Explaining the Criterion for Anecdotes and Their Ruling
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Your Eminence, what is the criterion for what is called jokes or anecdotes, and when do they become lying? Does a person relate a story that did not happen in order to make the people around him laugh?
If a person gives an example by a story,For example, he says: saying, “I will give you an example of a man who said such-and-such or did such-and-such, and such-and-such happened, and the result was such-and-such,” then there is nothing wrong with that. Some scholars even said regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Kahf: 32] that this is not a factual reality,And in the Qur'an: [Az-Zumar: 29] So if a person mentions a story that he does not attribute to a specific person, but it is as if something happened and the outcome was such-and-such, then there is nothing wrong with that.
However, if he attributes it to a person and it is a lie, then it is forbidden; it becomes a lie. Likewise, if the intention is to make the people laugh, it has been reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: (Woe to the one who relates a story and lies to make the people laugh with it, woe to him, then woe to him) .
If a person gives an example by a story,For example, he says: saying, “I will give you an example of a man who said such-and-such or did such-and-such, and such-and-such happened, and the result was such-and-such,” then there is nothing wrong with that. Some scholars even said regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And present to them an example of two men: We granted to one of them two gardens of grapevines
وَاضْرِبْ لَهُمْ مَثَلاً رَجُلَيْنِ جَعَلْنَا لِأَحَدِهِمَا جَنَّتَيْنِ مِنْ أَعْنَابٍAllah presents an example: a slave owned by quarreling partners and another belonging exclusively to one man - are they equal in comparison? Praise be to Allah! But most of them do not know.
ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلاً رَجُلاً فِيهِ شُرَكَاءُ مُتَشَاكِسُونَ وَرَجُلاً سَلَماً لِرَجُلٍ هَلْ يَسْتَوِيَانِ مَثَلاً الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لا يَعْلَمُونَHowever, if he attributes it to a person and it is a lie, then it is forbidden; it becomes a lie. Likewise, if the intention is to make the people laugh, it has been reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: (Woe to the one who relates a story and lies to make the people laugh with it, woe to him, then woe to him) .