He replied:
Anyone who tells fabricated stories to make people laugh, or for some other purpose, is disobeying Allah and His Messenger. Bahz ibn Hakīm narrated from his father, from his grandfather, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“Whoever speaks and lies to make people laugh—woe to him, woe to him, then woe to him!”
Ibn Masʿūd said: “Lying is not acceptable, whether in earnest or in jest. Nor should any of you promise his child something and then fail to fulfil it.”
If this also involves wrongdoing against a Muslim and harm to religion, it is even more strictly forbidden. In any case, whoever does this deserves a punishment prescribed by Islamic law that will deter him from it. Allah knows best.
Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah have mercy on him—said:
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Imitating animals in matters condemned by Islamic law—whether in their sounds, actions, or the like—is blameworthy and forbidden. Examples include barking like dogs, braying like donkeys, and similar conduct.
There are several reasons for this:
First, we established in Iqtidāʾ al-Sirāt al-Mustaqīm (Following the Straight Path) that the Lawgiver prohibits imitating human groups that are deficient—such as Bedouins, non-Arabs, the People of the Book, and others like them—in matters distinctive to them. We also explained that one of the reasons for this is