Sneezing in Prayer
مُعَاذِ بْنِ رِفَاعَةَ بْنِ رَافِعٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ صَلَّيْتُ خَلْفَ النَّبِىِّ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- فَعَطَسْتُ فَقُلْتُ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ حَمْدًا كَثِيرًا طَيِّبًا مُبَارَكًا فِيهِ مُبَارَكًا عَلَيْهِ كَمَا يُحِبُّ رَبُّنَا وَيَرْضَى. فَلَمَّا صَلَّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- انْصَرَفَ فَقَالَ « مَنِ الْمُتَكَلِّمُ فِى الصَّلاَةِ ». فَلَمْ يُكَلِّمْهُ أَحَدٌ ثُمَّ قَالَهَا الثَّانِيَةَ « مَنِ الْمُتَكَلِّمُ فِى الصَّلاَةِ ». فَقَالَ رِفَاعَةُ بْنُ رَافِعِ بْنِ عَفْرَاءَ أَنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ. قَالَ « كَيْفَ قُلْتَ ». قَالَ قُلْتُ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ حَمْدًا كَثِيرًا طَيِّبًا مُبَارَكًا فِيهِ مُبَارَكًا عَلَيْهِ كَمَا يُحِبُّ رَبُّنَا وَيَرْضَى. فَقَالَ النَّبِىُّ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- « وَالَّذِى نَفْسِى بِيَدِهِ لَقَدِ ابْتَدَرَهَا بِضْعَةٌ وَثَلاَثُونَ مَلَكًا أَيُّهُمْ يَصْعَدُ بِهَا ».
Mu’adh bin Rifa’ah ibn Rafi’ narrated that his father said: “I prayed behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and I sneezed and said “Praise be to Allah, much good and blessed praise as our Lord loves and is pleased with”. When Allah’s messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) finished praying he said,” Who spoke during the prayer?” But nobody said anything. Then he asked a second time. Therefore Rifa’ah ibn Rafi bin Afra said,” It was me, O messenger of Allah.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “What did you say?” I said,” Praise be to Allah, much good and blessed praise as our Lord loves and is pleased with”. Following this the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,” By the One in whose hand is my soul, thirty some odd angles hastened to see which of them would take it up.”
Collected by Abu Dawud (1/ 490),At- Tirmithi (406) and An-Nisa’i (931). Shaykh Muhammad Adam graded this hadeeth as being Saheeh. Refer to his explanation of Sunnan An-Nisa’i [ vol 12 page 41 printed by Darul Boroom 2004]
Sheikh Muhammad Adam (may Allah preserve him) mentioned some benefits for this hadeeth. He wrote;
1. It’s permissible to raise the voice for thikr as long as it doesn’t disturb others.
2. The sneezer in prayer praises Allah. This isn’t a disliked action.
3. The sneezer in prayer doesn’t deserve anyone (in prayer) to say,”Yarhamukallah”. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his companions didn’t do this. By them not doing so shows that saying,”Yarhamukallah” , is a person’s speech which invalidates the prayer.
4. This thikr has merit. [ end of sheikh’s quote ]
- An-Nawawee (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked,” If a person sneezes in prayer is it recommended for him to praise Allah? And if he does so, is it recommended for the person who hears him to say to him, “May Allah have mercy on you?”
He answered,” Yes, this act is recommended. And it is recommended for the person not praying to say,” May Allah have mercy on you.”
[Taken from Masa’il Al-Manthora question # 19 ]
Translated by Abu Aaliyah Abdullah ibn Dwight Battle
Doha, Qatar 1430 ©
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