The Ruling on Responding to a Sneeze
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
May Allah reward you. Is responding to the sneezer considered an individual obligation (fard 'ayn) or a collective obligation (fard kifayah)?
Answer:
He held that the texts indicate that its obligation is what is known among the scholars as a recommended practice (sunnah), but the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded it. He said, "If he gives thanks, let him say, 'Praise be to Allah,' and if he says, 'Praise be to Allah,' let him say to him, 'May Allah have mercy on you.'" This is a command, so one should not be negligent in this if he hears it.
May Allah reward you. Is responding to the sneezer considered an individual obligation (fard 'ayn) or a collective obligation (fard kifayah)?
Answer:
He held that the texts indicate that its obligation is what is known among the scholars as a recommended practice (sunnah), but the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded it. He said, "If he gives thanks, let him say, 'Praise be to Allah,' and if he says, 'Praise be to Allah,' let him say to him, 'May Allah have mercy on you.'" This is a command, so one should not be negligent in this if he hears it.
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام [ ابن باز ] [ الشرح الجديد ]، تتمة باب الديات — islamhouse.com (16:29)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.