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Does the prohibition of jokes, mentioned in Fatwa no. 225964, apply to the listener who realizes they are fictional, or to one who thinks they are real?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Fabricated fictional jokes, which are known to be unrealistic, are not considered lies. Rather, they are closer to the striking of parables and fall under the category of creative writing that cannot be described as true or false. If they are intended for a benefit, such as education and teaching, or recreation and amusement, then they do not fall under the threat of lying to make people laugh. This is supported by Al-Hariri's Maqamat, which have been scientifically accepted, and by what has been stated regarding the permissibility of listening to wonders and marvels for the purpose of entertainment, not as proof, or for striking parables and admonitions.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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