All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
The well-known narration with the wording, “Indeed, Allah laughs at a man who gets up from his bed on a cold night...” is not established as a marfu‘ hadith attributed to the Prophet ﷺ with this exact wording. Rather, its meaning is authentically reported from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him, as a mawquf report. A marfu‘ hadith with a similar meaning has also been narrated with the wording, “Our Lord is amazed,” and some scholars graded it hasan. Furthermore, there are authentic and explicit hadiths affirming the Attribute of laughter for Allah Almighty.
A narration with this meaning has been reported from Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him, in which he said:
“Our Lord is amazed at two men: a man who rises from his bedding and covers, leaving his beloved and family, to perform his prayer...”
Narrated by Ahmad (3949), Ibn Hibban (2558), and Ibn Khuzaymah in Kitab al-Tawhid.
The hadith has been narrated as marfu‘ to the Prophet ﷺ, and it has also been narrated as mawquf upon Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him. Al-Daraqutni judged the mawquf version to be correct, while Al-Albani graded some of its chains as hasan and judged the mawquf report to be sahih li-ghayrihi.
As for the well-known wording that explicitly states that Allah Almighty “laughs” at the man who gets up on a cold night, it occurs in a mawquf report from Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated by Al-Tabarani in Al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir. It states:
“Indeed, Allah, Mighty and Majestic, laughs at two men: a man who gets up on a cold night from his bed, blanket, and covers, performs ablution, and then stands for prayer...”
Al-Albani graded this mawquf report as hasan li-ghayrihi.
Accordingly, this exact wording should not be attributed to the Prophet ﷺ as an authentic marfu‘ hadith. It is more accurate to say that it was reported from Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him, while its meaning is supported by other marfu‘ hadiths.
It is reported from Abu al-Darda’, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“There are three whom Allah loves, laughs at, and rejoices over...”
Among those mentioned is a man who gets up during the night despite being able to sleep, leaves his desire for sleep and comfort, and stands to pray.
It was narrated by Al-Tabarani and graded hasan by Al-Mundhiri and Al-Albani.
This hadith indicates the combination of Allah’s love, pleasure, rejoicing, and laughter toward some of His servants who perform acts of obedience with sincerity.
The Attribute of laughter is established for Allah Almighty through explicit and authentic hadiths. Among them is the narration of Al-Bukhari (2826) and Muslim (1890) from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Allah laughs at two men, one of whom kills the other, yet both enter Paradise.”
It is also established in the two Sahih collections, in the story of the last person to enter Paradise, that Allah Almighty laughs at him and then permits him to enter Paradise.
One narration states:
“He will continue supplicating until Allah laughs at him. When He laughs at him, He will say to him: ‘Enter Paradise.’”
These authentic hadiths are sufficient to affirm the Attribute of laughter for Allah Almighty.
Ahl al-Sunnah believe in the Attributes authentically established from Allah Almighty and His Messenger ﷺ, without asking how and without likening them to the attributes of created beings. Thus, it is not asked, “How does Allah laugh?” nor is His laughter likened to the laughter of created beings.
Imam Ibn Khuzaymah, may Allah have mercy on him, stated in Kitab al-Tawhid that it is obligatory to believe that Allah Almighty laughs as the Prophet ﷺ informed us, while remaining silent regarding how His laughter occurs, because Allah Almighty has not informed His servants of the reality of its modality.
Just as Allah Almighty has an Essence unlike the essences of created beings, His Attributes likewise do not resemble the attributes of His creation. Allah Almighty says:
“There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”
[Ash-Shura 42:11]
The widely circulated narration with the wording, “Indeed, Allah laughs at a man who gets up from his bed on a cold night...” is not established as a marfu‘ hadith from the Prophet ﷺ with this exact wording. Rather, it was narrated as a mawquf report from Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him, and some scholars graded it hasan.
As for the basic meaning, it is supported by marfu‘ hadiths, and the Attribute of laughter for Allah Almighty is established through authentic hadiths in Al-Bukhari and Muslim. Therefore, this Attribute should not be rejected because of the weakness of one particular chain of transmission.
It must be affirmed as it has been transmitted, without likening, asking how, or denying the Attribute, while believing that Allah Almighty’s laughter befits His Majesty and Greatness and does not resemble the laughter of created beings.
And Allah knows best.