Full Lecture Transcript (Cleaned)
The Question: Is Sarcasm Halal? — 51:26
Brother Adil emails — he does not tell me where he is emailing from — and he asks: is sarcasm halal or not?
I was thinking of some sarcastic jokes to make, and I decided — let me be serious today insha'Allah, in contrast to most of my other lectures where I try to squeeze in some humor here and there.
Permissible Sarcasm: Laughing Together — 51:50
Technically, sarcasm is of two types.
There is a type that is done among friends in a manner where everyone is laughing together with everyone else. It elicits a laugh and does not hurt anybody's feelings. There is no denigration. Nobody's feelings are hurt. Nobody feels that they have been targeted. This is laughing together with everybody — you make a sarcastic comment or a joke — this is permissible. There is no sin over there.
Examples from the Prophet (SAW) — 52:19
Once a man came to the Prophet (SAW) and wanted to join an expedition, but he did not have a camel. He said: "O Messenger of Allah, do you have a camel I can borrow or take?" The Prophet (SAW) used a phrase in Arabic — a baby camel in Arabic is called naka, which literally means the child of a camel (wald al-naqa). The Prophet (SAW) said: "I only have a baby camel." The man said: "O Messenger of Allah, how will a baby camel help me? It is newly born — I need a full camel." Then the Prophet (SAW) said: "And what is a camel except the offspring of a camel?" — meaning: yes, I do have a camel, but it is still technically the child of a camel, as I am the child of my father even though I am no longer a child. So the Prophet (SAW) used that phrase.
Another example: an elderly woman came to the Prophet (SAW) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I am very old — make dua that Allah causes me to enter Jannah." The Prophet (SAW) said: "O dear mother, don't you know that old ladies do not enter Jannah?" She said: "What?! Old ladies do not enter Jannah — what am I going to do?!" Then the Prophet (SAW) said: "Rather, young ladies enter Jannah, and Allah will transform you to when you were young and then cause you to enter Jannah."
This is not quite sarcasm per se, but it is a double meaning — a double entendre — and the point we can extract from this is obvious: she was first so worried, then she was doubly happy. Nobody was insulted. Every joke of the Prophet (SAW) brought a smile to their face — the man initially disappointed, then extra happy; the same with the elderly woman. The Prophet (SAW) was acting in a manner that brought smiles and laughter, and he never targeted somebody.
Impermissible Sarcasm: Denigrating Others — 54:07
This is in contrast to being sarcastic against somebody — to make your point, or as a means of denigrating them. That is not something praiseworthy in our religion.
In fact, throughout the Quran, Allah mentions the enemies of the prophets. It is the munafiqun who are described as mocking, belittling, making sarcastic comments, winking secretly, gesturing, making fun of the righteous. That is why Allah says in the Quran: O Messenger of Allah, We shall deal with those who are mocking and sarcastic. The angels remark: How pitiful it is for the creation — never does a prophet come except that they make fun of him.
And Allah says in the Quran: O you who believe, let not one group of people make fun of another group. Let not some women make fun of other women.
So when the sarcasm is meant to denigrate — when it is meant to put somebody down, to hurt somebody's feelings — then it is not befitting and it goes against the perfection of manners that our Prophet (SAW) commanded us.
Our Prophet (SAW) said: the believer is the brother of another believer. He does not belittle him. He does not put him down. He does not make fun of him.
Never once did the Prophet (SAW) crack a joke at the expense of somebody — make fun of somebody to make them feel bad. Never once did he do a hidden gesture or wink meant to poke someone else's feelings.
The Key Distinction — 55:11
As we said: there is a big difference between laughing with people and laughing at people. If the sarcasm is self-deprecating, or is with somebody who you know will laugh back — insha'Allah, this is permissible. And if it is done to hurt somebody's feelings or to put them on the spot, then it goes against the prophetic example and betrays a sense of our own superiority — an ego — and therefore it is not something that should be done. And Allah knows best.