
Answer
✅Answer: Please pay attention to the following narrations:
1 مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ قَالَ: قَالَ الصَّادِقُ لَا يَقْطَعُ التَّبَسُّمُ الصَّلَاةَ وَ تَقْطَعُهَا الْقَهْقَهَةُ وَ لَا تَنْقُضُ الْوُضُوءَ.
📚 Al-Faqih, vol. 1, page 367
Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: 'A smile does not break the prayer, and loud laughter (qahqaha) breaks it, but it does not break the ablution.'
2 عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي عُمَيْرٍ عَنْ جَمِيلِ بْنِ دَرَّاجٍ عَنْ زُرَارَةَ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَ: الْقَهْقَهَةُ لَا تَنْقُضُ الْوُضُوءَ وَ تَنْقُضُ الصَّلَاةَ.
📚 Al-Kafi, vol. 3, page 364
Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: 'Loud laughter (qahqaha) does not break the ablution, but it does break the prayer.'
3 عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عِيسَى عَنِ الْحُسَيْنِ بْنِ سَعِيدٍ عَنْ أَخِيهِ الْحَسَنِ عَنْ زُرْعَةَ عَنْ سَمَاعَةَ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ الضَّحِكِ هَلْ يَقْطَعُ الصَّلَاةَ قَالَ أَمَّا التَّبَسُّمُ فَلَا يَقْطَعُ الصَّلَاةَ وَ أَمَّا الْقَهْقَهَةُ فَهِيَ تَقْطَعُ الصَّلَاةَ.
📚 Al-Kafi, vol. 3, page 364
Sama'a said: I asked the Imam (Sadiq, peace be upon him) about laughter, does it break the prayer? The Imam said: 'As for a smile, it does not break the prayer, but as for loud laughter (qahqaha), it breaks and invalidates the prayer.'
✅ A few points for further clarification:
1 'Tabassum' (smile) in linguistic books is placed as the first level of 'al-dihk' (laughter) and means 'a smile,' 'silent laughter,' and 'showing one's teeth at the beginning of a laugh.'
2 'Qahqaha' (loud laughter) is said to be 'the repetition of the sound 'qah' in laughter,' 'intense laughter,' 'loud laughter,' and 'boisterous laughter.'
3 According to the above narrations, a 'tabassum' or smile does not violate, break, or invalidate the prayer.
4 In the above narrations, 'qahqaha' causes the violation, breaking, and invalidation of the prayer.
5 In all the narrations on this topic, no distinction is made between intentional and unintentional, or voluntary and involuntary. This means that a smile, whether it is intentional or unintentional, voluntary or involuntary, does not break or invalidate the prayer. And loud laughter (qahqaha), whether intentional or unintentional, voluntary or involuntary, breaks, violates, and invalidates the prayer.
6 Breaking the prayer in the event of loud laughter (qahqaha) necessitates repeating the prayer.
7 The certainty obtained from the above narrations, based on the prayer being broken and invalidated in the event of loud laughter (qahqaha), provides a basis for the necessity of caution in cases where it is ambiguous or doubtful for us whether the laughter was loud laughter (qahqaha) or not, in which case we should repeat the prayer out of caution.
The ruling on laughing during prayer
اللَّهُمَّ فَصَلِّ عَلَی مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ عَجِّلْ لِوَلِیِّکَ الْفَرَجَ وَ الْعَافِیَةَ وَ النَّصْرَ