Among the innumerable and invaluable bounties of Allah Ta‘ala upon man is the bounty of intelligence. There are many people in the world who completely lack intelligence, such as those who are mentally retarded, and there are many who possess limited intelligence, to the extent that their foolishness brings them harm in this world or the next.
Below are a few selected incidents of foolish people whose notorious shenanigans earned them an enviable place in the books of history. On reading their incidents, we should thank Allah Ta‘ala that He granted us understanding and saved us from such foolishness. Through His infinite grace and mercy, of saving us from foolishness, Allah Ta‘ala had protected us from bringing disgrace and humiliation to ourselves.
Habannaqah
There was a person from the Banu Qais tribe known as Habannaqah who was renowned for his foolishness. Such was his foolishness that he had made a necklace out of seashells, bones and pieces of pottery which he would wear around his neck. He would explain the reason for wearing this distinctive necklace saying, “I am wearing it as I am afraid that I may lose myself. If I get lost, then I will be able to recognize myself through this necklace!”
One night, it so happened that the necklace ended up around his brother’s neck. The following morning, when Habannaqah woke up and saw the necklace around his brother’s neck, he was perplexed and said, “You are now me, so who am I?” (Akhbaarul Hamqaa wal Mughaffaleen pg. 33)
Hamzah bin Beedh
Another person renowned for his foolishness was Hamzah bin Beedh. Such was his foolishness that he once asked his slave, “On which day did we perform jumu‘ah in Rusaafah?” The slave pondered for a moment and then replied, “It was on a Tuesday!” (Akhbaarul Hamqaa wal Mughaffaleen pg. 35)
Azhar
Yet another foolish person, who was also quite talkative, was a man named Azhar. He would often be found in the company of the governor, ‘Amr bin Laith. One day a messenger came to ‘Amr from the king. Hence, ‘Amr requested Azhar to refrain from speaking saying, “Please beautify us with your silence today.”
Accordingly, Azhar remained silent for some time, but ultimately, he ran out of patience and blurted, “I built a tower in the town, and it is one thousand feet in height!” As soon as he opened his mouth, the doorkeeper gestured to him to remain silent. However, the messenger turned to him and asked, “What is the width of the tower?” Azhar replied, “It is one foot wide.”
The messenger incredulously responded, “A width of one foot is insufficient for a tower that is one thousand feet in height!” Azhar replied, “I wanted to increase the width, but this doorkeeper stopped me!” (Akhbaarul Hamqaa wal Mughaffaleen pg. 39)
Abu ‘Abdillah Al-Jassaas
A fourth fool was a man named Abu ‘Abdillah Al-Jassaas. It is mentioned that when the mother of Zujaaj had passed away, many people went to him to console him and convey their condolences. At that time, Al-Jassaas arrived, laughing in delight and exclaiming, “Alhamdulillah! By Allah I am overjoyed!”
Observing this, Zujaaj and the other people present were in a state of dismay. Someone then asked him, “How can the calamity which grieves him and grieves us be a cause of happiness for you?” He responded, “I had initially heard that he was the one who passed away (and that made me sad). Thereafter, when the correct information reached me, that it was actually his mother who died, I was overcome with joy!” At this, all the people present laughed at his foolishness. (Akhbaarul Hamqaa wal Mughaffaleen pg. 41)