Does laughing too much kill your heart? I don't think so

There is a hadith that was narrated by Ibn Majah as saying,

"لا تكثروا الضحك فإن كثرة الضحـك تميت القلب"

"Don't laugh too much. Laughing too much kills your heart."

This hadith was popularized by Hassan Albanna as one of his "ten commandments."

However, I have issues with this hadith and wonder about its authenticity since it seems to contradict common knowledge about wellness and emotional health.

I am not sure that laughing too much kills your heart. I tend to think that it is the lack of laughter that kills your heart and spirit.

I wonder if this hadith was made up by someone who is depressed or who has a very serious personality; someone doesn't like to laugh and doesn't want anyone else to laugh either.

Many people, including very religious people—not all by any means—are just serious by nature and have no sense of humor or fun. I think genetics plays a large part in that and perhaps an unhappy upbringing. People are the way they are and if they are happy with being serious all the time that is fine, but they have no right to tell others that they have to live like they do and shun laughter and happiness.

كمْ عالمٍ منغـّص اللذاتِ .. يفضـّلُ الموتَ على الحياةِ

There are also people who have what is called "happiness anxiety" and feel guilty when they are happy because they don't feel that they deserve to be happy. This is a view of life that does not cultivate wellness, optimism, or productivity. It just makes people depressed and gives them a sense of hopelessness.

Yes, too much laughter sometimes makes you look like an idiot, but you don't have to laugh like an idiot. Laughter can be pleasant and heartwarming.

Laughter has been said to be the best medicine. Some call laughter "internal jogging."

There is solid research that indicates that laughing releases endorphins (our natural pain killers), reduces stress hormones, strengthens cardiovascular functions, lowers blood pressure, oxygenates the body by boosting the respiratory system, and produces a general sense of well-being.

I would love to hear evidence that laughing, little or much, has negative effects.

Shunning happiness does not cultivate progress

There is a tendency especially in the Arab World--perhaps because of our grim political situation--to shun happiness, based on the thought that we have to keep working diligently and not distracting ourselves with pleasures.

Many people believe that having fun and feeling good makes you an unproductive person because you become too immersed with life's joys.

But in fact, laughing in times of difficulty recharges your battery and makes you more positive, which makes you more productive and better able to face challenges.

After a long laugh, it is common for people in Jordan to say something like.

"اللهم اكفنا شر الضحك؟"

"God spare me the evils of laughing."

As if laughing is going to result in something bad.

If you dance and have fun for no occasion they will say, "How can you be singing, dancing and laughing when there are people dying?" People are afraid to be jinxed if they get too happy.

For these people, being happy in any way tends to activate voices, internal or external, that say, "This happiness is bound to bring bad luck", "You don't deserve to be happy", "It will never last", "Happiness is only an illusion", or "No one else is happy so why should I be?"

This is a reflection of the state of depression and anxiety that I believe people feel on a group level in the Arab World. Negative attitudes are self-reinforcing and self-perpetuating. Feeling better allows you to live better. It allows you to respond to challenges and opportunities more resourcefully and effectively.

Happiness correlates with optimism, intuitiveness, creativity, independence, ability to manage change, and flexibility. Unhappiness correlates with pessimism, rigidity, negativity and lack of determination.

Being confident that we are worthy of happiness, and being able to experience and enjoy it, gives birth to self-fulfilling prophecies.

Are laughing and spirituality at odds?

I think there is a misconception, particularly among many Muslims, that spirituality requires a person to be serious and dull. Hassan Albanna in his "ten commandments" says,


"لا تكثر الضحك فإن القلب الموصول بالله ساكن وقور. لا تمزح فإن الأمة المجاهدة لا تعرف إلا الجد"

"Do not laugh much; for the heart that is connected with God is still and dignified. Do not joke; for the nation that is in jihad only knows seriousness."

I disagree with this and I believe that it does not have a strong basis in the Quran.

Spirituality doesn't mean hating life and just waiting to die. That is just depression. Spirituality means loving life and being happy to be alive. It means enjoying the simple pleasures of life such as laughing. It means being appreciative of what life (God) has offered. It means expressing and receiving the joys of life knowing that it is your divine privilege. It means being grateful and giving back.

"Meditation is embracing the full catastrophe and dancing with it."
Jon Kabat-Zinn