He says in his letter to the brothers, the presenters of the program *Nur 'ala al-Darb*: “Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings. And after that, my brothers, the shaykhs and scholars, I am…”
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The questioner : This letter reached us from the sender, Abd al-Rahman Abd al-Aziz Talal al-Ghamidi, from Abha, the brother of the school of Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf. He says in his letter to the brothers, the presenters of the program *Nur 'ala al-Darb*: “Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings. And after that…”
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The questioner : My brothers, the shaykhs and scholars, I am grateful, though unable to fully express my thanks for the effort you put into these questions. He says, “I ask you to answer my questions, and may you have my thanks. The first question: What is the ruling if a person sneezes while the imam is delivering the sermon and you are next to him? Is it permissible for you to respond to his sneeze or not?”
The Shaykh : It is not permissible for you to respond to his sneeze, because listening to the sermon is more important. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “If you say to your companion, ‘Be quiet,’ on Friday while the imam is delivering the sermon, you have spoken in vain.”
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Even though making the speaker be quiet is among the obligatory matters, because speaking during the sermon is forbidden and an evil that must be refuted. However, since this refutation involves being preoccupied with it to the detriment of listening to the sermon, this indicates that it is not permissible for a person to be preoccupied with anything that distracts him from listening to the sermon.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The questioner : My brothers, the shaykhs and scholars, I am grateful, though unable to fully express my thanks for the effort you put into these questions. He says, “I ask you to answer my questions, and may you have my thanks. The first question: What is the ruling if a person sneezes while the imam is delivering the sermon and you are next to him? Is it permissible for you to respond to his sneeze or not?”
The Shaykh : It is not permissible for you to respond to his sneeze, because listening to the sermon is more important. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “If you say to your companion, ‘Be quiet,’ on Friday while the imam is delivering the sermon, you have spoken in vain.”
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Even though making the speaker be quiet is among the obligatory matters, because speaking during the sermon is forbidden and an evil that must be refuted. However, since this refutation involves being preoccupied with it to the detriment of listening to the sermon, this indicates that it is not permissible for a person to be preoccupied with anything that distracts him from listening to the sermon.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.