Fatwa ID: 06223

Answered by: Muftiyah Safiyya-Maryam Ahmed

Question:

As Salaamu Alaykum, I was following a class on Nikah and the Shaykh mentioned a Hadith and said that this is a metaphor and he said to the effect that this doesn’t mean that in-laws are going to kill you and he laughed and I might have smiled or laughed slightly and then became fearful if this could be disrespectful to the Hadith. What would you advise me to do? Is this disrespecting The Sunnah?

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer:

Mocking the Deen of Allah, His Verses, His Messengers and His Emblems is a grave sin in the sight of Allah Ta’aala and tantamount to Kufr. Allah Azzawajjal says regarding the hypocrites: “And if you ask them, they will surely say, “We were only conversing and playing.” Say, “Is it Allah and His verses and His Messenger that you were mocking?” (9: 65)

The definition of mocking according to Imam Ghazali (rahimahullah) is to belittle, debase, or attempt to point out faults whether through speech, laughing, actions or indications.

To smile at a Hadith or laugh at a joke the Sheikh made derived from the subject matter of the Hadith does not fall under mocking or disrespecting the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa Sallam) if it was not done in a way to look down at or scorn at the words of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi Sallam). However, one must always be cautious when talking about the words of Allah Ta’aala and the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa Sallam) and do so in a manner of respect, humility, love and dignity.

Only Allah knows best

Written by Alimah Safiyya-Maryam Ahmed

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

” وَمَعْنَى السُّخْرِيَةِ : الِاسْتِهَانَةُ ، وَالتَّحْقِيرُ ، وَالتَّنْبِيهُ عَلَى الْعُيُوبِ وَالنَّقَائِضِ ، عَلَى وَجْهٍ يُضْحَكُ مِنْهُ ، وَقَدْ يَكُونُ ذَلِكَ بِالْمُحَاكَاةِ فِي الْقَوْلِ وَالْفِعْلِ ، وَقَدْ يَكُونُ بِالْإِشَارَةِ وَالْإِيمَاءِ “. (موعظة المؤمنين من إحياء علوم الدين، صفحة ١٩٣، دار الكتب العلمية)