The Humour Of The Companions RA

Qarrah RA said:

That he asked Ibn Sirin RA if the Companions RA of the Prophet SAW played jokes on one another. At this he (Ibn Sirin RA) said:

"They too were humans beings and nothing else." (Al-Haithami)


Auf ibn Malik Ashjai RA said:

That at the time of the Battle of Tabuk he went to see the Prophet SAW. At that time the Prophet (SAW) was sitting in a small round shaped tent of leather. Auf saluted the Prophet (SAW) and he returned the salutation. He (SAW) further asked him to come into the tent. At this Auf said, "Should I come in, the whole of me?" The Prophet (SAW) said, "Yes, come in the whole of you." Then he entered the tent. (Abu Dawud, Al-Bidayah)

(Note: Walid ibn Uthman ibn Abi al Aliyah RA says that Auf RA had said this because of the smallness of the tent.)


Abi Malikah RA said:

That once A'ishah RA uttered some humorous words before the Prophet SAW. At this A'ishah's mother said to the Prophet, "O Messenger of Allah! Some of the pleasantries of this tribe trace their origin in the tribe of Kinanah". At this the Prophet (SAW) said, "This tribe itself depends on our humour". (Al-Bukhari, Chapter of Adab)


Bakr ibn Abdullah RA narrates:

That the Companions RA of the Prophet SAW used to throw melons on one another by way of joke. But they became valiant when faced with the realities of life or its hardships. (Al-Bukhari, Chapter of Adab)


Rabiah ibn Uthman RA said:

That a certain Bedouin came to the Prophet SAW. He seated his she camel outside the Holy Mosque and himself went inside to meet the Holy Prophet (SAW). Some of the Companions of the Prophet (SAW) said to Nu'aiman ibn Amr Al-Ansari RA, "If you slaughter this she camel and satisfy your hunger, the Holy Prophet will pay its penalty". The narrator says that very soon Nu'aiman slaughtered the she camel. When the Bedouin came out of the Mosque and saw all this, he began crying out, "O Muhammad! Some one has slaughtered her". The Holy Prophet (SAW) came out and asked the people who had done that. The people told him that Nu'aiman had done that. Now the Prophet (SAW) went out in search of him. He found Nu'aiman in the house of Dabaah, daughter of Zubair ibn Abdul Mutallib. He had hidden himself in a cell and had put branches and dry barks and leaves of the date tree over his body. Someone cried out that he had not seen him. But this very man pointed to the place where Nu'aiman was hiding. The Prophet (SAW) took him out from there and his face was covered with dust and leaves of the date tree. The Prophet (SAW) asked him who had asked him to do that. He said, "O Messenger of Allah! These very men who had told you about my whereabouts, had asked me to do that". The Holy Prophet (SAW) began removing the leaves and barks from his head and face and remained laughing. The narrator says that later on the Prophet SAW paid the price of the she-camel to that Bedouin. (Al-Istiab: Isabah)

Note: In the above, we observe the elegance and grandeur of the Prophet Muhammad SAW. How patient he is, and how merciful he is. Such elegant personalities are able to transform such critical but amusing situations into peaceful and amusing ones. In this day and age, we are advised by the Ulama to avoid performing practical jokes as it becomes a means of creating discord and conflict. Nevertheless from the above riwayat we see how human the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad SAW were and how beautiful were his (SAW) akhlak, mu'amalat and mu'asharat.


Umm Salamah RA said:

Abu Bakr RA went to the city of Basrah on a trade mission. With him were Nu'aiman RA and Suwaibit ibn Harmalah RA, and both were the two who had fought in the Battle of Badr. Suwaibit was in charge of the provisions of the caravan. Nu'aiman asked him to give him food. At this Suwaibit said, "Wait a little and let Abu Bakr come". Nu'aiman was a witty and humorous fellow. He went to a group of men who had brought beasts of burden. He said to them, "Will any of you purchase a slave?" They replied in the affirmative. Nu'aiman said, "That Arab slave is a plausible fellow and it is just possible that he might say that he is not a slave. If you leave him because of his words then blame me not, and break not the deal". Those traders agreed to this. These men purchased him for ten she-camels. Nu'aiman brought the she-camels and pointing towards Suwaibit, he told them that that was the slave. The traders said, "We already know that you will say this (i.e. that he isn't a slave)". Now the traders tied Suwaibit by his neck and wanted to take him to their place. In the meantime Abu Bakr came there, and he was informed about all of this. Abu Bakr and his companions when to those merchants and returned them to their she-camels. Thus they bought back Suwaibit. Later on when the Prophet (SAW) was informed about this incident, he laughed. The Prophet (SAW) and his Companions continued laughing over this incident for the whole year. (Ahmad, Abu Dawud , Al-Tayalsi, Al-Isabah)