Is the character of Juha real and one of the Tabi'in, and is it permissible to tell jokes about him?

We thank the questioner for his zeal and his effort to protect Muslims. Backbiting a Muslim is forbidden and is one of the major sins. The stories attributed to Juha are not considered backbiting for two reasons: First, the character of Juha is fictitious, not intended to represent a specific person, and backbiting only applies to a known individual. Second, the researchers among the scholars have differentiated between Dujayn ibn Thabit, the Tabi'i, and Juha, the master of anecdotes. We also alert the questioner that Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak is the one who narrated from Dujayn ibn Thabit.