People and neighbours · When the moment comes
Reply 'Yarhamuk Allah' to a sneezer
- The practice
- Say 'Yarhamuk Allah' when someone sneezes and praises Allah
- When
- someone sneezes and says Alhamdulillah
- In daily life
- When a colleague or someone at the dinner table sneezes and says 'Alhamdulillah', answer 'Yarhamuk Allah' right away, even mid-meeting. It's a small moment of care that people notice.
The sources
نَهَانَا النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنْ سَبْعٍ نَهَى عَنْ خَاتَمِ الذَّهَبِ ـ أَوْ قَالَ حَلْقَةِ الذَّهَبِ ـ وَعَنِ الْحَرِيرِ، وَالإِسْتَبْرَقِ، وَالدِّيبَاجِ، وَالْمِيثَرَةِ الْحَمْرَاءِ، وَالْقَسِّيِّ، وَآنِيَةِ الْفِضَّةِ، وَأَمَرَنَا بِسَبْعٍ بِعِيَادَةِ الْمَرِيضِ، وَاتِّبَاعِ الْجَنَائِزِ، وَتَشْمِيتِ الْعَاطِسِ، وَرَدِّ السَّلاَمِ، وَإِجَابَةِ الدَّاعِي، وَإِبْرَارِ الْمُقْسِمِ، وَنَصْرِ الْمَظْلُومِ.
“The Prophet ﷺ forbade us to use seven things: He forbade using gold rings, silk, Istabraq, Dibaj, red Mayathir, Al-Qassiy, and silver utensils. He ordered us to do seven other things. To pay a visit to the sick; to follow funeral processions; to say, "May Allah be merciful to you" to a sneezer if he says "Praise be to Allah"; to return greetings, to accept invitations; to help others to fulfil their oaths and to help the oppressed ones”Arabic: ara-bukhari · Translation: Muhsin Khan (eng-bukhari), from the eng-bukhari edition of hadith-api (public domain), sunnah.com numbering.
أَمَرَنَا النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِسَبْعٍ، وَنَهَانَا عَنْ سَبْعٍ أَمَرَنَا بِاتِّبَاعِ الْجَنَائِزِ، وَعِيَادَةِ الْمَرِيضِ، وَإِجَابَةِ الدَّاعِي، وَنَصْرِ الْمَظْلُومِ، وَإِبْرَارِ الْقَسَمِ، وَرَدِّ السَّلاَمِ، وَتَشْمِيتِ الْعَاطِسِ. وَنَهَانَا عَنْ آنِيَةِ الْفِضَّةِ، وَخَاتَمِ الذَّهَبِ، وَالْحَرِيرِ، وَالدِّيبَاجِ، وَالْقَسِّيِّ، وَالإِسْتَبْرَقِ.
“Allah's Messenger ﷺ ordered us to do seven things and forbade us to do other seven. He ordered us: to follow the funeral procession. to visit the sick, to accept invitations, to help the oppressed, to fulfill the oaths, to return the greeting and to reply to the sneezer: (saying, "May Allah be merciful on you," provided the sneezer says, "All the praises are for Allah,"). He forbade us to use silver utensils and dishes and to wear golden rings, silk (clothes), Dibaj (pure silk cloth), Qassi and Istabraq (two kinds of silk cloths)”Arabic: ara-bukhari · Translation: Muhsin Khan (eng-bukhari), from the eng-bukhari edition of hadith-api (public domain), sunnah.com numbering.
حَقُّ الْمُسْلِمِ عَلَى الْمُسْلِمِ خَمْسٌ رَدُّ السَّلاَمِ، وَعِيَادَةُ الْمَرِيضِ، وَاتِّبَاعُ الْجَنَائِزِ، وَإِجَابَةُ الدَّعْوَةِ، وَتَشْمِيتُ الْعَاطِسِ ".
“I heard Allah's Messenger ﷺ saying, "The rights of a Muslim on the Muslims are five: to respond to the salaam, visiting the sick, to follow the funeral processions, to accept an invitation, and to reply to those who sneeze. (see Hadith)”Arabic: ara-bukhari · Translation: Muhsin Khan (eng-bukhari), from the eng-bukhari edition of hadith-api (public domain), sunnah.com numbering.
عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " إِذَا عَطَسَ أَحَدُكُمْ فَلْيَقُلِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ. وَلْيَقُلْ لَهُ أَخُوهُ أَوْ صَاحِبُهُ يَرْحَمُكَ اللَّهُ. فَإِذَا قَالَ لَهُ يَرْحَمُكَ اللَّهُ. فَلْيَقُلْ يَهْدِيكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيُصْلِحُ بَالَكُمْ ".
“The Prophet ﷺ said, " If anyone of you sneezes, he should say 'Al-Hamduli l-lah' (Praise be to Allah), and his (Muslim) brother or companion should say to him, 'Yar-hamuka-l-lah' (May Allah bestow his Mercy on you). When the latter says 'Yar-hamuka-llah", the former should say, 'Yahdikumul-lah wa Yuslih balakum' (May Allah give you guidance and improve your condition)”Arabic: ara-bukhari · Translation: Muhsin Khan (eng-bukhari), from the eng-bukhari edition of hadith-api (public domain), sunnah.com numbering.
قَالَ عَطَسَ رَجُلاَنِ عِنْدَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَشَمَّتَ أَحَدَهُمَا وَلَمْ يُشَمِّتِ الآخَرَ، فَقِيلَ لَهُ فَقَالَ " هَذَا حَمِدَ اللَّهَ، وَهَذَا لَمْ يَحْمَدِ اللَّهَ ".
“Two men sneezed before the Prophet. The Prophet ﷺ said to one of them, "May Allah bestow His Mercy on you," but he did not say that to the other. On being asked (why), the Prophet ﷺ said, "That one praised Allah (at the time of sneezing), while the other did not praise Allah”Arabic: ara-bukhari · Translation: Muhsin Khan (eng-bukhari), from the eng-bukhari edition of hadith-api (public domain), sunnah.com numbering.
Part of: Meeting People
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Get early accessSources: Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, and narrations of Jami at-Tirmidhi graded sahih or hasan sahih by al-Albani.