Chapter on What Is Not Permissible in Play and Joking: Explanation of a Hadith

The Shaykh : The twenty-first chapter after the one hundredth.
Chapter on What Is Not Permissible in Play and Joking.
He narrated with his chain, which is hasan, from Abdullah ibn al-Sa'ib, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: .
In this hadith, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) teaches the believers what they must observe when one of them wants to joke with his Muslim brother. He commands him to adhere to a manner that does not involve harming or frightening his Muslim brother under the guise of joking. Thus, joking is permissible on the condition that it does not result in harm, or even annoyance, to his Muslim brother. In this hadith, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) says: The term "property" here, as you see and hear, is a general text that includes anything a person enjoys. It is not permissible for a Muslim to take anything from his brother's property, whether in jest or in earnest. The difference between taking that property in jest and taking it in earnest is that when he takes it in jest, he does not take it to enjoy it for himself, i.e., to steal it, because he took it as a playful act toward his Muslim brother, meaning he intends to annoy or frighten him and then return the property to him. This is what he (peace be upon him) said: As for taking it in earnest, that is taking the property with the intention of ownership. In that case, he is considered a thief. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbids the Muslim from taking his Muslim brother's property in jest with the intention of frightening him and then returning it, and not in earnest, i.e., stealing. Taking a Muslim's property in earnest means stealing it from him, and this is, of course, not permissible. And if the property is taken in jest, as a joke or playful act toward his Muslim brother, it may cause some annoyance in his Muslim brother's heart. It was said regarding the occasion of this hadith, or the reason for its coming, that a man from the Companions, during one of the battles, left his Muslim brother sleeping and then went to his property, which contained his sword with which he fought. He took it and went to some place. When the sleeper woke up and did not find his property, including the sword with which he fought, he was certainly very annoyed. Soon, the other man, who had been playing, returned the property and handed it to its owner, laughing and joking. He thought he was joking, but he did not realize at all the sorrow, sadness, and fear that entered the heart of that Muslim who woke up from his sleep and found his property stolen from him. Then he was surprised by the one who had taken the property presenting it to him as a joke. Such joking is not permissible because it instills fear in the heart of his Muslim brother. Therefore, it came in the Sunnah regarding the characteristics and morals of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that he did not joke, and if he did joke, he did not say anything but the truth. This is a characteristic that a Muslim must possess, and it is divided into two categories: either not to joke at all, which is the safest, or if he does joke, let him joke and speak the truth. It is never the truth to instill fear or anxiety in the heart of his Muslim brother through his playful acts and jokes.
And we said that it is better not to joke at all, because the kind of joking that brings joy to the hearts of one's companions without annoying them or saddening them is a type of joking that only a few people can master, and very few people indeed. And if that is the case, it is better not to joke at all. Therefore, the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) described the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) as saying that he used to joke with us and play with us, but he did not say anything but the truth.
Among the examples of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) playful acts and joking with his Companions is what came in the Sunnah: She returned, upset, or almost returned, but the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) quickly brought her back, making her understand that old women do not enter Paradise in their state of old age. The meaning is that if an old woman enters Paradise, she returns to youth and does not enter Paradise in a state of weakness. This specific hadith has some weakness in its chain.
But it is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that another woman came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioning something about her husband. He said to her (peace be upon him): "Is your husband the one with the whiteness in his eye?" She ran to the house to look at her husband's eye like this. He said to her: "What is wrong with you?" She said: "I told the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) about you regarding such and such, and he said to me: 'Is your husband the one with the whiteness in his eye?'" She was eager to see this whiteness, and it is natural. This was the type of playful act of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
But the kind of playful act that results in annoying the Muslim and instilling fear in his heart is not permissible because of this hadith: Because harmful joking is not permissible: Because it is theft. Because if she took it by theft, it is clearly forbidden, so he must return the right to its owner. And if he took it as a joke or playful act, it is even more necessary that he return it. In this case, the intention behind the prohibition of taking the stick, which he will return, is that it causes annoyance to the heart of this Muslim whose stick or property was taken as a joke.
So in this hadith, there is a warning to every Muslim man and woman not to engage in joking, because it inevitably involves some deviation from the rulings of the Shari'ah, and among that is annoying the Muslim brother.