April Fool

Question: April Fool is played on 1st April; Bapa, people deceive each other in the name of fun. For instance, someone is told on telephone as: 'Alas! Did you come to know your mother has expired?' Listening to this, that depressed person rushes to his home where he discovers that nothing happened. When the caller is contacted, he says that he was just playing April Fool. Similarly, in order to shock others, people say such sentences or send such messages as 'Your brother has got so and so problem' or 'Your sister is in so and so trouble' etc. It has now become like a custom. April Fool has been common in many other countries of the world. As the 1st April is approaching, what mindset would you present to the viewers of Madani Channel on this occasion?

Answer: It is a fitting question on the eve of April Fool. Obviously, it is one of the many things promoted by the non-Muslims in our society. In other words, April Fool is one of the many evils promoted by non-Muslims in our society. Once an Islamic brother affiliated with our Madani environment told me an incident; on 1st April, someone told his brother ?Did you come to know your mother has passed away?? Listening to this, he worriedly rushed to his home weeping but he found his mother safe and sound. Then, he recalled that it was the 1st April that day. He understood the whole matter. He lost self-control as everybody loves his mother. Extremely infuriated by this painful joke, he took a knife and rushed towards his home to stab him. People pacified and prevented him from doing so, otherwise, if people had not calmed him down, the person who played April Fool would have been in his grave and he (the murderer) would have been in jail or have been hanged. April Fool brought about this incident. In the same way, if you receive a telephone call telling you that your dearest brother has suffered an accident, what will be your condition? Or, if a father who is a heart-patient receives a phone call about his beloved son?s death as a result of a horrific accident on road, and the father suffers a heart-attack or even his heart fails due to the false news of his son?s death on 1st April, who will be responsible for all this tragedy?

Question: Bapa, does Shari?ah not allow at all to have fun? Is it fair to quarrel with your close friend with whom you also joke? What is wrong with having fun on 1st April?

Answer: In Islam, there is no concept of such fun and joke. Islam allows only such fair and harmless merriment that neither distresses any one nor contains open lies as lying is a Haram act leading to the Hell. The more harm the joke causes, the more severe its torment will be. Therefore, Shari?ah out-rightly discourages such joking and fun-making, Islam declares it Haram. To play April Fool deceiving or making a fun of any Muslim telling a lie is not allowed at all. Deceiving even a non-Muslim by lying is not allowed by Shari?ah. If a Muslim deceives a non-Muslim telling a lie that his mother has passed away, what impression will the non-Muslim get about Islam? Therefore, it is not allowed to deceive any one. The one who is tricked in the name April Fool is not fool, in fact, the one playing April Fool is fool for he deceives and distresses others by lying. From this view of point, the term ?April Fool? is wrong itself. It can be considered correct in the sense that the one playing April Fool is actually fool.

Anyway, April Fool is a sinful act which must be eradicated. It should not exist in Islamic society. The Muslims who have ever committed this misdeed should repent in the court of Allah عزوجل and apologize to those whose rights were violated. Further, just repentance will not be sufficient. For example, if a person misinforms any other person about his son's accident and resultantly he gets intro trouble, rushes to hospital or becomes grievously hurt, the one playing trick will have to apologize to the one who was tricked. As I told you in the beginning that a person lied to another person about his mother's death and he became furious, rushed with a knife to kill him, the one who told a lie for playing April Fool should apologize. The one who was tricked should forgive as forgiving others is an excellent deed.

Islam has nothing to do with April Fool. It is such an evil deed that I would not recommend to return it back to its initiators, instead, throw it into any filthy drainage. It should not exist in any society. April Fool is a very nasty and painful trick.

If it is returned back to its initiators, it is possible that they will make trouble for our Muslim brothers by playing April Fool on them. Therefore, it is not suitable any body; throw it into any gutter or drainage to get rid of it.

Those, including the viewers of Madani channel, who have ever played April Fool on any one, should repent of it. They should not disclose that they committed this evil deed. Repent in the court of Allah عزوجل, and apologize to those whom you have distressed and deceived.