Does Cracking a Joke about a Non-Muslim Amounts to Disbelief (Kufr)?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
A Muslim joked with a child. She told the child (intending to do fun with the child) that their non-Muslim neighbor was originally a Muslim, but he fell in love with a non-Muslim girl and so converted his religion (though that person was never a Muslim in actuality).
Does this come under making fun of Islam? Does it amount to kufr anyhow? She is a very religious person who regularly does obligatory and voluntary acts of worship.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
This will come under a lie as a joke and prank. It is not disbelief. Rest assured. However, it can be sinful if one intends, so others laugh.
One way to come out playing jokes in this manner is to keep in mind the following hadith. Anas (Allah be pleased with him) said, “I stand guarantee for a house in the middle of Jannah for the person who avoids lying even if he were joking/in jest.” [Tirmidhi]
Ibn Abu Rawad reported Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (Allah have mercy on him) said, “You must fear Allah Most High alone without associating partners with Him. Beware of joking, for it leads to ugliness and causes hatred. Sit together for the Quran and discuss it. If it is too difficult for you, then narrate the stories of pious men and go forth in the name of Allah.” [Ibn Abi Shayba, Musannaf Ibn Abu Shayba]
May Allah protect us all from joking in this way, Amin
Kindly check these links as well:
Are Muslims Allowed to Pull Pranks on One Another? – (seekersguidance.org)
joke Archives – SeekersGuidance
Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersGuidance?
SeekersAcademy (seekersguidance.org)
I pray this helps with your question.
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied within UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan and Turkey.
He started his early education in UK. He went onto complete hifz of Qur’an in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in UK where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then travelled to Karachi, Pakistan.
He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’an, Tajwid, Fiqh and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences.
He currently resides in UK with his wife. His personal interest is love of books and gardening.
