Regarding What to Say When You Sneeze

I recently mentioned the three ways to praise Allaah after sneezing, according to the narrations that have come from the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam), which are:

الحَمْدُ للهِ
“All praises are due to Allaah.”

الحَمْدُ للهِ عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ
“All praises are due to Allaah in all situations.”

الحَمْدُ للهِ رَبِّ العَالَمِينَ
“All praises are due to Allaah, the Lord (Creator and Sustainer) of all things.”

These three ways were mentioned by an-Nawawee in his explanation of Saheeh Muslim (18/120), where he said:

قال القاضي: واختلف العلماء في كيفية الحمد والرد، واختلفتْ فيه الآثارُ، فقيل: يقول: الحمد لله، وقيل: الحمد لله رب العالمين، وقيل: الحمد لله على كل حال.  وقال ابن جرير: هو مخيَّر بين هذا كلِّه.  وهذا هو الصحيح.  وأجمعوا على أنه مأمور بالحمد لله.
Al-Qaadhee (‘Iyaadh, d.544) said, “The scholars have differed about the way of praising (Allaah after sneezing) and responding (to it), and the narrations about this are different.  It has been said that he (a Muslim who sneezes) says: Al-hamdulillaah.  It is also said: Al-hamdulillaah rab-bil-‘aalameen.  It has also been said: Al-hamdulillaah ‘alaa kulli haal.  And Ibn Jareer (at-Tabaree, d.310) said: He may choose between any of these options.”  This is what is correct.  And they have all agreed that he has been ordered to (at least) praise Allaah.

However, it should be noted that the narration to support the third phrase above, “All praise is due to Allaah, the Lord (Creator and Sustainer) of all things,” has a weak chain.   It was collected by Aboo Daawood in his Sunan (#2740).  It was classified as dha’eef (unauthentic) by Al-Albaanee in his checking of Sunan Abee Daawood.

The first two phrases are authentically established.  The first one is well-known from Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim.  The second one was collected by at-Tirmithee (#2741), Aboo Daawood (#5033) and others, with an authentic chain on the authority of Aboo Ayyoob (may Allaah be pleased with him).

And Allaah knows best.

13 thoughts on “Regarding What to Say When You Sneeze

  1. As salaam walaykum MashaAllah I never knew this,this is very beneficial..I’m about to ask my wife does she know the 3 ways to praise Allah after sneezing…it’s gonna have everybody in the house mind working inshaAllah

    • What to say when a child sneezes…

      As for the child when he sneezes it is not said to him: ‘May Allah have
      mercy upon you’. But rather Dua’a is made for him that he will have
      blessings. It is said to the child: ‘May Allah bless you.’ This is because a
      child sneezed in the presence of the Prophet وسلم عليه هللا صلى and
      he said: May Allah bless you BarakAllaahu feek [message truncated by admin]

    • Assalamu’alaykum

      Breaking an optional fast upon being invited by a brother for food or continuing it telling him that your fasting. What’s better in reward?

    • السلام عليكم ورحمة الله

      since the Isnaad seems to be munkaar, what is the most correct thing to say after a child sneezes?

      Jazak allahu khayran

    • وعليك السلام ورحمة الله وبركاته

      I don’t know of any reason to believe something different should be said to children.

    • Wa ‘alaykum as-Salaamu wa rahmatullaah wa barakaatuh. Yes, we remind them, as al-Haafith an-Nawawee (may Allah have Mercy on him) said:

      ويستحب لمن حضر من عطس فلم يحمد أن يذكره بالحمد ليحمد فيشمته وقد ثبت ذلك عن إبراهيم النخعي وهو من باب النصيحة والأمر بالمعروف
      “It is recommended for one near a person who sneezed and did not praise [Allah] to remind him to praise, so that he could pray for mercy for him (say “Yarhamuk Allah” back to him), and this has been authentically reported from Ibraaheem an-Nakha’ee, and it is from Naseehah and ordering what is good.” (As quoted in Fat-hul-Baaree, v.10, p.611)

      This is more clear and in line with general Islamic manners than refraining from such a reminder, and the angle used by those scholars to say that he should not be reminded is problematic. So stick to the clear foundation that the Deen is Naseehah (sincere advice), and remind your brothers and sisters of any good, virtuous thing whenever they forget, and Allah knows best.

    • Asalam Alaikum Shaykh May Allah preserve you, just wondering how that angle is problematic because as far as I know and Allah knows best perhaps you can correct me if I’m wrong is that the prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم didn’t remind the person until after to tell them that they should do it regularly as oppose to an individual instance? Please clarify shaykh May Allah preserve you

    • Wa ‘alaykum as-Salaam wa rahmatullaah. Clearly, the Companion in that hadeeth was indeed reminded through the interactions of the other Companions, who asked about our Prophet’s interactions (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace). So he did not leave the gathering unaware. While, if we just ignore and do not advise the person to praise Allah, he may walk away unaware and no reminder came to him at all. We are all forgetful and heedless, and we all benefit from reminders when we forget. And there is no prohibition or discouragement of reminding a Muslim about a form of thikr they forgot in that narration at all.

      Furthermore, it can be said: When someone forgets to say “in shaa’ Allah” about their future plans? We remind them. The Deen is Naseehah. What about if they forget to say “yarhamuk Allah” after someone sneezes and praises? We remind them to say “yarhamuk Allah”. The Deen is Naseehah. What if someone forgets to say Bismillaah before eating or drinking? Again, we remind them. The Deen is Naseehah. So for us to AVOID reminding our brothers and sisters with our Islamic manners at a time of forgetfulness in a specific scenario, we need clear evidence of this. The narration quoted is actually a proof against that, as it includes a person being reminded through interactions and not leaving without being reminded. And Allah knows best.

    • Wa ‘alaykum as-Salaamu wa rahmatullaah wa barakaatuh. According to the authentic hadeeth in the Musnad of al-Imaam Ahmad, as well as some of the Sunan collections (Aboo Daawood & at-Tirmithee), from the report of Aboo Moosaa (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) was described with the following exemplary behavior:

      كان اليهود يتعاطسون عند النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يرجون أن يقول لهم: يرحمكم الله، فيقول: يهديكم الله ويصلح بالكم.
      The Jews would pretend to sneeze near the Prophet -may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace-, hoping that he would say to them, “May Allah have Mercy on you.” So he would say: “May Allah guide you and rectify your affairs.”

      This hadeeth was authenticated by al-Imaam at-Tirmithee, who called it “hasan-saheeh”, and al-‘Allaamah al-Albaanee authenticated it in Irwaa’ al-Ghaleel (no.1127).

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