He sneezed whilst he was praying – should he say al-hamdu Lillaah ?
Adil ibn Manzoor Khan
He sneezed whilst he was praying – should he say al-hamdu Lillaah?
If a person sneezes whilst he is praying, it is prescribed for him to say al-hamdu Lillaah, may He be glorified, whether the prayer is obligatory or naafil. This is the view of the majority of scholars among the Sahaabah and Taabieen, and it was also the view of Imam Maalik, al-Shaafai 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 worshipers.
That is indicated by the general meaning of the report narrated
by Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him), that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If one of you
sneezes, let him say Al-hamdu Lillaah…”
The hadeeth was narrated by
al-Bukhaari.
That is also supported by the report narrated by Rifaaah
ibn Raafi (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: I prayed behind
the Messenger of Allaah (pbuh) 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 (pbuh) 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 (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, thirty-odd angels competed to see which of them would take it up.”
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood and al-Nasaai. Al-Tirmidhi said: a hasan hadeeth. Al-Haafiz narrated in al-Tahdheeb from al-Tirmidhi that it is saheeh.
It was also narrated by al-Bukhaari in his Saheeh
but he did not mention that he said that after sneezing, rather he said
it after rising from bowing. It may be that he sneezed whilst rising
from bowing and he said that because he sneezed, and the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 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 (may Allaah have mercy on you), because that is part of human speech and it is not permissible during prayer.
It is proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 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.” Narrated by Imam Muslim, Abu Dawood and al-Nasaa’i.
Yes, he should say that, and anyone who hears
him and is NOT himself praying should say "Yarhamuk Allaah" to him. If you are praying and you hear someone saying "Al-hamdu
Lillaah" , you are NOT supposed to answer him but continue with your salah.
From Fataawa al-Imaam al-Nawawi, p. 50.
http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ref=106435&ln=eng)
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