The Attribute of Laughter for Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He)
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : When the Companion said to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), he will not be punished.
The Shaykh : We will not be surprised by a Lord who laughs in good.
The questioner : Now, if someone were to compare it, or a questioner who has not been addressed before, would he say that He laughs like a human, or would he not describe it with anything, or ask about the modality of the laughter? The obligation upon him is to stop at this point.
The Shaykh : No, I say: We affirm the attribute of laughter, but it is not like our laughter. I do not know in what modality. We do not know, and this is a rule for you to keep in mind regarding all the attributes of Allah: there is nothing like Him. My son, base your belief on this: that Allah is not likened to anything in His creations, neither in His Essence, nor in His Attributes, nor in His Actions.
The questioner : If a person reports a news, is it not permissible for him to imagine a specific thing in his mind?
The Shaykh : No, not at all. A specific modality is not permissible. Allah knows best.
The Shaykh : We will not be surprised by a Lord who laughs in good.
The questioner : Now, if someone were to compare it, or a questioner who has not been addressed before, would he say that He laughs like a human, or would he not describe it with anything, or ask about the modality of the laughter? The obligation upon him is to stop at this point.
The Shaykh : No, I say: We affirm the attribute of laughter, but it is not like our laughter. I do not know in what modality. We do not know, and this is a rule for you to keep in mind regarding all the attributes of Allah: there is nothing like Him. My son, base your belief on this: that Allah is not likened to anything in His creations, neither in His Essence, nor in His Attributes, nor in His Actions.
The questioner : If a person reports a news, is it not permissible for him to imagine a specific thing in his mind?
The Shaykh : No, not at all. A specific modality is not permissible. Allah knows best.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 389 - صفة الضحك لله سبحانه وتعالى - شرح تقريب التدمرية - ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.