Fiqh al-Adiyah wa-al-Adhkar - Abd al-Razzaq ibn Abd al-Muhsin al-Badr - (3/287)

Fiqh al-Adiyah wa-al-AdhkarAbd al-Razzaq ibn Abd al-Muhsin al-Badr

to my mother and told her. When he came to her, she said, “My son sneezed in your presence, but you did not invoke Allah’s mercy upon him, whereas she sneezed and you invoked Allah’s mercy upon her.” He replied, “Your son sneezed but did not praise Allah, so I did not invoke Allah’s mercy upon him. She sneezed and praised Allah, so I invoked Allah’s mercy upon her. I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: ‘When one of you sneezes and praises Allah, invoke Allah’s mercy upon him; but if he does not praise Allah, do not invoke Allah’s mercy upon him.’”1

This invocation is repeated three times. Anyone who sneezes more than that has a cold, so supplication should instead be made for his recovery and well-being. Muslim narrated in his Sahīh from Salama ibn al-Akwa, may Allah be pleased with him, that he heard the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, when a man sneezed in his presence, say to him, “May Allah have mercy upon you.” The man then sneezed again, whereupon the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The man has a cold.”2 Al-Tirmidhī also narrated it, with the wording: “Then he sneezed a second and a third time, whereupon the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ‘This man has a cold.’”3

Abū Dāwūd narrated in his Sunan from Abū Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, both in a version attributed to the Prophet and in a version reported as the statement of Abū Hurayra: “Invoke Allah’s mercy upon your brother three times—three times. Anything beyond that is a cold.”4

Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “His statement in this hadith, ‘The man has a cold,’ indicates that supplication should be made for his well-being, since a cold is an ailment. It also explains why he ceased invoking Allah’s mercy upon him after the third time, and alerts the man to this ailment so that he may address it rather than neglect it until it becomes serious. All of the Prophet’s words, peace and blessings be upon him, are wisdom, mercy, knowledge, and guidance.”5

It is also Sunnah to keep one’s voice low when sneezing so as not to disturb people. Abū

(1) Sahīh Muslim, no. 2992. (2) Sahīh Muslim, no. 2993. (3) Sunan al-Tirmidhī, no. 2743. (4) Sunan Abī Dāwūd, no. 5034; authenticated as sahīh by al-Albānī, may Allah have mercy on him, in al-Silsila al-Sahīha, no. 1330. (5) Zād al-Maʿād, 2:441.

إلى أمِّي فأخبرتُها، فلمَّا جاءها قالت: عطس عندك ابنِي فلم تشمِّته، وعطستْ فشمَّتها، فقال: إنَّ ابنَك عطس، فلَم يحمد الله فلم أشمِّته، وعطستْ فحمدَت الله فشمَّتُها، سمعتُ رسول الله ﷺ يقول: "إِذا عَطَسَ أَحَدُكُمْ فَحَمِدَ اللهَ فَشَمِّتُوهُ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَحْمَدِ اللهَ فَلاَ تُشَمِّتُوهُ"١. والتشميتُ ثلاثُ مرَّات، وما زاد فهو زُكامٌ يُدعى لصاحبه بالشِّفاء والعافية، روى مسلمٌ في صحيحه عن سلمة بن الأكوع ﵁ أنَّه سمع النَّبِيَّ ﷺ وعَطس رجلٌ عنده، فقال له: "يَرحَمُك الله"، ثمَّ عطس أخرى فقال له رسول الله ﷺ: "الرَّجلُ مزكومٌ"٢، ورواه الترمذي وفيه: ثمَّ عطس الثانية والثالثةَ، فقال رسول الله ﷺ: "هذا رَجلٌ مزكومٌ"٣. وروى أبو داود في سننه عن أبي هريرة ﵁ مرفوعاً وموقوفاً: "شَمٍِّت أخاك ثلاثاً ثلاثاً، فما زاد فهو زُكام" ٤. قال ابن القيم ﵀: "وقوله في هذا الحديث: "الرَّجل مزكوم" تنبيهٌ على الدعاء له بالعافية؛ لأنَّ الزَّكْمَةَ علةٌ، وفيه اعتذارٌ من ترك تشميته بعد الثلاث، وفيه تنبيهٌ له على هذه العلَّة ليتداركها ولا يُهملها فيصعب أمرُها، فكلامه ﷺ كلُّه حكمةٌ ورحمةٌ وعلمٌ وهُدى"٥. ومن السُّنَّة خَفْضُ الصوتِ بالعطاس حتى لا يزعج الناسَ، روى أبو

١ صحيح مسلم (رقم:٢٩٩٢) . ٢ صحيح مسلم (رقم:٢٩٩٣) . ٣ سنن الترمذي (رقم:٢٧٤٣) . ٤ سنن أبي داود (رقم:٥٠٣٤) ، وصحَّحه الألباني ﵀ في السلسلة الصحيحة (رقم:١٣٣٠) . ٥ زاد المعاد (٢/٤٤١) .