If a person sneezes during prayer, should he say alhamdulillah at that moment or not? And if a person enters upon someone who is praying and greets him, should the one who is praying respond to him or not?
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The questioner : We return to the message from the questioner, Maryam Mahmoud from Libya. She says: If a person sneezes during prayer, should he say alhamdulillah at that moment or not? And if a person enters upon someone who is praying and greets him, should the one who is praying respond to him or not?
The Shaykh : If a person sneezes while praying, he should praise Allah, for that is the Sunnah, as in the hadith of Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam (may Allah be pleased with him), who entered the prayer with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). A man from among the people sneezed while he was praying, so he praised Allah. Mu'awiyah said to him, "May Allah have mercy on you." The people cast their eyes at him, meaning they looked at him with disapproval of this.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then he said, "By my mother, who would have liked to have lost me," and this was said by Mu'awiyah. They began hitting their thighs to silence him, so he was silent. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) finished his prayer, he called him. Mu'awiyah said, "I sacrifice my father and mother for him; I have never seen a teacher who taught better than him. O Allah, send prayers and peace upon him. By Allah, he did not rebuke me or scold me, but he only said:Riyad as-Salihin 700 or as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said.
The questioner : (peace and blessings be upon him).
The Shaykh : We benefit from this hadith that if a person sneezes while praying, he should praise Allah, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not disapprove of the one who sneezed and praised Allah. We also benefit from it that the speech of an ignorant person in prayer does not invalidate his prayer, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam to repeat the prayer. We also benefit from this the good character of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his treatment of the ignorant. By his wisdom, he treated every person according to what they deserve; he treated the ignorant according to their ignorance. Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) made a mistake without a doubt when he spoke in prayer, but he did not know; if he had known, he would not have done it. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught him without rebuking or scolding him. A student of knowledge, or one who enjoins good and forbids evil, should be gentle with the ignorant according to what their situation requires.
Look at another case similar to this one. A man came and entered the mosque; he was a Bedouin. He moved to a corner and began to urinate in the mosque. The people rebuked him and shouted at him, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stopped them. He said: meaning, do not stop him from urinating; let him urinate and finish. When he finished urinating, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called him and said to him: or as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said. The Bedouin then said: "O Allah, have mercy on me and Muhammad, and do not have mercy on anyone with us". Look at the wisdom in treating the ignorant. This was a man urinating in the most noble place on earth after the Sacred Mosque, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered them to leave him alone until he finished urinating, then he spoke to him with this gentleness (peace and blessings be upon him). For every occasion, there is a suitable word.
Look at the man on whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a gold ring. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took it off with his own hand and threw it away, saying:Sahih Muslim 2090 or as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said. This man was treated by the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) with some severity. Perhaps the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) had already announced the prohibition of gold for men, and he knew from the state of this man that he (may Allah be pleased with him) had excused him. He did this either out of negligence or due to a figurative interpretation. The important thing is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) took it off with his hand forcefully and threw it away. This is a call to my brothers, the students of knowledge and those who enjoin good and forbid evil, to use wisdom in guiding people and to place every person in their proper station.
Part of this is when a man comes to ask for a ruling about something he did that is forbidden, do not frown at him or scold him, because he is ignorant and has come seeking forgiveness, as is the way of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The man who came to him and said, "O Messenger of Allah, I am ruined," he said: He said, "I had intercourse with my wife in Ramadan while I was fasting." This is a great matter. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) guided him to the expiations: freeing a slave; if he does not find one, fasting two consecutive months; if he cannot do that, feeding sixty poor people. The man said, "I do not find one, I cannot do it," and he sat down. The man sat, and then dates were brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: as an expiation. The man said, "Am I to give this to someone poorer than me, O Messenger of Allah? By Allah, there is no household between these two hills poorer than me." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) laughed until his molars were visible, and he said: . Consider that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not scold him, rebuke him, or reprimand him; rather, he gave him dates at the end for him and his family to eat. If we treated people with this treatment, much good would result, and people would know Islam and the people of Islam, and that they are people of good and calling to the truth, and that Islam is a religion of ease and simplicity. But sometimes zeal takes us, and we cannot bear it when we see the violations of the sanctities of Allah. You find a person getting angry and speaking harshly to his brother, even if he came seeking forgiveness. But this is a character trait that should be abandoned, and we should treat people as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) treated them.
The questioner : Thank you, O honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you and your knowledge and benefit through you.
The Shaykh : If a person sneezes while praying, he should praise Allah, for that is the Sunnah, as in the hadith of Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam (may Allah be pleased with him), who entered the prayer with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). A man from among the people sneezed while he was praying, so he praised Allah. Mu'awiyah said to him, "May Allah have mercy on you." The people cast their eyes at him, meaning they looked at him with disapproval of this.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then he said, "By my mother, who would have liked to have lost me," and this was said by Mu'awiyah. They began hitting their thighs to silence him, so he was silent. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) finished his prayer, he called him. Mu'awiyah said, "I sacrifice my father and mother for him; I have never seen a teacher who taught better than him. O Allah, send prayers and peace upon him. By Allah, he did not rebuke me or scold me, but he only said:
It is not permissible to talk during Salat because it consists of glorifying Allah, declaring His Greatness as well as recitation of the Qur'an
إن هذه الصلاة لا يصلح فيها شيء من كلام الناس إنما هي التسبيح والتكبير وقراءة القرءانThe questioner : (peace and blessings be upon him).
The Shaykh : We benefit from this hadith that if a person sneezes while praying, he should praise Allah, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not disapprove of the one who sneezed and praised Allah. We also benefit from it that the speech of an ignorant person in prayer does not invalidate his prayer, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam to repeat the prayer. We also benefit from this the good character of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his treatment of the ignorant. By his wisdom, he treated every person according to what they deserve; he treated the ignorant according to their ignorance. Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) made a mistake without a doubt when he spoke in prayer, but he did not know; if he had known, he would not have done it. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught him without rebuking or scolding him. A student of knowledge, or one who enjoins good and forbids evil, should be gentle with the ignorant according to what their situation requires.
Look at another case similar to this one. A man came and entered the mosque; he was a Bedouin. He moved to a corner and began to urinate in the mosque. The people rebuked him and shouted at him, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stopped them. He said:
Do not stop him
لا تزرموهIndeed, these mosques are not suitable for any harm or filth; they are only for prayer and recitation of the Qur'an.
إن هذه المساجد لا يصلح فيها شيء من الأذى أو القذر وإنما هي للصلاة وقراءة القرءانLook at the man on whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a gold ring. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took it off with his own hand and threw it away, saying:
One of you is wishing live coal from Hell. and putting it on his hand.
يعمد أحدكم إلى جمرة من نار فيضعها في يدهPart of this is when a man comes to ask for a ruling about something he did that is forbidden, do not frown at him or scold him, because he is ignorant and has come seeking forgiveness, as is the way of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The man who came to him and said, "O Messenger of Allah, I am ruined," he said:
What has ruined you?
ما أهلكك؟Take this and give it in charity.
خذ هذا تصدّق بهFeed it to your family.
أطعمه أهلكThe questioner : Thank you, O honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you and your knowledge and benefit through you.