When ever my baby sneezes I say alhamdullah, is this bidah ?also do we have to say alhamdullah if we sneeze during salah?
Praise
be to Allah.
Firstly:
Saying “Yarhamuk Allah (may
Allah have mercy on you)” to one who sneezes, if he praises Allah (by saying
“al-hamdu Lillah” after sneezing) is part of the etiquette that is
prescribed in Islam, and it is one of the rights that one Muslim has over
another.
See the answers to questions no.
67805 and 178639
But if he does not say “al-hamdu
Lillah”, then he is not entitled to have another person say “Yarhamuk Allah”
to him.
Al-Bukhaari (6221) and Muslim
(2991) narrated that Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Two men
sneezed in the presence of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him), and he said Yarhamuk Allah (may Allah have mercy on you) to one of
them and not to the other. Something was said to him about that, and he
said: “This one praised Allah (said Al-hamdu Lillaah) but that one did not
praise Allah.”
It was narrated that Abu Burdah
said: I entered upon Abu Moosa when he was in the house of the daughter of
al-Fadl ibn ‘Abbaas, and I sneezed but he did not say Yarhamuk Allah
to me, but she sneezed and he said it to her. I went back to my mother and
told her. When he came to her she said: My son sneezed in your presence and
you did not say Yarhamuk Allah, but she sneezed and you said it to
her. He said: Your son sneezed but he did not praise Allah, so I did not say
Yarhamuk Allah to him. She sneezed and she did praise Allah, so I
said Yarhamuk Allah to her. I heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) say: “When one of you sneezes and praises
Allah, then say Yarhamuk Allah to him, but if he does not praise
Allah, then do not say it to him.”
Narrated by Muslim (2992)
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy
on him) said:
This clearly indicates that it
is enjoined to say Yarhamuk Allah if the one who sneezed praises Allah, and
it is not allowed to say Yarhamuk Allah to him if he does not praise Allah;
hence it is makrooh to say it to him if he did not praise Allah. But if he
praises Allah, but the other person did not hear him, then he does not have
to say Yarhamuk Allah to him. Maalik said: He should not say Yarhamuk Allah
to him unless he hears him praise Allah. But if you see that someone next to
him says Yarhamuk Allah to him, then you should also say it.
End quote from Sharh an-Nawawi
‘ala Muslim (18/121)
See also the answer to question
no. 3448 and 106432.
Secondly:
If the child has reached the age
of discernment and is able to understand if you teach him manners, then it
is prescribed to teach him to praise Allah if he sneezes, as it is proven
that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) taught the young
boy the etiquette of eating, and he instructed Muslims to teach their
children how to pray, and so on
Children and those who are new
in Islam should be taught to say “al-hamdu Lillah.” By the same token, one
who grew up in the remote desert should also be taught, because it is
expected that one who grew up in such circumstances would be unaware of
that.
If a child sneezes and praises
Allah, one may say to him “May you be blessed” or “May Allah help you” or
Yarhamuk Allah.” This was stated by Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir.
End quote from Mataalib Ooli
an-Nuha (1/945). See also Kashshaaf al-Qinaa‘ (2/158)
What appears to be the case is
that the right of one who praises Allah (after sneezing) is applicable to
both young and old, with no differentiation, and one should say in either
case the same phrase: “Yarhamuk Allah”.
It says in Fath al-Mu‘een
(4/219)
In al-Adhkaar, an-Nawawi
did not differentiate between young and old with regard to saying Yarhamuk
Allah (to one who praises Allah after sneezing).
End quote from Fath al-Mu‘een
Sharh Alfaaz al-Mu‘een (4/219)
Thirdly:
If the child is small and has
not yet reached an age where he can learn, and he cannot yet pronounce the
words “al-hamdu Lillah” properly, then some of the scholars are of the view
that his guardian should praise Allah on his behalf, but what is more likely
is that this is only required of the one who sneezes, and should not be done
by someone else on his behalf. But if a person offers supplication (du‘aa’)
for the child, saying whatever is appropriate, such as asking for mercy for
him or that he become righteous, and so on, then we hope that there is
nothing wrong with that, because the child is not being careless by omitting
to praise Allah, and du‘aa’ for such a one is prescribed in general. But it
should not be taken as a regular practice.
Ibn Muflih (may Allah have mercy
on him) said in al-Adaab ash-Shar‘iyyah (2/343):
‘Abdullah ibn Ahmad narrated
from al-Hasan that he was asked about a small child who sneezes. He said: It
should be said to him: May you be blessed.
The author of an-Nazm
said: If a child sneezes he may be prompted to say al-hamdu Lillah. Then it
should be said: Yarhamuk Allah or May you be blessed and so on, and he
should be taught how to respond.
If he is small, his guardian or
someone else who is present may praise Allah, and similar phrases to those
mentioned above may be said to the child. Ibn Muflih said: With regard to
teaching the child the response, this is similar to the issue of returning
the greeting (i.e., the two matters – the greeting and the response – should
not be combined). But what appears to be the case, based on the view of
other scholars, is that du‘aa’ may be offered for the child even if he does
not say Al-hamdu Lillah. But it may be said that du‘aa’ is akin to saying
Yarhamuk Allah, so it should be connected to him saying Al-hamdu Lillah, as
in the case of an adult.. But the first view is more likely to be correct.
And Allah knows best.
End quote from al-Adaab ash-Shar‘iyyah
(2/327)
Fourthly:
If a person sneezes whilst
praying, it is prescribed for him to praise Allah, but he should not disturb
others by doing so or distract them from their prayer.
If he sneezes and does not
praise Allah, then it does not matter.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah
have mercy on him) said:
If a person sneezes, whether
whilst praying or otherwise, it is not obligatory for him to say Al-hamdu
Lillah, but it is preferable and more appropriate. But if he does not praise
Allah, he is not sinning.
Praising Allah after sneezing is
prescribed for people when praying and when not praying, unless he is
praying and is afraid of disturbing other worshippers, in which case he
should praise Allah quietly and not say it out loud, because there is the
worry that if it is said out loud, he will disturb other worshippers or
cause somebody to say Yarhamuk Allah (reflexively). If someone says to the
one who sneezes and then praises Allah, “Yarhamuk Allah”, and the one who
says it is praying at the time, then his prayer is rendered invalid.
End quote from Fataawa Noor
‘ala ad-Darb (5/313)
See also the answer to question
no. 106435
And Allah knows best.
