Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
The guidance of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in respect to laughing was to be moderate just as he was moderate in all of his affairs. On most occasions, his laugh was just a smile and if he laughed audibly, he would not laugh boisterously.
226. Jābir ibn Samurah narrated: “The legs of the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) were slightly thin. His laugh was only that of a smile. Every time I looked at him, I would think that kohl had been applied to his eyes even though it hadn’t.” [260]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
The slight thinness in his legs befitted the structure of his body and so it is a characteristic that people praise.
Al-Bajūrī said,
The statement that ‘his laugh was only that of a smile’ does not mean that he never laughed but rather it is to state that most of the time he used to smile. This is because it was reported that the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) laughed until his molars showed. Some scholars offered a nice explanation to highlight the difference between the reasons that made him laugh and the reasons that made him smile. This explanation is that the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) smiled in matters related to this worldly life and laughed in matters related to the Hereafter.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
The eyelashes of the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) were dark enough to give the impression that he had applied kohl.
227. ‘Abdullāh ibn al-Hārith narrated: “I never saw a person who smiled more than the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him).” [261]
Al-Bajūrī said,
This is a characteristic that indicates his perfection as he used to smile in the face of people despite the feelings of concern regarding the Hereafter that he concealed in his heart.
228. ‘Abdullāh ibn al-Hārith narrated: “The laughter of the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) was naught but a smile.” [262]
229. Abū Dhar narrated: “The Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) said, ‘I know the person who will enter Paradise first and also the last person to be taken out of the Hellfire. On the Day of Judgment, a person will be brought forward and then it shall be commanded that all the minor sins of that person be put forward to him and the major sins be concealed. Then, it will be said to him, ‘On such a day you did this and on such a day you did this.’ He will attest to this without protest whilst being filled with anxiety due to the pending disclosure of his major sins. Then, it shall be commanded that for every sin of that person he be given a good deed. Upon hearing this, the person says, ‘I still have many sins left to account for, that I do not find here.’”
Abū Dhar related: “By Allāh, I saw the Messenger (peace be upon him) laughing [because of the response of the person] until his molar teeth began to show.” [263]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
The first person who will enter Paradise is the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) and the last person who is taken out from the Hellfire will be the last person to enter Paradise, leaving behind in the Hellfire all those who will remain there forever. The ones who will remain there forever are the disbelievers because the sinners amongst the believers will eventually leave Hell.
Al-Bajūrī said,
The story of the person in the hadīth is separate from the statement wherein he (peace be upon him) mentioned the first and last person to enter Paradise.
The reason that he was given a good deed for every misdeed is because Allāh, the Most High, said: {Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allāh will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allāh Forgiving and Merciful.}[264]
The reason why the Prophet (peace be upon him) laughed was because he was astonished [at what this man will be granted]. The man was anxious at first because he feared his major sins being exposed but after he saw that his minor sins turned into good deeds, he started looking forward to seeing his major sins too. Abū Dhar swore that he saw the Prophet (peace be upon him) laughing so no one doubts his statement since he (peace be upon him) was known for smiling and not laughing.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
The response of the man was because he was overwhelmed with the great Mercy that Allāh bestowed upon him so he wanted to find more sins hoping that they will be replaced with good deeds too.
230. Jarīr ibn ‘Abdullāh narrated: “From the day I accepted Islām, the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) never prevented me from entering upon him and every time he saw me, he would laugh.” [265]
Al-Bajūrī said,
Jarīr ibn ‘Abdullāh embraced Islām forty days before the death of the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him).
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
Jarīr ibn ‘Abdullāh’s statement was to say that the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) never prevented him from entering upon him when he was with his close companions. This shows the special status of Jarīr.
231. Jarīr ibn ‘Abdullāh narrated: “From the day I accepted Islām, the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) never prevented me from entering upon him and every time he saw me, he would smile.” [266]
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
This hadīth explains that the meaning intended with ‘laughing’ mentioned in the previous hadīth referred to smiling i.e. he (peace be upon him) used to smile whenever he saw Jarīr.
232. ‘Abdullāh ibn Mas’ūd narrated: “The Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) said, ‘I know the last of the people of Hell to be brought forth, and the last of the people of Paradise to enter therein. It will be a man who will emerge crawling from Hell, and Allāh, may He be blessed and exalted, will say to him, ‘Go and enter Paradise.’ He will come to it and it will appear to him to be full. He will go back and say, ‘O Lord, I found it full.’ Allāh, may He be blessed and exalted, will say to him, ‘Do you remember your time before [on Earth]?’ The man answers, ‘Yes, I do.’ Allāh, may He be blessed and exalted, will say to him, ‘Make a wish,’ and so the man makes a wish and then Allāh, the Most High, says to him, ‘You will have that which you wished and ten times as much.’ He will say, ‘Are You mocking me – or laughing at me – yet You are the Sovereign?’”
‘Abdullāh ibn Mas’ūd said: “And I saw the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) laugh so that his molars appeared.” [267]
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
The statement of the man, “Are You mocking me – or laughing at me – when You are the King and Sovereign,” was said due to the overwhelming surprise felt by the man. This made him unaware of his words in a similar manner to the incident reported in the hadīth of the man who lost all of his provisions and his camel and then awaited death as he was in the middle of desert. When he saw that his camel had returned, he said out of overwhelming surprise, “O Lord, you are my slave and I am your Lord!”[268]
Al-Bajūrī said,
The reason the man returned after he reached Paradise was because his thought process was according to the rules of this worldly life, his understanding caused him to believe that Paradise only accommodates a specific number of people and so it was full.
Allāh, the Most High, asked the man to make a wish in order to show him that the rules of the worldly life do not apply to Paradise, and thus he could wish for what he likes.
233. Alī ibn Rabī’a narrated: “I was present when an animal (i.e. a horse or a donkey) was brought to Alī ibn Abī Tālib. When he put his feet on the stirrup, he recited ‘Bismillah’ and after he had mounted he said ‘Alhamdulillah’ and supplicated: ‘Subhān Allāh, He who has subjected this to us, and we could not have [otherwise] subdued it. And indeed we, to our Lord, will [surely] return. Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, Allāhu Akbar, Allāhu Akbar, Allāhu Akbar. Subhānak, I have wronged myself so forgive me as no one can forgive me save You.’ Then, he laughed and I asked him, ‘O Chief of Believers! What is the reason for laughing?’ He replied, ‘The Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) also supplicated in this manner and thereafter laughed (smiled). I inquired from him the reason for laughing. The Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) said, ‘Allāh, the Most High, becomes pleased when His servants say, ‘My Lord, forgive my sins. No one can forgive sins save You.’” [269]
Al-Bajūrī said,
Bismillah is recited to mean, “By the blessings of the name of Allāh I mount.” The basis for saying bismillah when mounting is from the statement of Nūh when he mounted the ship as reported in the Qur’ān.
The reason for saying after mounting, “and indeed we, to our Lord, will surely return,” is because a person may fall off and die and so the statement is to remind the person that he will return to Allāh. It is for this reason that it is recommended for a person who takes a means that could lead to death (translator’s note: such as driving cars, taking trains, flying on airplanes etc.) to repent and turn to Allāh during the trip.
Alī al-Qārī said,
The praise is said to praise Allāh, the Most High, for the blessing of having a means of transport.
The statement, ‘Exalted be He’ is to reflect on how the strong horse and camel is tamed to serve the humans who have weak bodies when compared to these animals.
Repeating the praise three times is to show one’s gratitude for the blessing and repeating Allāhu Akbar is to glorify the perfection of Allāh manifested in His creation.
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
“I have wronged myself so forgive me,” is said to acknowledge one’s shortcomings as opposed to the blessings that one has been granted. Thus, with all these blessings it befits that one asks for Allāh’s forgiveness.
234. ‘Āmir ibn al-Aswad narrated from Sa’d ibn Abī Waqqās that: “[Sa’d said] ‘The Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) laughed on the day of the Battle of the Trench until his teeth showed.’ I asked Sa’d, ‘What caused him to laugh?’ He replied, ‘A disbeliever had a shield, and Sa’d was an archer. He was swaying the shield from side to side to protect his forehead, whilst making derogatory remarks. Sa’d took an arrow and kept it ready in the bow. When the disbeliever exposed his head, he quickly aimed at his forehead and did not miss the target. The enemy immediately fell down with his legs rising into the air. On that the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) laughed until his molar teeth were displayed.’ I asked, ‘Why did the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) laugh?’ He replied, ‘Because of what Sa’d did to the man.’” [270]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
The Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) laughed because he was happy that an enemy of Allāh was killed and not because of how the man fell down. This was because that disbeliever caused a lot of harm.