Muslims Have Fun? No Way!

“I discovered your twitter page yesterday and I decided to email you because I’ve recently decided I want to devote my all to God. Your tweets are inspiring and comforting, since I am a little scared of devoting myself to God. It’s so hard, staghfarallah. I’ll have to step away from all temptations and I’m scared I’ll just end up lonely and life will become boring. How do you enjoy life? I know you don’t have to upset God to enjoy life and I know it will feel great to connect with God and live my life to please HIM but I just do not know how to get started and how to not be scared of this change.

I just needed someone to ask these questions to and I decided why not you since your tweets caught my attention and inspired me. They also make the idea of devoting yourself to God seem very simple and fun. I hope I did not bother you with this email.”

All praise is to Allah alone. We seek His guidance and His Mercy. Firstly, I want to thank you for the very kind words. May Allah accept all of our efforts.

I know what it is like to delay the inevitable. I, like you, had to make a decision in my life. I was fully aware of what I had to do, but delayed doing it because I thought it meant I could no longer have fun.

Whatever that means. I realized that all I had to do was redefine what fun meant. After all, it is a relative word. After reading the biography of the Prophet and many Hadith, I began to unravel the sense of humor that both the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the Companions had.

A man came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) to ask him to give him a beast to ride. The Prophet 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 said: “Are riding-camels born except from she-camels?” [Reported by Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi, with a Sahih isnad.]

In al-Adab al-Mufrad, Imam Bukhari reports from Bakr ibn ‘Abdillah who said:

“The Companions of the Prophet used to throw melon-rinds at one another, but when the matter was serious, they were the only true men.”

One of the ahadith that reflects the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) sense of humor and enjoyment of fun is the report that Imam Ahmad gives from ‘A’ishah who said:

“I went out with the Prophet on a journey. At that time I was a young girl and was quite slender. The Prophet 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.”‘

It is reported that the Prophet was asked by his companions:

“You are joking with us.” He said, “But I never say anything but the truth.” [Sahih Bukhari]

This is a balanced, moderate, and Islamically acceptable form of humor, which does not go beyond the bounds of truth, or lessen the gravitas or manhood of an individual. Rather, it serves its purpose of refreshing hearts and minds.

There is nothing wrong with having a little fun. We should just be wary of it becoming our goal in life; to simply be entertained. There are plenty more examples, but this should give you a little insight into how the Prophet (PBUH) and the Companions lived. They were lighthearted when the time was right, and were serious when it called for them to be.

Furthermore, there has to be a balance. I cannot emphasize this enough. I certainly cannot be serious all the time, nor do I want to be. Heck, I don’t even think it’s physically possible! There is a time for this and a time for that. The only problem is many of us only give time for that.

We cannot forget the purpose of our creation.

وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ  “And I (Allah) created not the Jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone)” {51:56}

Moreover, no matter what entertainment we seek for pleasure, know that the void it fills is temporary. In order to find true lasting peace, we have to remember Him much.

الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُم بِذِكْرِ اللّهِ أَلاَ بِذِكْرِ اللّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ “Truly, it is by the Remembrance of Allah that hearts find rest.” {Qur’an, 13.28}

The true Muslim needs to strike a balance in his or her life, for if we were to lean too much in either direction, the scales would tip, which would become unhealthy, both mentally and spiritually.

Anas said, “Three people came to the houses of the wives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to ask about how the Prophet worshiped. When they were told, it was as if they thought it was little and said, ‘Where are we in relation to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who has been forgiven his past and future wrong actions?'” He said, “One of them said, ‘I will pray all of every night.’ Another said, ‘I will fast all the time and not break the fast.’ The other said, “I will withdraw from women and never marry.’ The Messenger of Allah came to them and said, ‘Are you the ones who said such-and-such? By Allah, I am the one among you with the most fear and awareness of Allah, but I fast and break the fast, I pray and I sleep, and I marry women. Whoever disdains my Sunnah is not with me.'” [Agreed upon]

Change can be a scary thought, but it’s the anticipation of that change that is more frightening than the actual change itself. Ultimately, it is your choice. We all have decisions to make, but I can assure you, you won’t feel lonely when you decide to take Allah as your friend.

And Allah knows best.

• January 26, 2012