Abu Said AI Khudri (RA) narrated that the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "Beware! Avoid sitting on the roads." They (the people) said, "0 Allaah's Messenger! We can't help sitting (on the roads) as these are (our places) where we have talks." The Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, "If you refuse but to sit, then pay the road its right." They said, What is the right of the road, O Allaah's Prophet?" He said, "Lowering your gaze, refraining(from harming others, returning greeting, and enjoining what is good, and forbidding what is evil." (Bukhari) In yet another version of this hadeeth, it is recorded that the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) mentioned other rights of the road to include: "Lowering the gaze, guiding the traveller, greeting the one who sneezes when he praises AIlaah, responding to greeting (of salaam) ... "(Bukhari) The Command The sixth right of the road is greeting the one who sneezes when he praises Allaah.
The Messenger of Allaah said: "When one of you sneezes, let him say, :AIhamdu- Lillaah (Praise be to Allaah),and let his brother or companion say to him. Yarhamuk Allaah (May Allaah have mercy on you).If he says, Yarhamuk- Allaah, then let (the sneezer) say, Yahdeekum Allaah wa yuslihu baalakum (May Allaah guide you and rectify your condition). " (Bukhari) Aside from being a right of the road, greeting the one who sneezes is one of the mutual right that Muslims have on one another .Narrated Abu Hurayrah (RA): "I heard Allaahs Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) saying, "The rights of a Muslim on the Muslims are to follow the funeral processions, to accept invitation and to reply the sneezes," (Bukhari).
Many Forms of Greeting
The Sneezer Just as there are various forms of the statement for praising Allaah when one sneezes, there are various versions of the response as well. first version is one that is generally popular. The Messenger of Allaah (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "When anyone of you sneezes, let him say alhamdu Lillaah and let his brother or Companion n say to him, Yarhamu Allaah. If he says Yarhamuk Allaah to him, let him say, Yahdikum Allaahu wa yuslihu baalakum (May Allaah guide you and reform your thinking). " (Bukhari)
Second Version: Another version is mentioned in a hadeeth reported by Imam Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad from Abu Hurayrah (RA) that the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "When one of you sneezes, let him say, :AI-hamdu- Lillaah ala kulli haal (Praise be to Allaah in all situations), and let his brother or companion say to him, Yarhamuk Allaah (May Allaah have mercy on you).If he says, "yarhamuk-Allaah,then let (the sneezer say, Yahdeekum Allaah wa yuslihu baalakum (May Allaah guide you and rectify your condition) .:" (Saheeh)
Third Version: The Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "When one of you sneezes, let him say. :Al-hamdu- Ullaah Rabb il-Aalameen (Praise be to Allaah the Lord of the Worlds): and let the one who responds to him say, Yarhamuk AIlaah (May AIlaah have mercy on you, and let him say, YaghfjrAllaahu lana wa lakum (May AIlaah have mercy on us and you. " (Saheeh a1-Adabal-Mufrad) Abu Hamzah said: I heard Ibn Abbaas (RA) saying when someone said Yarhamuk Allaah (May Allaah have mercy on you)to him: "Aafaana Allaah wa iyyaakum min al-naar, yarhamukum AIlaah (May Allaah save us and you from the Fire; may Allaah have mercy on you)." (Saheeh al-Adab al-Mufrad).
Imaam Maalik (RAH) narrated in al-Muwattafrom Naafithat if Abd-Allaah ibn Umar (RA) sneezed and it was said to him, "YarhamukAllaah (may Allaah have mercy on you),he would say,"Yarhamuna Allaahu wa iyyaakum wa yaghfjr lana wa lakum (may Allaah have mercy on us and you, may He forgive us and you)."
If the Sneezer Did Not Say AI-hamdulillah?
If a Muslim sneezes and did not say :Al-hamduUllaah, does he deserve to have others say "Yarhamuk Allaah" to him? What the scholars have mentioned is that he does not deserve that Yarhamuk AIlaah be said to him, rather, it is even said that it is makrooh to say "Yarhamuk AIlaah" to him. Abu Musa al-Ashari (RA) said: "I heard the Messenger of Allaah (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) say, When one of you sneezes and says "a1-hamdu Lillaah", then say "Yarhamuk Allaah" to him, but ifhe does not say "al-harndu Lillaah", then do not say "Yarhamuk Allaah" to him. " (Muslim)
Should He be reminded?
It is not prescribed that he/she be reminded to praise Allaah, because of the saheeh report from the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) according to which two men sneezed in his presence and he said YarhamukAllaah to one of them but not to the other. The man said: 0 Messenger of Allaah,you said Yarhamuk Allaah to him but not to me. He said: "He praised Allaah and you did not." If reminding the one who sneezes was prescribed, then the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) would have reminded this man to say alhamdu Ullah.
What is the wisdom behind saying "Alhamdullaah" after sneezing?
It should be clear that when Allaah or His Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) commands us to carry out an action, it is not necessary that the reason be made known to us for the obligation of being Muslim requires that we submit to the command of Allaah and His Messenger without reservations. "It is not for a believer, man or woman, when A1laah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error. " (Q33[Ahzab]:36)
On the wisdom behind saying"Alhamdulliah", it recorded that the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "Allaah likes the act of sneezing and dislikes the act of yawning, so if anyone of you sneezes and says "a1-hamdu Lillaah", it is a duty on every Muslim who hears him to say to him, "Yarhamuk Allaah." As for yawning, it is from the Shaytaan, so if any of you feels the urge to yawn, he should suppress it as much as he can, for when anyone of you yawns, the Shaytaan laughs at him. " (al-Bukhaari)
Sneezing brings a person the blessing of relief by releasing vapours that were trapped in the head which, if they were to remain there, would cause him pain and sickness. For this reason, Islam tells him to praise Allaah for this blessing and for the fact that his body is still intact after this jolt that shook him like an earthquake ... for sneezing causes a disturbing movement in the body ... It was said (concerning the origin of the word "tashmee:" [which is translated to as "saying yarhamuk AIlaah, but the original meaning is to tell someone to rejoice at anothers misfortune]): this is telling him to feel joyful because he has annoyed the Shaytaan by praising Allaah for the blessing of sneezing and its association with Things that Allaah likes.. When a person mentions Allaah and praises Him, this annoys the Shaytaan in several ways, for example: the act of sneezing itself, which Allaah likes; his praising Allaah for it; the Muslims praying for mercy for him; and his prayer for them to be guided. All of this annoys the Shaytaan and makes him upset, so the believer is told to rejoice over this annoyance of his enemy. Praying for mercy for the one who sneezes is called tashmeet because it implies that he should rejoice over the annoyance of his enemy.
This is a good meaning which people should bear in mind when they sneeze or say yarhamuk Allaah to one who sneezes, and they should appreciate the blessing of sneezing for the body and mind, and understand why Allaah likes it. Praise be to Allaah as is His due for He is the Most Generous and Majestic. Ibn Hubayrah (RA) said: "If a person sneezes, this is an indication of good health, sound digestion and physical strength, so he should praise Allaah. This is why the Messenger of Allaah (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) commanded us to praise AIlaah.
Praying and Sneezing
If someone sneezes while praying, should he say al-hamdulillaah"? It is prescribed for him to say alhamdulillaah, whether the prayer is obligatory or naafil. This is the view of the majority of scholars among the Sahaabah and Taabi'een, and it was also the view of Imam Maalik, al-Shaafiee and Ahmad, but they differed as to whether he should say it silently or out loud. The correct view and the view of Imam Ahmad is that he should say it out loud, but only loud enough that he can hear himself, lest he distract other worshippers. Rifaaah ibn Raafi(RA) said: "I prayed behind the Messenger of Allaah (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) and I sneezed and said: Praise be to Allaah, much good and blessed praise, as our Lord loves and is pleased with. When the Messenger of Allaah had finished praying he said: "Who is the one who spoke during the prayer?" and no one said anything. Then he said it a second time, "Who is the one who spoke during the prayer?" and no one said anything. Then he said it a third time, "Who is the one who spoke during the prayer?" and Rifaaah ibn Raafi said: It was me o Messenger of Allaah. He said: "What did you say?" He said: I said: Praise be to Allaah, much good and blessed praise, as our Lord loves and is pleased with. The Messenger of Allaah (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "By the One in Whose hand is my soul, thirty-odd angels competed to see which of them would take it up. "(Tirmidhi)
The Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) approved of that and did not rebuke him for it. This indicates that it is prescribed during prayer, but if a person sneezes whilst praying then praises Allaah, it is not permissible for those who hear him to say Yarhamak Allaah because that is part of human speech and it is not permissible during prayer.
The Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) denounced someone who said Yarhamak Allaah to a man who sneezed whilst praying, then he said to him: "In this prayer nothing of human speech is permitted; it is only tasbeeh (glorifying Allaah), takbeer (magnifying Allaah) and recitation of Quraan." (Muslim)
Sneezing Repeatedly
It is right to invoke a blessing on one who sneezes at the most three times. If he sneezes more often, this probably means he has a cold. Salamah ibn al-Akwa(RA) said: A person sneezed in the presence of Allaah's Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) and he said to him: May Allaah have mercy upon you. And he then sneezed for the second time and Allaah's Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said to him: "He is suffering from cold (and no response is necessary)." (Muslim)
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited