THE PLACE OF HUMOUR IN RAMADAN

Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and it is considered as the most sacred. Hence it is a very important period in the life of a Moslem faithful as it is one of the 5 pillars of Islam. Moslems worldwide revere this month as a month of fasting. It usually lasts for a period of 29 to 30 days based on the visual sighting of the crescent moon. Ramadan is a mandatory injunction for adult Moslems, excluding sick people (physically and mentally), travelers, pregnant women, diabetes patients and menstruating women (Quran 2:185).

Traditionally, Ramadan is a month of sober reflection, when humanity is expected to closely befriend divinity. As a result of this, rewards for good deeds and punishment for evil deeds during the holy month are significantly increased. Apart from abstinence from food and water from dawn till sunset, Faithfuls are equally expected to refrain from drinking other liquids, smoking, sexual activities and profanities.  In a bid to move closer to God, Moslems are expected to engage in some spiritual exercises which includes;  offering of salat (prayer), recitation of the Holy Quarn, attending public lectures and involvement in charity works. The serious nature of Ramadan call for sobriety, but yet humour comes in handy in making this highly revered spiritual exercise a success and an enjoyable stress free one.   

Prophet Mohammed (Peace and blessing be upon him) was always admonishing his followers on the essentiality of humour in living a balanced life. He himself was always seen smiling and sometimes sharing some of his funny experiences to amuse his listeners, for example he joked about his experience when he had a race with his wife Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) and she won the first time, he later won the second race, also he expressly stated in one of his messages that laughing in the face of your brother is charity. So if the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) could refer to smiling and humour as a charity, then one can validly infer from the ongoing that it is of a greater reward to put smiles on the face of other and delight them during the holy month of Ramadan.

Many people believe this is not possible, considering the level of sobriety required for humanity to successfully stay connected with divinity, but here are some guidelines validly deduced from the Prophet himself (peace and blessings be upon him). This guidelines will assist a Moslem faithful in his or her bid to stay connected, validly observe the fast without stress and equally reap the overwhelming dividends of doing charity in the Holy month of Ramadan. Here are some elements of humour that should be avoided ;

INSULTING JOKES- (Al-Hujurat 49, Verse 11) Allah himself abhors insulting jokes and in the cited verse of the Holy Quran, he expressly forbids ridicule (even if the ridiculous fact is obvious), offensive nicknames and so on. So if you must share jokes and delight people around you, make sure everybody finds it funny, meaning nobody is pushed to the receiving end of such jokes. So sexist jokes, racist jokes and all forms of insulting or demeaning jokes or humour is prohibited.

LIES- Exaggeration sadly falls under the definition of a lie in this  discuss. Painting a story in bright colour or embellishing it, which is one of the greatest tools of a comedian is forbidden in the month of Ramadan. Any form of conscious untruthfulness should be avoided. Many people fall into this trap by telling false tales just to amuse people around them, but it is prohibited most especially in the holy month of Ramadan. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) advocated for true stories that are amusing.

FRIGHTENING JOKES- Any joke or action that is intended to evoke humour, but which has a tendency of frightening people should also be avoided during the month of Ramadan. So fake breaking news, hiding people’s belonging to stress them, whatever could make anyone look like a fool comes under this category and it should be avoided. (Ibn Hajar).

EXCESSIVE LAUGHTER- Any form of flamboyancy is prohibited in Ramadan, including flamboyant expressions. Laughter is an expression of joy and happiness, hence hysterical laughter is a flamboyant expression which must be avoided. Excessive laughter it has been realized hardens the heart and Allah frowns at a hardened heart,  seriousness is considered a virtue in Islam. In a related vein medical experts advise against hysterical laughter during fasting as this could lead to ulcer and some other negative medical condition. Therefore in as much as we are admonished to live a happy life, we are likewise cautioned not to laugh and lose sight of reality. From the foregoing it will be noticed that jokes are kind of very expensive and a very delicate turf during the holy month of Ramadan, but there are a thousand and one ways of generating humour without sharing a joke and risk falling victim or crossing the boundaries as drawn above. Here is a quick checklist of alternative means of making humour, without sharing jokes (not exhaustive by any means);

v   An unexpected good deed- For example a father waking up to give their baby a bath, the wife and even the baby will be both shocked, surprised and delighted.

v A funny facial expression- Funny face can never stop evoking laughter, most especially with kids.

v  An unexpected irrelevant comment- For example people discussing the whether

A: thank God the whether has been cool

B: it’s really helping me.

YOU: Hell fire is not an option.  

v  An infectious smile.

All these could all be an effective way of making humour. All of these are easily within reach, not farfetched and highly effecient, most especially a big, broad smile. This is because the human heart is the seat of humour, when you make up your mind to generate humour, all you need is to establish a connection with your target and it will naturally flow.

RAMADAN KAREEM

A.K. AFOUDA SAMUEL LLB, BL