Why We laugh

“In The Name of God, The Beneficent, The Merciful”

Why We laugh

The main reason for laughing is a surprise. Meaning, laughing happens when we are surprised by someone’s words, actions, or anything else.

The wonder itself is because of the intellect. Meaning, when a word or deed is not correct according to the rational criteria, man is surprised and laughs in surprise. That is why laughing without surprise has been called ignorance and lightness. Since only humans have intellect among animals, laughing belongs to humans, and no animal laughs.

A narration said, “Other than human beings, devils can also laugh, but there is no narration that mentioned laughter for non-human beings. One narration says, “There is a heaven in the Hereafter which there only God Almighty laughs”. The commentators of the hadith have interpreted it as God’s pleasure.

Another hadith has been narrated from Prophet Muhammad (S) that addressed to Amir al-Mu’minin Ali (A): “Allah laughed at your work last night. The story was that someone had become the guest of Lady Fatimah (A) and Imam Amir Al-Momenin Ali (A) for dinner, and because there was not enough food, they turned off the lamp and put the food in front of the guest, pretending that they were eating so that the guest would not be embarrassed. So, Prophet Muhammad (S) said the next day, “God laughed at your work last night.” This also indicates the fullness of God’s pleasure.

Now that laughter is for humans, let’s try to always have a happy and smiling face in the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad (S).

Muhammad Mahdi Me’marian