Daily Lesson 57

This Weeks Sunnah

Sunnah of sneezing and yawning

Listen to  “Sneezing and yawning” Mawlana Junayd Makda Sahib

We all yawn and we all sneeze. They are both natural processes of the body. However, one is a big blessing from Allah Ta’aala and the other is a result of shaytan’s influence on us. Let us learn which is from Allah Ta’aala and which is from shaytan and also what we should do when we sneeze or yawn.

Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“Allah loves sneezing and dislikes yawning. If anyone of you sneezes and says Al-hamdu Lillaah, it is a duty on everyone who hears him to say Yarhamuk Allaah. As for yawning, if anyone of you feels the urge to yawn, let him resist it as much as he can, and do not say Hah, hah (do not make a noise when yawning), for this is from Shaytaan and he laughs at it .”

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 2747)

Sneezing

Sneezing is a blessing from Allah Ta’aala

It contains many physical and spiritual benefits.

It also carries many favours from Allah Ta’aala like releasing harmful particals and germs from the nose and body that we have breathed in.

It’s also a reminder of the power and creation of Allah Ta’aala. For example: how our heart stops beating when we sneeze or how our eyes shut automatically when we sneeze.

Sunnah practices related to sneezing

1) When we sneeze we should cover our mouth. It was the practice of our beloved Nabi ﷺ that he would cover his mouth with a cloth or his hand to muffle the sound (and hold back the spray of sneezing)

– This sunnah is basically the ‘catch it’ phrase which we have all now heard of. It will help us to stay clean and stop the spread of germs.

2) Saying Alhamdulillah after we sneeze. Meaning praising Allah Ta’aala for:

a) Releasing harmful particals from our body.

b) Enabling our heart to beat again after skipping a beat while sneezing.

c) Returning our face back to its normal form.

d) Automatically closing our eyes when sneezing, as if our eyes were to stay open when sneezing, they would pop out!

3) When we hear someone sneeze and say Alhamdulillah it becomes our duty (necessary) to reply:

We will reply by saying: Yarhamukallah (May Allah Ta’aala have mercy on you)

ln reply they will say: Yahdeekumullah wa yuslihu baalakum (May Allah Ta’aala guide you and rectify your condition)

Yawning

Yawning is from shaytan and therefore is disliked.

– Yawning is caused by eating too much and feeling lazy.

Once under the effect of shaytan we will be inclined towards doing wrong.

Prophets did not yawn which also included our beloved Nabi ﷺ who never yawned. This is because they were all protected from the influence of shaytan.

When the urge to yawn comes:

1) We should try to suppress it.

2) If the urge is too strong, we should yawn as lightly as possible. 

3) The mouth should be covered with the left hand when we yawn.

4) We should read ‘la hawla wa la quwwata illa billahil aliyyil adheem’.

Imam al-Nawawi رحمۃ اللہ علیہ says that, beware of the causes that lead to this (laziness and yawning), which is eating too much!

Did you know:

A special method to save yourself from toothache and earache taught to us by Sayyiduna ‘Ali رضي الله عنه

Whoever says the following when hearing a sneeze, will never experience a toothache or an earache:

اَلْحَمْدُ للهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِيْنَ عَلٰى كُلِّ حَالٍ مَّا كَانَ

Alhamdulillahi Rabbil ‘Alamin ‘ala kulli halim ma kana

Translation: All praise belongs to Allah, the Rabb of the universe in every situation

(Al Adabul Mufrad)