FACTS

 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ISLAM

this took me hours ,so you beter like it!!!!!!!!!!! joke


Interesting Facts About Islam;
1.Islam" means "peace through the submission to God".

2."Muslim" means "anyone or anything that submits itself to the will
of God".

3.Islam is a complete way of life that governs all facets of life:
moral, spiritual, social, political, economical, intellectual, etc.

4.Allah is not the God of Muslims only. He is the God of all people
and all creation. Just because people refer to God using different
terms does not mean that they are different gods. Spanish people refer to
God as "Dios" and French people refer to God as "Dieu", yet they are all
the same God. Interestingly, most Arab Jews and Arab Christians refer
to God as "Allah". And the word Allah in Arabic appears on the walls of
many Arab churches.

5.he Islamic concept of God is that He is loving, merciful, and
compassionate. But Islam also teaches that He is just and swift in
punishment. Nevertheless, Allah once said to Prophet Muhammad, "My mercy
prevails over my wrath." Islam teaches a balance between fear and hope,
protecting one from both complacency and despair.

6.Muslims do not believe in the concept of "vicarious atonement"
but rather believe in the law of personal responsibility. Islam teaches
that each person is responsible for his or her own actions. On the Day
of Judgment Muslims believe that every person will be resurrected and
will have to answer to God for their every word, thought, and deed.
Consequently, a practicing Muslim is always striving to be righteous

7.The word "jihad" does not mean "holy war". Instead, it means the
inner struggle that one endures in trying to submit their will to the
will of God. Some Muslims may say they are going for "jihad" when
fighting in a war to defend themselves or their fellow Muslims, but they only
say this because they are conceding that it will be a tremendous
struggle. But there are many other forms of jihad, which are more relevant to
the everyday life of a Muslim such as the struggles against laziness,
arrogance, stinginess, or the struggle against a tyrant ruler or against
the temptation of Satan, or against one's own ego, etc.

8. Zaid RadiAllahu Anhu is the only Sahabi whose name is mentioned in the
Quran (Surah Ahzaab)

9. Rasulullah (SAW) made duaa to Allah Subhanaho Wa Taala that, He strenghten Islam with Umar bin Al-Khattab or Umar bin Hisham i.e. Abu Jahl. Allah accepted the duaa in favour of Umar bin Al-Khattab (RA).

10. Abu Bakr (RA) received the title 'As-Siddeeq' on readily saying that he accepted Rasulullah (SAW)'s Night Journey (Mairaaj) to the Heavens when the Kuffar asked for his opinion.

11. Ali bin Abi Talib (RA) walked all the way from Makkah to Madeenah, at the time of Hijrah, while hiding from the pursuing Quraish.

12. Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari (RA) was blessed by Allah to be the first host of Rasulullah (SAW) in Madeenah.

13. Rasulullah (SAW) called Yahya (AS) son of Zakariyyah (AS) 'Shaheed bin Shaheed' meaning 'Martyr son of Martyr'.

14. Uthman bin Affan (RA) did not fight in the battle of Badr as he stayed home to take care of his sick wife Ruqayyah (RA), daughter of Rasulullah (SAW). She died shortly before Madeenah received the news of Victory for the Muslims in the battlefield.

15. All of Rasulullah (SAW)'s children died before him except for his daughter, Fatimah (RA).

16. Amr bin Thabit (RA) became a muslim during the battle of Uhud, and died as a martyr in the same battle. When asked about him, Rasulullah (SAW) said that he was from the People of Paradise, even though he had not prayed a single salaah.

17. Zaid bin Harith (RA) accompanied Rasulullah (SAW)when he went Taif.
18. The cause of Abu Lahab's death was the wife of his brother Abbas (RA), Umul-Fadl (RA). on hearing about the defeat of non-muslims at Badr, he started abusing a muslim servant, so she took a log and hit him, which caused his skull to crack. He died a few days later because of it.

19. Ameer ul Mumineen Uthman RA. had given the duty of collecting and compiling the first holy Quran to Zaid Ibn Thaabit RA., who fulfilled it by the help of other companions and off course the help of Allah. Zaid RA. once said that "By Allah, if they had asked me to move a whole mountain from its place, it would have been easier than the task of compiling the Quran which they ordered me to fulfill".

20. Abdullah Ibn Masood RA. was the first Muslim to read the Quran publicly near the Kaaba in Makkah, after the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Waa Sallam.

21. Bilaal RA./was an African. His name was Bilal ibn Rabah, or Bilal the Abyssinian... was the first Muezzin chosen by RasoolAllah Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam.

22. RasoolAllah Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam had four daughters ZAINAB, RUQQAYYAH, UMM KULTHOOM AND FATIMA RadiAllahu Taala Anhun and three sons QASIM, TAYYAB OR TAHIR, AND IBRAHIM, but all the sons died in their infancy.

23. Did you know that the original name of the holy city of Madinah was "YATHRIB"

24. Rasool Allah Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallams' father's name was ABDULLAH and his mother's name was AAMINAH.

25. Khadijah RadiAllahu Anha was the first person and the first woman to take shahada and accept Mohammad Sallallahu alaihi Wa Sallam as the Prophet and Messenger of Allah, followed by Zaid Bin Haritha RA., Ali Ibn Abi Talib RA. and Abu Bakar Siddique RA.

26. The first Hafiz of Quran was Uthman bin Affan (RA, offcourse after RasoolAllah Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam.

27. Ali RadiAllahu Anhu Said that he heard The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam say "TALHA(RA) AND ZUBAIR(RA) ARE MY NEIGHBORS IN PARADISE"

28. Did you know that Rasoolallah Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam performed only one Hajj in his lifetime.

29. Usamah Bin Zaid(RA) was the son of Zaid Bin Harith(RA)and his wife Barakah(RA)(known also by the name of Umm Ayman(RA))

30. If all Quraans in the world today were destroyed, the original Arabic would still remain, because millions of Muslims, called Huffaz have memorized the text of the Quraan letter for letter from beginning to end, every word and syllable. Also, chapters from the Qur'an are precisely recited from memory by every Muslim in each of the five daily prayers.

31. The Islamic calender is based on the phases of the moon, with it being approximately 11 days shorter than the 365 days of the year in the Georgian calender. Hence, the dates of our festivals (Eid -ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha) move through the year.

32. Adam Alayhis salam was approximately 30 Ziraa tall. Ziraa is a measurement and one Ziraa is approximately half a metre.

33. The Majority of muslims do not live in the middle East. The most populous muslim country is Indonesia, the 4th largest country in the world with approximately 184 million muslims

34. The splitting of the Moon was was one of the greatest miracle of RasoolAllah Sallallahu Alaihi Wa sallam. When Sayyiduna Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) was 52 years old, the leaders of the disbelievers of the Quraish tribe came to him and said, "If you are a Prophet, then split the moon into two parts." Sayyiduna Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) dearly wanted the people to convert to Islam, especially his close friends and relatives. He prayed, raising up his hands, and the moon split into two equal halves. Each part of the moon was seen above different mountains. The disbelievers said, "Muhammad (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) has performed magic." They did not accept Islam.

35. The Ummah of Sayyiduna Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam), are more than that of all the Ummahs of all the other Ambiya put together.

36. It is obligatory on every Muslim to love Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alaihi wasallam). The sign of love for him is to adapt his way of life and always remember him.

37. According to the Qur'an, the Kaaba was first built by the Ibrahim Alaihi Salaam and and his son Ismail Alaihi Salaam.

38. Muslims do not worship the Kaaba; the Kaaba is simply a focal point for prayer ordered by Allah Subhanaho Wa Taala..

39. Prominent Kuffar like Abu Jahl would secretly listen to the verses of the Holy Quran because they were fascinated by it.

40.According to Islamic governments there are over 1.2 billion Muslims in the world today. The Muslim population of Russia alone is over 50 million. In other words, at least one out of every six persons in the world is Muslim, which is one of the reasons why

41.the name “Muhammad” is the most common name in the world...

42.At least one of Prophet Muhammad’s wives was African. Her name was Maria the Copt. Two of the Prophet’s wives were Jewish...their names were Raihanah and Safiyah...

43.Albania is the only European country whose population is over 90% Muslim. It is on the Adriatic Sea, and borders Greece and Yugoslavia...

44.Former pop star Cat Stevens is an Islamic scholar currently living in England. His Muslim name is Yusuf Islam.
and loads of people ther are lots of popular people who converted too!

45.To find the Gregorian equivalent to any Muslim calendar date (i.e., 1 Muharram of any year), multiply 970,224 by the Muslim year, point off six decimals, and add 621.5774. The whole number will be the Gregorian year and the decimal multiplied by 365.24 will be the first day of the Muslim year.

46.The Majority of Muslims do not live in the middle East. The most populous muslim country is Indonesia, the 4th largest country in the world with 184 million muslims. There are more muslims in India than the combined population of Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine and the whole of the Arabian Peninsula.

47.The following English words are borrowed from Arabic: Algebra, Zero, Cotton, Sofa, Rice, Candy, Safron, Balcony. And even 'alchohol' derives from Arabic : al-kuhl meaning powder. These are just a few mentioned here.

48.The first treatise on smallpox and measles was written by Abu Bakr alrazi (c.864-925,known to Europe as Rhazes). (Due to this) Inoculation agianst smallpox became a common practise in muslim lands. Despite this , Scientific text book credit the invention of a smallpox vaccine to Edward Jenner.(1749-1823).

49.Early Oxbridge students studied books written by muslims on mathematics, medicine, chemistry, optics and astronomy.

50.Adelard of Bath (a city in the UK) was a leading scholar of the middle ages. what made him famous was translating the word of muslim scientists from Arabic to Latin!

51.The 1860 city records of Cardiff (UK) show a masjid in operation in a converted building at 2 Glynrhondda St. Yemani sea men on their trips between Aden (in Yemen) and Cardiff founded this masjid.

52.The first purpose built masjid is claimed to be in Woking (South of England) with money provided by the ruler of Bhopal, in India (the Shah Jehan masjid was built in 1889).

53.The grand doors of our prophets (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) masjid in Medina weigh 2 and half tonnes each! Enormous quantities of "sag wood" was gathered from all over the world and shipped to the united kingdom to be dryed in computerised furnaces (the traditional drying process would have taken many years!). Even then , it took 5 months to dry the wood! the wood was then shipped to Barcelona (Spain), Where the main body of the doors where made. And finally the French even paid their little part, as the brass ornamentation was carried out in the city of Roi (France). Next time you visit the holy masjid, keep this entirely in mind!

54.# It was only in 1932 the Kiswah (cloth of the Ka'bah) was wholly made by Saudis (citizens of Saudi Arabia).

55.The roof top of our Prophet's (SalAllahu alayhi wasalam) masjid in Madina is designed to be strong enough to carry addtional floors in the future.

56.Some verses in the Koran refer to man being equal to woman. Mathematically, the number of times the word "man" appears in the Koran is 24. The number of times the word "woman" appears in the Koran is also 24.

57. The Holy Quran has 30 parts

58.The Holy Quran has 114 surahs

59.Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Raheem is repeated 114 times in the Quran.

60.All except for Surat “Al Tawbah” start with Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem.and Surat “Al Namel, No. 27” has Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Raheem in its body

61.Al-Baqarah is the longest surah in the Quran while Al-Kawthar is the shortest surah in the Quran

62.Milk is the best drink mentioned in the Quran while, Honey is the best food thing mentioned in the Quran

63.The best month is Ramadan while,The best night is the Night of Power in Ramadan (Laylat al Qadr)

64.-----------------------

65.Quran was revealed over 23 years: 13 in Mecca and 10 in Madina!

66.Surat Al-Dahr was revealed in respect to Ahlul Bayt (P)

67.Surat Al Nissa speaks about laws of marriage

68.Whoever reads one letter of the Quran gets 10 Rewards.Surat Al-Ikhlas is considered 1/3 of the Quran

69.Reading 1 verse in Ramadan is equal to reading the entire Quran in other months

70.Ramadan is the Spring of the Holy Quran

71.The Quran will intercede for people who recited it on Judgment Day

72.The Quran will complain of people who didn’t recite it on Judgment Day

73.Summiyyah RadiAllahu Anha mother of Ammar RadiAllahu Anhu and wife of Yassir RadiAllahu anhu was the first to meet martyrdom for the cause of Islam.
She was killed by Abu Jahl the enemy of Islam.

74.Two of the Ummahatul Mu'mineen (Mothers of the Ummah), (RasoolAllah Sallallahu Wa Sallam' wives) died before him, they are Khadija RadiAllahu Anha and Zainab Bint Khuzaimah RadiAllahu Anha.

75.Salmaan Farsi RadiAllahu Anhu was the one who suggested to RasoolAllah Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam about digging a trench around the city of Madina at the time of the battle of Khandakh (trench)

76.Rasulullah (SAW) made duaa to Allah Subhanaho Wa Taala that, He strenghten Islam with Umar bin Al-Khattab or Umar bin Hisham i.e. Abu Jahl. Allah accepted the duaa in favour of Umar bin Al-Khattab (RA).

77.Rasulullah (SAW) called Yahya (AS) son of Zakariyyah (AS) 'Shaheed bin Shaheed' meaning 'Martyr son of Martyr'.

78.Zaid bin Harith (RA) accompanied Rasulullah (SAW)when he went Taif.

79.Khadijah RadiAllahu Anha was the first person and the first woman to take shahada and accept Mohammad Sallallahu alaihi Wa Sallam as the Prophet and Messenger of Allah, followed by Zaid Bin Haritha RA., Ali Ibn Abi Talib RA. and Abu Bakar Siddique RA.

80.Ali RadiAllahu Anhu Said that he heard The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam say "TALHA(RA) AND ZUBAIR(RA) ARE MY NEIGHBORS IN PARADISE"
81.Muslims do not worship the Kaaba; the Kaaba is simply a focal point for prayer ordered by Allah Subhanaho Wa Taala..

82.The Zam Zam well came into existance at the time of prophets Ibrahim and Ismail (alayhum salam). It then "dissapeared" for nearly 26 centuries (2600 years) due to the certain events and was rediscovered and dug by the grandfather of our beloved prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam). The location of the well was revealed to him in a dream.

83.The black stone (as it is known), Cannot really be described in full, because the parts we touch with our hands and "Kiss" , are eight small pieces, the biggest of which is the size of a date.

84.Narrated 'Abdullah bin Mas'us: "The Prophet (saw) recited Surah An Najm (No. 53) at Makkah and prostrated while reciting it and those who were with him did the same except an old man who took a handful of small stones or earth and lifted it to his forehead and said, This is sufficient for me. Later on, I saw him killed as a disbeliever." [Hadeeth 569, al Tajrid al Sarih, Sahih Bukhari]

85. and it's the FASTEST growing religeon according to many sources...it is projected that Islam will be the #1 religeon by the year 2030. INSHALLAH

86. Did you know that the Prophet (PBuH) went up to the sky..

87.Summiyyah RadiAllahu Anha mother of Ammar RadiAllahu Anhu and wife of Yassir RadiAllahu anhu was the first to meet martyrdom for the cause of Islam. She was killed by Abu Jahl the enemy of Islam.

88.The 10 Sahabah who were promised Paradise during their lifetime were Abubakr Siddique, Umar bin Khattab, Uthman bin Affan, Ali bin Abi Talib, Talha Bin Ubaidullah, Saeed Bin Zaid, Abu Ubaidah Bin Jarrah, Zubair bin Awwam, Saad Bin Abi Waqqas, and Abdur Rahman Bin Auf RadiAllahu Anhum Ajmaeen.

89..Did you know that Imam Bokhari Rahmatullah Alaih compiled his collection of 7,275 Ahadith by selection from 600,000. Before writing each Hadith he would make 2 Rakaat nafl Salaat.

90.Ammar RadiAllahu Anhu Built the First Masjid at the request of RasoolAllah Alaihi Wa Sallam. It was the Masjid in Quba.

91.Prior to 2001 most reports seem to have the number roughly around 25,000 American converts per year

92.Two of the Ummahatul Mu’mineen (Mothers of the Ummah), (RasoolAllah Sallallahu Wa Sallam’ wives) died before him, they are Khadija RadiAllahu Anha and Zainab Bint Khuzaimah RadiAllahu Anha.

93.The Holy Qur'an has no flaws or contradictions. The original
Arabic scriptures have never been changed or tampered with.(**obviously**)

94.Salmaan Farsi RadiAllahu Anhu was the one who suggested to RasoolAllah Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam about digging a trench around the city of Madina at the time of the battle of Khandakh (trench)

94.Islam is not "spread by the sword". It is spread by the word
(Islamic teachings) and the example of its followers. Islam teaches that
there is no compulsion in religion (the Holy Qur'an 2:256 and 10:99).

95.Abdullah Ibn Zubair (RA) was the first baby boy to be born after Hijrah. His Father was Zubair (RA) and his mother was Asma (RA). His aunt (mother's sister) was none other than Ummul Mu'mineen Aaiysha (RA) and his grand father was Abu Bakr Siddique (RA)

A Collection of Islamic Jokes

907

Before you read these jokes, you might want to read a little bit about the conditions of joking in Islam. The article is located at the bottom of this page.

A man is taking a walk in Central park in New York. Suddenly he sees a little girl being attacked by a pit bull dog . He runs over and starts fighting with the dog. He succeeds in killing the dog and saving the girl's life. A policeman who was watching the scene walks over and says: "You are a hero, tomorrow you can read it in all the newspapers: "Brave New Yorker saves the life of little girl" The man says: - "But I am not a New Yorker!" "Oh ,then it will say in newspapers in the morning: 'Brave American saves life of little girl'" – the policeman answers. "But I am not an American!" – says the man. "Oh, what are you then? " The man says: - "I am a Saudi !" The next day the newspapers says: "Islamic extremist kills innocent American dog.

Here is the story of an Imam who got up after Friday prayers and announced to the people:"I have good news and bad news. The good news is, we have enough money to pay for our new building program. The bad news is, it's still out there in your pockets."

An Imam shocked his community when he announced that he was resigning from that particular Masjid and moving to a drier climate. After the session, a very distraught lady came to the Imam with tears in her eyes, "Oh, Imam, we are going to miss you so much. We don't want you to leave!" The kind hearted Imam said "Now, now, sister, don't carry on. The Imam who takes my place might be even better than me".

"Yeah", she said, with a tone of disappointment in her voice, "That's what they said the last time too . . . "

True Incident: During a Jumah Khutbah in a small town, an Imam talked about the significance of saying "Insha Allah" (which means if Allah wills) when planning to do something in the future. After a few days, a man who had also attended the Khutbah was going to buy a cow from the market. On the way, he met a friend who asked him where he was going. He told him about buying the cow but did not say Insha Allah in the end. His friend reminded him about the Khutbah and told him to say Insha Allah. However, this individual said that he had the money he needs and the energy to go to the market, thus, there is no point of saying Insha Allah as he will certainly buy the cow. He thought that saying Insha Allah will not make any difference.

When he reached the market, he found a cow that met his expectations. He bargained with the seller and came to a reasonable price. Finally, he decided to pay for the cow but was dumbfounded when he discovered that his money was missing. A thief had stolen the money while he was walking through the busy market. The cow seller asked him whether he was going to buy the cow or not. "Insha Allah, I will buy it next week," he said. When he reached home, his wife inquired about the cow. He told her about how he forgot to say Insha Allah, and also added, "Insha Allah, I wanted to buy the cow. But Insha Allah, my money was stolen. Insha Allah, I will buy it next week." His wife clarified to him that we should say Insha Allah for things that are yet to happen, not for those things that had already happened. He never forgot his "Insha Allah" again.

Once, the people of the city invited Mulla Nasruddin to deliver a speech. When he got on the minbar (pulpit), he found the audience was not very enthusiastic, so he asked "Do you know what I am going to say?" The audience replied "NO", so he announced "I have no desire to speak to people who don't even know what I will be talking about" and he left. The people felt embarrassed and called him back again the next day. This time when he asked the same question, the people replied "YES" So Mullah Nasruddin said, "Well, since you already know what I am going to say, I won't waste any more of your time" and he left. Now the people were really perplexed. They decided to try one more time and once again invited the Mullah to speak the following week. Once again he asked the same question - "Do you know what I am going to say?" Now the people were prepared and so half of them answered "YES" while the other half replied "NO". So Mullah Nasruddin said "The half who know what I am going to say, tell it to the other half" and he left!

True Incident: A young man in a village refused to believe that Allah has total control of everything. He claimed that Allah cannot make him eat food if he didn't want to eat. To prove his point, he decided to stay hungry for a day and see if Allah can make him eat. His mother tried her best to stop this foolishness but he paid no attention. Annoyed of his mother in the evening, he decided to climb a tree and isolate himself there. Being compassionate, his mother decided to leave the food under the tree incase her son finally gives up and wants to eat. When the night fell, a group of robbers were passing by that tree. They noticed a plate of delicious food placed under the tree. They looked at each other in amazement and thought that someone must be playing a trick on them. May be someone is trying to poison them with good food. They looked around to see if there was anyone nearby and noticed the young man on top of the tree. The robbers got him down and told him to eat the food to see if it is poisoned. But the young man refused to eat as he is still carrying on his challenge against Allah. The robbers became suspicious and started beating the young man to eat. He gave up and started eating. Seeing that the food was not poisoned, the robbers left him and went away. Finally, the young man admitted that yes, Allah has total control of everything!

An old woman came to the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, pray to Allah (subhanahu wa ta`ala) that I will enter Paradise." He said jokingly, "O Mother of So-and-so, no old women will enter Paradise." The old woman went away crying, so the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, "Tell her that she will not enter Paradise as an old woman, for Allah (subhanahu wa ta`ala) says: (We have created [their Companions] of special creation, and made them virgin-pure [and undefiled]) (Qur'an 56:35-36)." Reported by al-Tirmidhi, it is hasan because of the existence of corroborating reports.

An elderly lady was well-known for her Iman and for her confidence in talking about it. She would stand in front of her house and say Alhamdulilah "Allah be praised" to all those who passed by. Next door to her lived an atheist who would get so angry at her proclamations he would shout, "There ain't no Lord!!" Hard times came upon the elderly lady, and she prayed for Allah to send her some assistance. She would pray out loud in her night prayer" Oh Allah! I need food!! I am having a hard time, please Lord, PLEASE LORD, SEND ME SOME GROCERIES!!" The atheist happened to hear her as she was praying, and decided to play a prank on her. The next morning the lady went out on her porch and noted a large bag of groceries and shouted, "Alhamdulilah, Allah be praised!." The neighbor jumped from behind a bush and said, "Aha! I told you there was no Lord. I bought those groceries, God didn't." The lady started jumping up and down and clapping her hands and said, "ALHAMDULILAH WA SHUKRILLAH”. He not only sent me groceries, but he made the devil pay for them!"

"When I was in the desert," said Nasruddin one day, "I caused an entire tribe of horrible and bloodthirsty bedouins to run."

"However did you do it?" asked a person.

"Easy. I just ran, and they ran after me."

An Imam was selling his horse in the market. An interested buyer came to him and requested if he could get a test drive. The Imam told the man that this horse is unique. In order to make it walk, you have to say Subhanallah. To make it run, you have to say Alhamdulillah and to make it stop, you have to say Allahu Akbar. The man sat on the horse and said Subhanallah. The horse started to walk. Then he said Alhamdulillah and it started to run. He kept saying Alhamdulillah and the horse started running faster and faster. All of a sudden the man noticed that the horse is running towards the edge of the hill that he was riding on. Being overly fearful, he forgot how to stop the horse. He kept saying all these words out of confusion. When the horse was just near the edge, he remembered Allahu Akbar and said it out loud. The horse stopped just one step away from the edge. The man took a deep breath, looked up towards the sky and said Alhamdulillah!

True Incident: The incident took place in South Asia. A man was offering salah in his house. He was praying as fast as he could as many of us do. All of a sudden, he heard the door behind him open. Since, someone entered the room, he started making his ruku and sujud longer. Upon completion of the salah, he looked back to see who it was. To his amazement, it was a dog!

Two men were on a plane on a business trip when a Muslim couple boarded the plane and were seated right in front of them. The two men, eager to have some fun, started talking loudly. "My boss is sending me to Saudi Arabia", the one said, "But I don't want to go...too many Muslims there!" The Muslim couple noticeably heard and grew uncomfortable. The other guy laughed, "Oh, yeah, my boss wanted to send me to Pakistan but I refused...WAY too many Muslims!" Smiling, the first man said, "One time I was in Iran but I HATED the fact that there were so many Muslims!" The couple fidgeted. The other guy responded, "Oh, yeah...you can't go ANYWHERE to get away from them...the last time I was in FRANCE I ran into a bunch of them too!" The first guy was laughing hysterically as he added, "That is why you'll never see me in Indonesia...WAY too many Muslims!" At this, the Muslim man turned around and responded politely, "Why don't you go to Hell?", he asked, "I hear there's not very many Muslims THERE!"

Rules of Joking in Islam

Some people joke too much and it becomes a habit for them. This is the opposite of the serious nature which is the characteristic of the believers. Joking is a break, a rest from ongoing seriousness and striving; it is a little relaxation for the soul. ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azeez (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “Fear joking, for it is folly and generates grudges.”

Imaam al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “The kind of joking which is forbidden is that which is excessive and persistent, for it leads to too much laughter and hardening of the heart, it distracts from remembrance of Allaah, and it often leads to hurt feelings, generates hatred and causes people to lose respect and dignity. But whoever is safe from such dangers, then that which the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to do is permissible for him.”

Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqaas said: “Set a limit to your jokes, for going to extremes makes you lose respect and incites the foolish against you.”

The amount of joking should be like the amount of salt in one’s food.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not laugh too much, for laughing too much deadens the heart.” (Saheeh al-Jaami’, 7312)

‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Whoever laughs too much or jokes too much loses respect, and whoever persists in doing something will be known for it.”

So beware of joking, for it “causes a person to lose face after he was thought of as respectable, and it brings him humiliation after esteem.”

A man said to Sufyaan ibn ‘Uyaynah (may Allaah be pleased with him), “Joking is not right, it is to be denounced.” He replied, “Rather it is Sunnah, but only for those who know how to do it and do it at the appropriate time.”

Nowadays, although the ummah needs to increase the love between its individual members and to relieve itself of boredom, it has gone too far with regard to relaxation, laughter and jokes. This has become a habit which fills their gatherings and wastes their time, so their lives are wasted and their newspapers are filled with jokes and trivia.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much.” In Fath al-Baari it says: “What is meant by knowledge here has to do with the might of Allaah and His vengeance upon those who disobey Him, and the terrors that occur at death, in the grave and on the Day of Resurrection).

Muslim men and women have to be inclined to choose righteous and serious friends in their lives, who will help them to make good use of their time and strive for the sake of Allaah with seriousness and steadfastness, good and righteous people whose example they can follow. Bilaal ibn Sa’d said: “I saw them [the Sahaabah] jokingly pretending to fight over some goods, and laughing with one another, but when night came they were like monks.”

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) was asked, “Did the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) laugh?” He said, “Yes, and the faith in their hearts was like mountains.”

So you have to follow the example of such people, who were knights by day and monks (i.e., devoted worshippers) by night.

May Allaah keep us, you and our parents safe on the Day of the Greatest Terror, those to whom the call will go out on that great Day:

“Enter Paradise, no fear shall be on you, nor shall you grieve”

[al-A’raaf 7:49 – interpretation of the meaning]