Sometimes the advocates of Islam and those who are profoundly religious give the impression that the way they go about life leaves no room for relaxation or entertainment. They appear to be too serious in their approach, even when the matter in hand should be taken lightly. Such an image tends to drive people away, because we need mental refreshment in the same way as we need a glass of fruit juice or a cup of tea for physical refreshment. As we should look to the Prophet for guidance in all serious matters, we should try to find out whether he allowed entertainment or only adopted a very serious approach to life.

We learn that the Prophet laughed at jokes when some of his companions said them, but he did not allow lies. He taught that if you want to say something funny, you must not include any lie, because lies are totally unacceptable. When he saw a funny situation, the Prophet would laugh heartily, but he would not laugh at the expense of anyone. Often people play a trick on a friend for a laugh, and sometimes this could cause that person embarrassment or even humiliation. This was not approved by the Prophet. On the contrary, he spoke out against it. When there was no offence to anyone and a funny situation occurred, then the Prophet laughed with whoever is present. His back teeth may be visible, but he would not open his mouth very wide with laughter. Indeed, his family report that in most such situations the Prophet would not do more than smile.

There is a reason for that. Prophethood means the acquisition of knowledge that is not available to an ordinary person. It cannot be gathered through human experience or endeavor. It is a knowledge that assigns to human life on Earth its true place and measure in relation to the life of the universe. This is not an easy thing, because it requires an informed perception of the universe, which is beyond our minds. When we try to imagine how vast the universe is, we first think of our galaxy and its millions and millions of solar systems. We feel totally helpless, as our minds cannot conceive of such size and distances. We then remember that our galaxy is only one of hundreds of millions of galaxies in the universe, and the attempt to imagine the size of the universe ends in utter failure. A prophet, however, is given knowledge that sees human life in the right perspective.

We all say that life is short, and we know that anyone’s life can end in a split second but we behave as if life will never end. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was unlike that. When he saw approaching clouds or felt that wind would be blowing, he looked worried. His wife, Aishah, observed that. She said to him: “Messenger of God, when people see clouds, they feel cheerful hoping that rain will soon be falling, but when you see clouds, you look uneasy.” He said: “Aishah, how can I tell that it will not bring punishment? Some people were punished by winds, and when they saw clouds approaching, they thought they were about to have rain.” This was a reference to the people of Aad in southern Arabia, who were punished by means of a storm wind lasting eight days and leaving their mighty buildings in total ruin.