Is a person held accountable for what he imagines, whether he reacts to it with laughter or sadness or not?
What a person imagines, in terms of thoughts and self-talk, is forgiven by scholarly consensus, as long as the person does not dwell on it and persist in it. This is based on the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "Indeed, Allah has overlooked for my Ummah what they speak to themselves, as long as they do not utter it or act upon it." A Muslim should occupy themselves with what benefits them, such as remembrance of Allah (), seeking forgiveness (istighfar), and reciting the Qur'an, because wasting time on what is not beneficial is a loss. As for laughter, it is permissible in principle, but excessive laughter is blameworthy.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/165851
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 165851
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy