out of negligence, then do not remind him. But how can anyone be sure of that? How am I to know whether he forgot or was simply careless? The outward sense of the hadith—“and he praised Allah”—is that if he does not praise Allah you neither bless him nor prompt him at all.

Later on, however, you may teach him and say, “When a person sneezes he should praise Allah for that sneeze, because sneezing is from Allah whereas yawning is from Satan. Sneezing is a sign of the body’s vigor, and for that reason one feels relief after sneezing.”

Offering tashmīt by saying, “May Allah have mercy on you,” is restricted to three occasions. If he sneezes, praises Allah, and you say, “May Allah have mercy on you,” then sneezes again, praises Allah, and you repeat the blessing, and then sneezes a third time, praises Allah, and you bless him a third time—when he sneezes a fourth time say instead, “May Allah grant you well-being; you have a cold.” You supplicate for his recovery and explain that he has a cold so that he does not wonder, “Why are you no longer saying ‘May Allah have mercy on you’ as you did before?” The reason is clear once you say, “You have a cold.”

This also alerts him to avoid whatever may aggravate the cold, for in most cases the common cold has no cure once it strikes; it will not depart until it has run its course. Nevertheless, measures that may ease it include avoiding cold air, not drinking cold water, and staying away from drafts after warming up. A person is his own doctor.

Finally, some lay people, when you say to them, “May Allah have mercy on you,” reply, “May Allah guide us and guide you.” This is not correct, because the man has prayed specifically for you, saying: