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Fatwa CenterThis narration about Sawdah is very weak
Question
Assalaamu alaykum dear Scholars. My question is in regards to the following narration of Sawdah bint Zamaah, which is narrated as follows:
"When Saudah first heard about the Dajjal from the Prophet, she was terrified. Being the simple person that she was, it became a hobby for the others to talk about it and frighten her and then laugh at her. On one occasion, 'Aa'ishah and the Mother of the Believers Hafsah started talking about it in front of her. She was so scared that she immediately ran into a dark room full of cobwebs to hide from the monster. When the Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, walked in, he found the two enjoying the joke. He asked them what was so amusing. On being told what had happened, he called out to Sawdah to come out as there was no monster around. She came out, sheepishly laughing at herself."
My first question in regards to this narration is: if it has been stated in Islam that it is not permitted to make fun of others, then why does it show the Prophet's wives making fun of sawdah. My second question is: is this narration authentic or weak, and in what book of Hadith or texts has this been reported? Please shed some light on this narration as this is very confusing. May Allaah reward you.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
This story is not authentic, its chain of narration is weak, and its content is strange and unlikely.
It has been reported on the authority of Ruzaynah, the slave girl of the Prophet that 'Aa'ishah and Hafsah were once sitting together when Sawdah came to visit, dressed in fine clothes. Raising their eyebrows at each other, Hafsah said to 'Aa'ishah, "The Prophet will come and see her shining among us!" 'Aa'ishah said to her, "Fear Allaah, O Hafsah, fear Allaah, O Hafsah." Hafsah said, "I will ruin her fine appearance." Then, with a gleam in her eye, Hafsah told Sawdah, "The one-eyed one has come out (meaning the Dajjaal)!" Sawdah panicked and asked, "Where can I hide?" Hafsah pointed at a tent outside – one where they used to abandon unwanted items and that was full of cobwebs and other creepy-crawlies." Sawdah fled to the tent, and Hafsah and 'Aa'ishah broke into laughter. They were still laughing when the Prophet came, and he asked them three times why they were laughing. They pointed at the tent. He went to the tent to find Sawdah shaking and asked her, "O Sawdah, what is wrong?" She said, "O Messenger of Allaah, the one-eyed one has come out." He said, "He has not come out and he verily will. He has not come out and he verily will. He has not come out and he verily will." He went in and took her out, brushing the cobwebs and dust off her. [Musnad Abu Yaʻla Al-Mawsili]
Al-Haythami 
cited this report in his book Al-Majmaʻ and commented, "Some of the reporters in its chain of narration are unknown to me."
Tahqeeq Al-Mataalib Al-ʻAaliyah, prepared by Dr. Saʻd Ash-Shatri, reads, "This report is very weak; its chain of narration contains three unknown reporters and its meaning further indicates its weakness."
As long as the report is weak and its authenticity is questioned and criticized by scholars, it is not accepted; there is no need for detailing its interpretation or answering its problematic aspects.
Allaah knows best.
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