دار بيبليون
Laughter in the Arab-Muslim tradition
Lecture by Dr. Lwiis Saliba – On Zoom
Wednesday 01/12/2021
This is our second encounter with the yoga of laughter, and in these painful times we need a smile, even a laugh, because it is the best antidote to the toxins of sorrow and convulsions.
Laughter in the Hadiths attributed to the Prophet
Laughter, as we have already mentioned, is a well-established tradition in our spiritual and cultural heritage. There is much encouragement to laughter in traditional and modern works. I will limit myself to a few examples so as not to be too long.
It has been reported about the Prophet of Islam, that he used to laugh until his molars appeared. And Ibn Abd Rabbuh al-Andalusi (d. 328 AH/940 A.D.) quoted a number of hadiths about this, including: “Refresh the hearts hour after hour, for when the hearts are exhausted, they become blind” (Ibn Abd Rabbuh, Al-‘Aqd, op. cit, p. 6/379).
And another hadith about one of the companions, Nu`iman bin Amr: “Nu`iman entered Paradise laughing, because he made me laugh” (Al-Aqd Al-Farid, p. 6/381).
Another hadith about Suwayda, about the servant of Aisha, the wife of the Prophet. He said at her death: “Oh my God, she was eager to make me laugh, so make her laugh with joy” (Al-Aqd Al-Farid, op. cit, p. 6/381)
Laughter in the Christian Apocrypha
It is noteworthy that books of the Islamic heritage convey an invitation to laughter, and an encouragement to laughter, according to Christian traditions. Ibn Abd Rabbuh reported in his book al-‘aqd, citing “some translated books”, according to what he said, (which are probably apocryphal writings about the two apostles of Christ, Peter and John), the following account: Youhanna (John) and Simeon (Peter) were two of the disciples, and John did not sit in an assembly without laughing and making people laugh around him. Simeon, on the other hand, did not sit down in an assembly without weeping and making those around him weep.
Simeon said to John, “How much do you laugh, as if you had finished your work?” John answered him, “How much do you weep as if you had given up your Lord?” God revealed to Christ, “The more loving of the two behaviors for me is that of Jea” (Al-Aqd Al-Farid, op. cit, p. 6/380).
And in the ‘aqd there is another similar account about John the Baptist and Jesus. In some books it is also narrated that Jesus, son of Mary, met Yahya son of Zakariya, so Yahya smiled at him and Jesus said to him, “You are smiling in safety!” Yahya replied, “You are frowning in despair!”
And God revealed to Jesus! And God revealed to Jesus: “What Yahya does is dearer to me” (Al-‘Aqd Al-Farid, op. cit. p. 6/381(
Laughter among the ancient Arabs
The ancients used to repeat that: “Laughter is a necessary element in life, because it is a kind of play, and play is the nature of life.” The Qur’anic verse corroborates this saying: {Life in this world is but a game and amusement} (Surah Al-Hadid/20).
Al-Ragheb Al-Asbahani (d. 502 AH / 1108 AD) mentioned that some of the elders said, “People are in prison as long as they do not joke.”
One of the advice of the elders is to welcome death with laughter, as one welcomed life right after birth with tears. An Arab poet said:
Your mother gave birth to you, son of Adam, weeping, while the people around you are laughing with joy.
So strive to make sure that if they cry on the day of your death, you will be happy to laugh.
This poet insists on the contrast between life and death. A child is born crying, and people are optimistic about its crying at birth, but if it doesn’t cry at that time, they pinch it to make it do so. On the other hand, just as we receive life with tears, we must also receive death with laughter. In order to die with laughter, a man must strive to lead his life with righteousness and good sense, etc. These verses remind us of the life of the Tibetan sage who died laughing.
Laughter in the Sufi tradition
And from Muslim mysticism here is a piece of advice, or rather a golden rule, from Sultan Al-Arifeen, Abu Yazid Al-Bistami. He summarizes his mystical path with the following simplified itinerary: “I persevered in leading my soul (or rather my mind) to Him while it was crying, until it led me to Him while it was laughing.
How can we understand this alternation, or rather this contrast, between crying and laughing that Abu Yazid speaks about and by which he summarizes his mystical path?
The beginning of the Sufi path is hard work and assiduous effort in which the spiritual seeker trains his soul or rather his mind, and soul comes here especially in the sense of the spirit of the jumping mind, as Al-Biruni shows. A mind that is always restless, and has many desires and cravings, is rather a wild animal that needs to be tamed and domesticated. This is the distressing and even ‘weeping’ aspect of the spiritual path, and this is the tiring and even stressful side of the Sufi path, which makes one weep, but which is necessary at the beginning to get out of suffering. And as soon as this mind is tamed and domesticated, its absorption in the Haqq (or the Absolute) becomes a Samadhi, a source of joy, even more a source of bliss. And it subsequently leads the Sadhak to God in laughter. This alternation between crying and laughing is of the nature of the mind, and we shall see in what follows that their source is a single center in the brain, for how many times have we cried out of joy, or laughed out of sadness and confusion. As for turning tears into laughter, as Al-Bistami says in his words, it is a mystical path based on the nature of the thought or soul.
Laughter in the Lebanese tradition
A cogitation on a Lebanese proverb emphasizes the link between laughter and health. This proverb says: “People envied us our laughter until one day they came to take it from us and with it our health”.
Islamic religious literature warns us all the time about envy and its negative effects. In the Qur’an we read: “Say, I seek protection from the Lord of the Dawn against the evil of the envious, when he bears envy” (Qur’an 113/5)
But what attracts attention in this proverb is the link it establishes between laughter and health. When man loses his laughter he loses his health and vice versa. And the relationship between laughter and health is a dialectical one: we laugh out loud and wholeheartedly when we enjoy good health, and laughter in itself attracts health and improves it. But when we lose our laughter we lose our health with it.
Maroun ‘Abboud the priest of laughter
Among the famous contemporary writers and thinkers who laughed and made people laugh by inviting them to laugh, Maroun Abboud (1886-1962) comes first. He considered laughter as one of the most outstanding characteristics of man, he said, “I see that nature has not endowed us with a more remarkable feature than laughter, so have you seen anyone other than us, among the creatures, laugh or smile?”
He calls for facing calamities with laughter rather than convulsions, and that, in the manner of the proverb that says, “There is something to laugh about in the worst calamity” Abboud says, “In your life, laugh even in calamity if you want to overcome it” (Abboud, Subul, op. cit, page 29).
And laughter attracts sustenance, Abud also says, while a frown interrupts it: “Listen to what is said about frowns: this frown cuts off sustenance. As for laughter, it expresses everything that is beautiful” (Abboud, op. cit, p. 29-30). Even to express that the weather is good, we say that nature laughs.
Abboud has worked all his life and his literary and intellectual career to make others laugh, and to relieve their distress through laughter: “If the world does not laugh with me, I laugh alone, And I cannot laugh until I make my visitor or companion laugh and take the initiative. If smiling opens the door, then laughter brings us to the center of the living room of the house.
And laughter, according to Maroun Abboud, is the best prayer: “If I had been a priest, I would have said: Laugh, instead of saying: Pray”. Here, this writer agrees with the yoga of laughter and its principles, for the latter considers laughter to be a yoga practice that is no less effective than other meditation methods, such as Japa (the rosary), and can sometimes even surpass them.
Anis Freyha and the anthropology of laughter
One of the contemporary writers and researchers who have philosophized about laughter and demonstrated its characteristics as well as its benefits, is Anis Freyha (1903-1993). He sees it as an antidote to many impurities and defects, including vanity, fanaticism, despair and depression. About laughter curing arrogance, Freyha says, “A person without the spirit of laughter loses much of the sweetness of his humanity. Humor helps us to criticize ourselves and saves us from the evil of vanity, which causes us to see ourselves as the center of gravity and importance in the universe. It also saves us from another defect which is the consideration of ourselves as pious people and as being great benefactors. Humor is a heavenly blessing. He who is endowed with it is neither self-deceived nor arrogant” (Freyha, op. cit, p 18).
Concerning laughter which cures exaggeration and fanaticism, Freyha says: “Laughter kills in us all reprehensible intolerance and fanaticism. A strict fanatic does not laugh. Finally, he who laughs loves, pleases and sympathizes, for laughter is part of the nature of goodness” (Freyha, MS, p. 24).
Freyha’s last sentence attracts our attention, as it is inspired by the Lebanese proverb: “May God grant us the benefit of this laughter” Freyha is an expert in proverbs and a pioneer in collecting them.
About laughter erasing despair, curing anxiety and depression, which is the disease of the century, Freyha says: “Laughter generates in us the love of life. It is a force against everything that would send us into despair and discouragement. Laughter creates in us a healthy and innocent look at life that has neither gravity nor heaviness, but rather pleasure and love” (Freyha, op. cit, p24)
Laughter, according to Freyha, is the flavor, charm and splendor of life, as well as the source of beauty itself: “Laughter is a hidden magic that gives life a tinge of beauty and richness. A world in which there is no laughter is a dark and dreary world, just as a life without joy or laughter is a barren life. The flavor of life is in the laughter, and the best moments of life are the hours spent in laughter and fun” (Freyha, op. cit, pp22-23)
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