Project "Revive a Sunnah" Week 5

Week 5: November 3rd-10th 2006

(12th-19th of Shawwaal 1427 AH)

With the first snowfall of the season on Thursday, the cold-weather is definitely here. It’s not officially winter as of yet, but in our minds we only have two seasons: Summer and Winter (HOT and COLD). And, with the rapid change in weather, it is very likely that you will stumble upon a Muslim who sneezes. In fact, we all sneeze from time to time. So, what did the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) teach us about sneezing? He taught us exactly what to say to the one who sneezes, and also how to follow-up with a reply. There are those who practice this sunnah strictly, and there are others who seem to be totally alienated from it. But what I have really seen is that most people are practicing this sunnah with a slight deficiency. This will be explained shortly, insha Allah. Therefore, it is time to revive the sunnah of sneezing, bi idhnillah!

Firstly, let’s extract this sunnah from the Ahadith.

From the Ahadith:

1.
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (PBUH) said, "Allah likes sneezing and dislikes yawning. When any one of you sneezes and says `Al-hamdu lillah (praise be to Allah)', it becomes obligatory upon every Muslim who hears him to respond with `Yarhamuk-Allah (may Allah have mercy on you)'. Yawning is from the devil. When one of you feels like yawning, he should restrain it as much as possible, for the devil laughs when one of you yawns.''
[Al-Bukhari]

2.
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (PBUH) said, "When one of you sneezes he should say: `Al-hamdu lillah (praise be to Allah),' and his brother or his companion should say to him: `Yarhamuk-Allah (may Allah have mercy on you).' When he says this he should reply: `Yahdikum-ullah wa yuslihu balakum (may Allah guide you and render sound your state of affairs).'''
[Al-Bukhari]

Alhumdulillah, these ahadith are very straight-forward, and from this we can deduce the encouraged sunnah to be practiced at the time of sneezing. However, the mistake that I see most people making is that as soon as someone sneezes, they say “Yarhamuk-Allah”. Clearly, from the ahadith, the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) told us to say “Yarhamuk-Allah” to the one who sneezes AFTER he/she has praised Allah by saying “Al-hamdu lillah”.

This is proven in the following hadith:

Narrated Anas bin Malik (May Allah be pleased with him): Two men sneezed before the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam). The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said to one of them, "Yarhamuk-Allah (May Allah bestow His Mercy on you)," but he did not say that to the other. On being asked (why), the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, "That one praised Allah (at the time of sneezing), while the other did not praise Allah."
[Al-Bukhari]

In conclusion, brothers and sisters, if you are practicing this sunnah as taught by the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam), then may Allah reward you. If you were not aware that you have to wait for someone to praise Allah before you say “Yarhamuk-Allah”, then insha Allah implement this humble reminder. And, for those who are hearing of this sunnah for the first time, then may Allah help you to implement it in your every-day life.

And Allah knows best.

You are most welcome to direct any Feedback/Comments/Suggestions/Nominations to albosnawi@gmail.com

May Allah reward you all.
Praise be to Allah and may the blessings be upon the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam).

Wa Salaamu Alaykoum,

Kemal Smajlovic