Humor, Virtue or Vice, An Analysis of Islamic Teachings Based on Practical Wisdom

In Islamic texts, humor is sometimes considered a reprehensible and sometimes a virtue, and sometimes it is recommended to use this act “less often”. The problem is, how can these narrations be compatible with each other and what reasonable explanation can be given of these texts. The answer lies in practical wisdom. If creating humor is to be considered a virtue, it is necessary for the person creating it- relying on practical wisdom which is a kind of situational art and insight- to be evaluate whether this act in this particular situation is for happiness and a good life of the people related to this humor is useful or not. Practical wisdom requires a kind of knowledge and insight into the whole world and human’s relationship with it, as well as a correct understanding of human happiness. Therefore, it is difficult to form and establish the virtue of practical wisdom in people, and after a lot of practice and passage of many years, it is formed in moral actors, and it is never formed in many people. It is for this reason that performing a moral act such as creating humor by many people may be condemned as a vice, and for this reason, in Islamic traditions, this action is recommended to happen “rarely”.

Keywords:

Humor , Virtue , Islamic traditions , practical wisdom , happiness