no equal. They covered their faces and began to weep.
[Al-Bukhari]
It is reported in a saheeh hadeeth that his laughter was never more than a smile. (Reported by Ahmad in al-Musnad, 5/97; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4861). According to another hadeeth, he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to remain silent for long periods, and laugh little. (Reported by Ahmad in al-Musnad, 5/86; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4822). ‘Aa’ishah, may Allaah be pleased with her, said: “I never saw the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) laughing so heartily that his back teeth showed; he would only smile.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 5098).
According to a saheeh hadeeth, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not laugh too much, for excessive laughter kills the heart (i.e., spiritually).” (Reported by Ibn Maajah, no. 4193; Silsilah al-Saheehah, no. 506). According to another report, he said: “… too much laughter corrupts the heart.” After knowing this, if a Muslim laughs to excess it is as if he is undertaking a journey that he knows will lead to his doom.
This is the theoretical response to this problem, in brief.
Before we turn to the practical aspects, we must point out that laughter is not haraam, and the Muslim is not expected to be dour-faced and stern and rigid. Laughter is something which is quite natural, and indeed Allaah says in the Qur’aan (interpretation of the meaning): “And … it is He (Allaah) Who makes (whom He wills) laugh, and makes (whom He wills) weep” [al-Najm 53:43] But the problem which we are discussing here – excessive laughter – has a number of bad effects, including the following:
It makes gatherings explode with guffaws and echo with raucous laughter.
The believer’s heart is spiritually corrupted by too much laughter, and he opens his mouth too wide, instead of being serious and of sound character.
It leads to daa’iyahs (Islamic workers) making people laugh as a means of winning them over and having an influence on them, or so they claim. What they do not realize is that people gather around them only for the sake of laughter, and they do not benefit from them at all.
The problem is that some people use laughter as a safety valve or release from their stress and worries, resorting to an inferior means rather than what is better. I remember a young man who one day was suffering anxiety because he was behind in his studies, and was going through some family problems, and had other troubles as well. He went out of his house and bumped into a friend on the way, who asked him, “Where are you going?” He said: “I am worried and stressed out, so I’m going to see So-and-so, so he can make me laugh and forget my problems…” He did not realize that his friend’s ability to make him laugh was like a drug which makes people forget while they are under its influence, but when it wears off, everything is still as it was before.
The Muslim should know better, and should treat worries and stress in the way prescribed by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). When something was troubling him, he would pray (Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4703), and if something distressed him, he would say, “Ya Hayyu ya Qayyoom, bi rahmatika astagheeth (O Ever-Living, O Eternal One, by Your mercy I seek Your help).” (Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4777).
According to another saheeh hadeeth, when he was overtaken by worries and distress, he would say, “Ya Hayyu ya Qayyoom, bi rahmatika astagheeth. Allaahu rabbee wa la ushriku bihi shay’an (O Ever-Living, O Eternal One, by Your mercy I seek Your help. Allaah is my Lord, and I do not associate anything with Him).” (Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4791).
In the famous du’aa’ to relieve stress and anxiety, he said: “Allaahumma inni ‘abduka, wa’bnu ‘adbdika wa’bnu amatika… (O Allaah, I am Your slave, the son of Your slave, the son of Your maidservant…).”
This is a concept which has to be understood properly before we move on to a discussion of the practical ways of dealing with the problem of excessive laughter, which can be dealt with in the following ways:
Remembering death, the grave, the Last Day and its reckoning, the bridge over Hell (al-siraat), the Fire, and all the other terrors of the Hereafter. The way to remember all these things is to read the texts that describe these scenes and to study the details and commentaries, as well as sitting with people who are.
The Prophet s.a.w said,"Remember that thing which cuts off all pleasures, i.e. death." He also said," When evening comes, do not begin planning for the morning. Take benefit from your health before sickness overtakes you. And take benefit from your life before death overtakes you."
This means that you should regard your health and life as being very valuable and occupy yourself in doing good deeds because once sickness or death overtakes you, you will not be able to do any good.
REFERENCES
3. Remembrance of Death. Heavenly Ornaments - Bahishti Zewar - A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law. pp 493
