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Fatwa CenterProofs related to yawning and sneezing
Question
Please provide the Ahadith about Yawning and Sneezing along with pertaining Du’a. Is the Hadith that Satan gets into the mouth when left uncovered during a yawn Saheeh?
Answer
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
Al-Tirmizi reported a Hadith, and graded it as sound and authentic that Abu Hurairah (Radiya Allahu Anhu) narrated that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: “Sneezing is from Allah, and yawning is from Satan. If anybody amongst yourselves yawns, he has to put his hand on his mouth. And if a person (who yawns) says: Ah, Ah, Satan bursts of laughter on this person. Allah loves sneezing and hates yawning. If a person who yawns says: Ah, Ah, then Satan will laugh from inside this person’s stomach.”
Bukhari reported that Abu Hurairah (Radiya Allahu Anhu) narrated that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: “Allah loves sneezing and hates yawning.”
It is also reported in Saheeh Muslim and Sunan Abu Dawud and Musnad Ahmad that Abu Saeed Al-Khudri said: “The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said that if anybody amongst yourselves yawns, he has to put his hand on his mouth because Satan enters, i.e. from his mouth," as it is reported in the narration of Ahmad. So these Ahadith praise sneezing and disgrace yawning.
Therefore, it is disliked for a person to yawn deliberately but if he can’t avoid it, then there is no problem.
However, there is no Hadith from the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) about the legitimacy of seeking refuge from Satan when yawning. But there is no harm in that as it is stated in the Hadith that yawning is from Satan.
It is a Sunnah for the person who sneezes to Praise Allah, and for the listener to tell him “may Allah have mercy on you.” The person who sneezed should respond “may Allah guide you and rectify your condition.”
In Saheeh Bukhari it is reported that Abu Hurairah (Radiya Allahu Anhu) narrated that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: “When a person sneezes he should say, “All praises are due only to Allah. His brother or companion should say to him: “May Allah have mercy upon you.” And the one who sneezed replies back to him: “May Allah guide you and rectify your condition.”
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