He then said: “And lower your voice,” that is, when you speak do not force yourself to raise it, for the most piercing and repugnant of sounds is the braying of donkeys.
It is affirmed in the two Ṣaḥīḥs (1) that one should seek refuge with Allah when hearing the bray of donkeys at night, for they have seen a devil. Hence raising one’s voice without need is prohibited—especially when sneezing; it is recommended to soften the sound and cover the face, as a ḥadīth relates from the practice of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ (2).
As for raising the voice in the adhān, when calling the fighters to engage the enemy, when reciting the talbiyah (3), and the like, that is prescribed.
Such is what Allah, exalted be He, has narrated of Luqmān ﵇ (4) in the Qur’an: wisdom and counsels that bring every good and repel every evil. Many traditions recount his sayings and admonitions, and a book attributed to him was known as “Majallat (5) Luqmān.” We shall mention of that whatever is made easy, if Allah wills.
Imām Aḥmad said: ʿAlī ibn Isḥāq (6) narrated to us; Ibn al-Mubārak reported to us; Sufyān reported to us; Nahshal ibn Mujammaʿ (7) al-Ḍabbī told me, from Qazaʿah, from Ibn ʿUmar, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ informed us, saying, “The wise Luqmān used to say, ‘When Allah is entrusted with something, He safeguards it.’” (8)
Ibn Abī Ḥātim said: Abū Saʿīd al-Ashajj narrated to us; ʿĪsā ibn Yūnus narrated to us, from al-Awzāʿī, from Mūsā ibn Sulaymān, from al-Qāsim ibn Mukhaimarah (9), that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Luqmān said to his son while advising him, ‘My son, beware…’”
(1) Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 3303, Kitab Bad’ al-Khalq, chapter “The Best Property of a Muslim Is Sheep by Which the Mountains Are Grazed”; Muslim, no. 2729, Kitab al-Dhikr wa al-Du‘ā’, chapter “The Recommendation to Supplicate When the Cock Crows”; similarly Abu Dawud, no. 5102, Kitab al-Adab, chapter “What Was Related Concerning the Cock and Beasts”; al-Tirmidhi, no. 3459, Kitab al-Da‘awāt, chapter “What One Should Say Upon Hearing the Braying of a Donkey.”
(2) Abu Dawud, no. 5029, Kitab al-Adab, chapter on sneezing; al-Tirmidhi, no. 2745, Kitab al-Adab, chapter “What Was Related Concerning Lowering the Voice and Covering the Face When Sneezing”; from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet (peace be upon him), when he sneezed, would place his hand or his garment over his face and lower his voice. Al-Tirmidhi commented: “This is a hasan sahih hadith.”
(3) In the printed edition it reads al-ihlāk, which is incorrect; elsewhere it appears as dhālik fa-dhālika.
(4) In manuscript B it reads a sukun diacritic.
(5) In editions B and T it reads bi-ḥikmah. Al-majalla literally means a register or journal in which one writes, and al-ṣaḥīfah is a sheet containing wisdom. It is said that any book among the Arabs is called majalla. (Lisān al-‘Arab under jallal)
(6) ‘Ali ibn Ishaq does not appear in the chain of transmitters in al-Musnad; instead it reads, “Abd al-Rahman narrated to us, Sufyan …”.
(7) In the printed edition it reads “Nahik ibn Yajma‘,” which is a corruption and scribal error. Nahlash ibn Majma‘ al-Dhabbi al-Kufi is listed among the reliable transmitters in at-Tahdhib.
(8) Musnad Ahmad, 2: 87, no. 5606; its isnad is sound, and its narrators are all trustworthy—those of the Sahih—except Nahlash ibn Majma‘, who is also reliable and is confirmed as such by Ibn Ma‘in, Abu Dawud, and Ya‘qub ibn Sufyan. We know of no criticism of him. (Taḥrīr al-Taqrīb 4: 25)
(9) al-Qasim ibn Mukhaymirah, Abu ‘Urwah al-Hamdani, resident of Damascus, a trustworthy hadith master, died in 100 AH. (Siyar A‘lam al-Nubala’ 5: 201)