During the time of Imam Sajjad, there lived a person in Madinah, who used to make people laugh to earn his livelihood.
Some people suggested that they should invite Imam Sajjad (a.s.) and allow this person to make him laugh a little in an attempt to sidetrack the Imam from his deep lamentation. They gathered together and were on their way to his house when they saw him coming towards them, accompanied by two of his slaves. When the Imam (a.s.) came near, the comediantook the cloak off Imam Sajjad’s (a.s.) shoulders and put it over his own. The people around burst out laughing when they saw this antic.
The Imam (a.s.) inquired, “Who is this person?”
The people around him answered, “He is a person who makes people laugh and receives money from them for his antics.”
“Inform him that those who expend their lives in a futile way performing absurd acts shall be the losers on the Day of Judgment,” advised the Imam (a.s.).
After hearing this, the comedian stopped his annoying behaviour and mended his ways( Darsi Az Akhlaaq, pg. 120; Al-Amaali (Sheikh Mufid), pg. 128.)