Rabi Ul Awwal 1442 – Humour of Nabi S.A.W.

Islam encourages us to be cheerful and optimistic. Smiling and engaging in light-hearted humour softens the hearts and fosters love. It may be a great way to diffuse any bad situation.

Aaisha R.A. narrates that the laughter of Nabi S.A.W. was a broad smile. He would never laugh out loudly or with a full mouth but smile out quietly and only his front two teeth would be exposed on smiling. He smiled in abundance and brought a smile on the faces of others.

Aaisha R.A. narrates: Once the Prophet and I were on a journey. I was thin back then and did not have much extra weight. The Prophet told the people around him: “You go ahead.” When we were left behind far enough, he told me: “Let’s race!” We raced and I outran him. During another journey, he told the people around him to go ahead. When they went far away,

ثم قال: تَعَالِي أُسَابِقُكِ، ونَسِيتُ الذي كان وقد حملتُ اللَّحم، فقلتُ: كيف أُسَابِقُكَ يا رسول الله، وأنا على هذه الحال؟ فقال: لَتَفْعَلَنِّ، فَسَابَقْته فسبقني، فقال: هَذِهِ بِتِلْكَ السَّبْقَةِ”.

he said to me, “Let’s race” I forgot about the previous race and I now picked up some weight. I asked him how will I race in this condition? After some convincing, I raced him, he outran me and said “we are even now.”

Having a sense of humour is a mercy from Allah to assist us in facing different stages and challenges of life. Due to the immense challenges that Nabi S.A.W. faced as a Prophet, at times, for his own well-being, he would be humorous with his wives.

Another reason why Nabi S.A.W. was humorous with his spouses was to fulfill their rights. He was a Messenger of Allah and his mission was to spread Islam however, he also understood that he is a husband and his wives have rights over him. He had a constant worry in his heart for his Ummah but he knew that it will not be fair to overburden his wives with this worry and concern. For this reason, he was a perfect husband and family man. He made time for light hearted moments with them to remind them that along with being a Messenger of Allah, he is also a loving husband.

Timing
When being humorous with a spouse (or any other person), the timing is very important. Marriage has its sensitive moments and there are times when humour will be damaging. If your spouse is feeling down because someone offended him/her in some way, it is not the time to make a joke. If you sitting with your spouse and discussing financial difficulties and the way forward, it might not be the time to joke about it. If your spouse is feeling down because he/she picked up a few kilos, it’s not the time to make a joke about it. Understand the mood before being humorous.