The mention of the hadith of Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam al-Sulami when a man sneezed beside him in prayer and he said to him, "May Allah have mercy on you."
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The Shaykh : It appears that one of the Companions did not grasp this new ruling, which is that there is no speech in prayer. I mean by this the Companion Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam al-Sulami (may Allah be pleased with him). This Mu'awiyah is not Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan al-Umawi, the caliph after the Rightly Guided Caliphs, as you know. Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam al-Sulami narrated about himself, saying: That is, the speech that was previously permissible. Indeed, this prayer is not suitable for any of the speech of people; it is only glorification, magnification, praise, and recitation of the Qur'an. Thus, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught this Companion, Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam al-Sulami, who had overlooked the new ruling, which is what is commanded in the Qur'an, let alone in the Sunnah: [Al-Baqarah 2:238] That is: silent, with no conversation.
Perhaps of benefit, indeed of complete benefit, is to mention the entirety of this hadith, for in Mu'awiyah's turning to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with numerous questions is shown the effect of good upbringing and the use of gentleness and kindness with one who is ignorant of some of the rulings of the religion. You have heard in the past of this hadith that a man, after realizing that he had made a grave error in prayer from the looks of the Companions at him and their striking their thighs, understood from all of that that he had made a grave error. When he saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) coming toward him, he imagined that he would be rebuked, cursed, or struck. But the natural result for one to whom the Blessed and Exalted said in His Book: is to see something other than what he may have imagined in his mind. And so he said, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came toward him: .
When he found this noble Prophetic kindness, he began directing question after question to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to make up for what he might need to know regarding the ruling of Allah the Mighty and Majestic in those matters.
Among what he said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was his saying: That is: they practice, they engage in casting lots with sand
The research, by nature of the reality, is not now to explain this great hadith and comment on every part of it, but rather I mentioned it to show how the ruling evolved and how it reached the prohibition of speech, including responding to the greeting with words, whereas that was previously, at the beginning, permissible and prescribed.
I prayed one day behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and a man sneezed beside me, so I said to him, "May Allah have mercy on you." This was according to the original practice. They looked at him with the corners of their eyes, silent toward him. But the man grew tired of these looks directed at him and said, "Woe to my mother, what is wrong with you that you are looking at me?" He believed he had done nothing wrong. His companion said, "May Allah have mercy on you." Mu'awiyah said: So they began striking their thighs, telling him to be silent. He said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) finished the prayer, he turned to me. By Allah, he did not humiliate me, nor did he overpower me, nor did he strike me, nor did he curse me. He only said to me: "Indeed, this prayer is not suitable for any of the speech of people."
صليت يوماً وراء النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فعطس رجل بجانبي فقلت له يرحمك الله هذا على الأصل فنظروا إليه بمؤخرة أعينهم مسكتين له ولكن الرجل ضجر من هذه النظرات الموجهة إليه فقال: واثكلى أمياه مالكم تنظرون الي؟ هو يعتقد أنه ما فعل شيئا شمت صاحبه يرحمك الله، قال معاوية: فأخذوا ضربا على أفخاذهم اسكت يقولون له، قال: فلما قضى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم الصلاة أقبل إلي فوالله ما قهرني ولا كهرني ولا ضربني ولا شتمني وإنما قال لي: إن هذه الصلاة لا يصلح فيها شيء من كلام الناسand stand before Allah, devoutly obedient.
وقوموا لله قانتينPerhaps of benefit, indeed of complete benefit, is to mention the entirety of this hadith, for in Mu'awiyah's turning to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with numerous questions is shown the effect of good upbringing and the use of gentleness and kindness with one who is ignorant of some of the rulings of the religion. You have heard in the past of this hadith that a man, after realizing that he had made a grave error in prayer from the looks of the Companions at him and their striking their thighs, understood from all of that that he had made a grave error. When he saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) coming toward him, he imagined that he would be rebuked, cursed, or struck. But the natural result for one to whom the Blessed and Exalted said in His Book:
And you are upon a great character
وانك لعلى خلق عظيمBy Allah, he did not humiliate me, nor did he overpower me, nor did he strike me, nor did he curse me. He only said to me: "Indeed, this prayer is not suitable for any of the speech of people; it is only glorification, praise, magnification, and recitation of the Qur'an."
فوالله ما قهرني ولا كهرني ولا ضربني ولا شتمني وإنما قال لي إن هذه الصلاة لا يصلح فيها شيء من كلام الناس إنما هي تسبيح وتحميد وتكبير وتلاوة القرآنWhen he found this noble Prophetic kindness, he began directing question after question to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to make up for what he might need to know regarding the ruling of Allah the Mighty and Majestic in those matters.
Among what he said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was his saying:
O Messenger of Allah, among us are people who visit fortune-tellers. He said: Do not visit them. He said: Among us are people who take omens. He said: Do not let them deter you. He said: Among us are people who cast lots.
يا رسول الله إن منا أقواما يأتون الكهان قال: فلا تأتوهم، قال: إن منا أقواما يتطيرون قال: فلا يصدنكم، قال : إن منا أقواما يخطونHe said: There was a prophet among the prophets who cast lots, and whoever his lot matched, that was it. He said: O Messenger of Allah—and this was his last question—I have a slave girl who tends my sheep in one of the valleys. One day, a wolf attacked my sheep, and I am a human being who gets angry as humans do, so I struck her a blow and vowed to free a slave. I mean, I want to fulfill this vow that is upon me, which is freeing a slave, and I have a slave girl. Will it benefit me if I free her? He said: Bring her. So she came, and he said to the slave girl: Where is Allah? She said: In the sky. He said: Who am I? She said: You are the Messenger. He turned to her master and said to him: Free her, for she is a believer.
قال عليه السلام: قد كان نبي من الأنبياء يخط فمن وافق خطه خطه فذاك، قال: يا رسول الله -وهذا آخر سؤاله- إن لي جارية ترعى غنم لي في أحد فسطا الذئب يوما على غنمي وأنا بشر أغضب كما يغضب البشر فصككتها صكة وعليا عتق رقبة يقول يعني فأنا أريد أن أوفي بهذا النذر الذي علي وهو عتق رقبة وعندي جارية فهل ينفعني أن أعتقها فقال عليه السلام: هاتها، فجاء بها فقال عليه السلام للجارية: أين الله؟ قالت: في السماء قال عليه الصلاة والسلام: من أنا ؟ قالت: أنت رسول، فالتفت إلى سيدها وقال له اعتقها فإنها مؤمنةThe research, by nature of the reality, is not now to explain this great hadith and comment on every part of it, but rather I mentioned it to show how the ruling evolved and how it reached the prohibition of speech, including responding to the greeting with words, whereas that was previously, at the beginning, permissible and prescribed.