A person sneezes in a gathering of knowledge: should he raise his voice with "Alhamdulillah"? And if he greets, should he raise his voice with the greeting?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you, O Shaykh. If a person enters a gathering of knowledge, or if he sneezes in the gathering of knowledge itself, should he offer the greeting with a loud voice, or should he praise Allah with a loud voice or a low voice?
The Shaykh : If it disturbs those present, he should not raise his voice; he should sit down. When the gathering ends, he should offer the greeting. If it does not disturb them, meaning that people are accustomed to this and that if he greets, one of them will respond, then there is no harm. Likewise, regarding sneezing, I do not think he should embarrass the people by praising Allah with a raised voice, because that would embarrass them. If we say that responding to the sneezer is an individual obligation, that means everyone, for example, a thousand people listening, all of them would say, "May Allah have mercy on you." A thousand voices! This is embarrassing and causes disturbance in the gathering. So, "Alhamdulillah"—he should praise Allah quietly, and Allah the Exalted will reward him for his praise. Yes.
The Shaykh : If it disturbs those present, he should not raise his voice; he should sit down. When the gathering ends, he should offer the greeting. If it does not disturb them, meaning that people are accustomed to this and that if he greets, one of them will respond, then there is no harm. Likewise, regarding sneezing, I do not think he should embarrass the people by praising Allah with a raised voice, because that would embarrass them. If we say that responding to the sneezer is an individual obligation, that means everyone, for example, a thousand people listening, all of them would say, "May Allah have mercy on you." A thousand voices! This is embarrassing and causes disturbance in the gathering. So, "Alhamdulillah"—he should praise Allah quietly, and Allah the Exalted will reward him for his praise. Yes.