What is the ruling on saying “I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan” after yawning?

The questioner : Yes. What is the ruling on saying “I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan” after yawning?

The Shaykh : I am not aware of any Sunnah regarding this, and therefore a person should not say it unless it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Some people say “I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan” when they yawn. We say: if the Sunnah had come with this, we would follow it with our eyes and heads, but no Sunnah has come regarding this. Rather, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded a person who yawns to hold it in as much as he can; if he cannot, he should place his hand over his mouth like this. The same applies to belching. What is belching? It is repeated... no, in the language, I do not know why it is called that; it is called *taghar*. Yes, when some people belch, they say “Praise be to Allah.” This also has no basis, and I am not aware of any Sunnah regarding it. If we were to say that this is prescribed, we would also say that one should praise Allah when something comes out from his rear, but people do not do that either. The correct view is that everything that exists... and this is one of the important principles: if a thing was found in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and he did not prescribe anything for his Ummah regarding it, then the default is that it is not prescribed.