Muslims are required to invoke mercy for the Muslim who sneezes and praises Almighty Allah following the sneeze. It is a Muslim’s duty towards other Muslims that if one of them sneezes in the presence of another and praises Almighty Allah following the sneeze, the other person invokes mercy for him. But the sneezer is not to be answered in the following cases: if he is a non-Muslim, if he is a Muslim but has not praised Almighty Allah following the sneeze, if he has a common cold and sneezes every now and then, if he is preoccupied with supplicating Almighty Allah, or if he is attending the Friday sermon.
In his book Fayd Al-Qadir, the great scholar Al-Manawi commented on the hadith reported by Muslim regarding answering sneezers, “When one of you sneezes and praises Almighty Allah (following the sneeze), answer him (by praying to Almighty Allah to have mercy upon him).”’ According to Al-Manawi, when one sneezes, one’s muscles are not relaxed, and invoking mercy for one implies praying to Almighty Allah to bring the sneezer’s muscles back to a state of relaxation.
According to the majority of jurists, the Prophet’s saying in the hadith: ”‘answer him’ is not imperative, but indicates that it is a recommended act. But Ibn Daqiq Al-`Eid and Ibn Al-Qayyim are of the opinion that it is imperative, and based on their opinion it is said that answering the sneezer is an individual duty upon the Muslim in whose presence another Muslim sneezes (and praises Almighty Allah following the sneeze), and it is also said that it is a collective duty.
It is reported that Al-Bara’ (may Allah be pleased with him) said: ‘The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered us to do seven (things) and forbade us from seven (other things): He ordered us to visit the sick, to follow funeral possessions, to say, ‘May Allah be merciful to you’ to a sneezer, – if he says, ‘Praise be to Allah’, to accept an invitation (invitation to a wedding banquet), to return greetings, to help the oppressed, and to help others fulfill their oaths (provided the oaths are not sinful). And he forbade us from seven (things): to wear gold rings or gold bangles, to wear silk (cloth), Dibaj, Sundus and Mayathir.’
In his book Fath Al-BariIbn Hajar commented on the question of answering the sneezer and classified the sneezers who are not to be answered as follows:
First, the sneezer who does not praise Almighty Allah following the sneeze:
Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that two persons sneezed in the presence of Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) invoked mercy for one, but did not invoke mercy for the other. The one for whom he (peace and blessings be upon him) had not invoked mercy said to the Pr
ophet: “So and so sneezed and you said: ‘May Allah have mercy upon you’. I also sneezed but you did not utter these words for me.” Thereupon, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “That person praised Allah, and you did not praise Allah.”
Second, the sneezer who is not Muslim:
Abu Dawud reported that Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Jews would sneeze in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) so that he (peace and blessings be upon him) may invoke mercy for them, but he (peace and blessings be upon him) would answer their sneeze by saying: ‘May Almighty Allah guide you to the right path and set your mind right.’”
According to Ibn Daqiq Al-`Eid, if we took into account the opinion that answering the sneezer means wishing him good in general, the non-Muslims who sneeze may be answered by Muslims, but in a special way. They should ask Almighty Allah to guide them to the right path and set their mind right [as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did with the Jews according to the above hadith.
Third, the one who repeatedly sneezes due to catching cold:
If a Muslim sneezes more than three times in the presence of another Muslim, he may not be answered, for this is due to having a cold, the sneezing of which does not require answering. Al-Bukhari reported in his Al-Adab Al-Mufrad that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “He who sneezes once, or twice, or thrice (and praises Almighty Allah following each sneeze) his sneezing is to be answered [each time]; if the sneezing exceeds three times it is then considered to be a cold [that does not require answering the sneezer].”
If one has sneezed [three times] successively without being able to praise Al
mighty Allah after each sneeze, but then praises Allah repeatedly (as many times as he sneezed), it is controversial among scholars whether or not he is to receive the prayer for sneezing once or thrice, but the most dependable opinion is that he may be prayed for thrice.
An-Nawawi, an eminent scholar, reported on the authority of Ibn Al-`Arabi that scholars have differed as to when one should say to he who sneezes repeatedly that it is a cold. Should this be said after the second, the third or the fourth sneeze? The most dependable view in this regard is that he is to be told so after the third sneeze. That is to say, he is to receive the prayer for sneezing thrice and then be told that he has a cold and thereafter the prayer for sneezing is not required.
It may be argued that if a person has a cold and sneezes repeatedly it is with greater reason that he receives the prayer for sneezing for he is sick and in need of others’ prayers for him. This argument can be answered as follows: it is true that a person in this case needs others’ prayers for him, but it need not necessarily be the prayer for sneezing; he may receive another prayer such as asking Almighty Allah to cure his illness.
Fourth, he who does not like to be answered after sneezing (and praising Almighty Allah):
Ibn Daqiq Al-`Eid said: ‘Some scholars are of the opinion that if it is known about a certain person that he does not like to be answered after sneezing (and praising Almighty Allah), he is not to be answered so that the prayer for the sneezer is not affected by being said for one who does not want it. If it is argued that praying for the sneezer is an act of the Sunnah, it can be said that it is the kind of Sunnah that may be done for he who likes it. This ruling, according to those scholars, also applies to he who does not like to be greeted or visited when sick.’
Ibn Daqiq Al-`Eid then said: ‘As to my point of view, I see that such an act of the Sunnah is not to be given up unless harm is feared from the sneezer who does not like to be answered [such as the possibility of receiving a harsh reply from him]. Otherwise, the Sunnah in this concern is to be followed, firstly, as a kind of compliance with the Prophet’s order, and secondly, as a means of disregarding the sneezer’s dislike of being answered, and thus defeating his arrogance in this regard.’ Ibn Hajar comments here: ‘This view (Ibn Daqid’s) may be supported by the fact that the prayer for the sneezer is invoking mercy for him and this befits any Muslim regardless of his attitude.’
Fifth, he who sneezes while the imam is delivering a speech:
According to Ibn Daqiq Al-`Eid, in this case there is a contradiction between abiding by the order of answering the sneezer and the order of listening attentively to the speech of the imam. The most dependable opinion here is that listening to the imam is to be given priority over answering the sneezer, especially since it is forbidden to speak while the imam is delivering a speech. Based on this, it is controversial whether one delays the prayer for the sneezer until the end of the imam’s speech or one answers the sneezer by gesture [both are possible.] This also applies if the imam sneezes but continues his speech without pausing. However, if he sneezes and pauses for a while so that he is answered, it is permissible to answer him.
Sixth, he who sneezes but does not praise Almighty Allah:
This applies, for example, to he who is in the bathroom or while performing a congregational prayer. The sneezer, in such cases, is to praise Almighty Allah later, and then should be answered. If he has praised Almighty Allah while in such situations, there is no clear-cut ruling whether he is worthy to receive the prayer for sneezing or not.