Etiquette of yawning
بـسـم الله والحـمـد لله والـصلاة والـسـلام عــلى رسـول الله، وبـعـد
[Sharh Riyaadh al-Saaliheen (4/439-440) of Shaikh
al-`Uthaymeen رحمه الله]
Narrated Abu Hurairah رضي الله
عنه: The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “Allaah likes
sneezing and dislikes yawning, so if someone sneezes and then praises Allaah (by
saying: al-Hamdulillaah), then it is obligatory on every Muslim who heard him,
to say:
يرحمك الله
(Yarhamuk-Allaah)
May Allaah be merciful to you.
But as regards yawning, it
is from Shaitaan, so one must try one's best to stop it, if one says 'Ha' when
yawning, Satan will laugh at him.” [Saheeh al-Bukhaaree (6223, 6226)]
Shaikh al-`Uthaymeen رحمه
الله said:
And
as for yawning, then it is from Shaitaan and that is why Allaah dislikes it.
Why? Because yawning is an indication of laziness (slothfulness) and that is why
the yawning increases when a person is sleepy which shows the person’s disinclination
(to continue further) and this is why Allaah dislikes it.
So
when a person yawns, the first thing he should do is try to stop it, i.e. by suppressing
it. The scholars have said that when you want to suppress it, you should bite your
lower lip, not that you bite it severely to hurt it, but bite it only to the
extent that your mouth does not open. The most important is that you stop it,
either by this method or other than it, and if you fail to suppress it (this
way) then you should place your hand over your mouth. [1]
And
what some of the scholars - Allaah have mercy on them - have mentioned about that
you should place the back of the hand over the mouth; then there is no basis
for this. Rather one should place the inside of his hand (the palm) over his
mouth to block it (completely).
The
reason for this is that when a person yawns, the Shaitaan laughs at him,
because the Shaitaan knows that this is the sign of the person’s slothfulness
and slackness. Shaitaan loves that the son of Aadam be lazy and slack - we seek
Allaah’s refuge for us and for you from this - and he hates the person who is
active, hardworking and is always full of energy. So when you feel a yawn
coming, you should try to suppress it and stop it, and this is the Sunnah, and
this is better, but if you fail to stop it, then place the hand over the mouth.
But
should one say:
أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم
(A`oodhu billaahi
min al-shaitaan al-rajeem)
I seek refuge with
Allaah from the accursed Shaitaan?
No,
because nothing such is reported from the Prophet صلى الله
عليه وسلم. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم
taught us what to do when there is a yawn coming, but he did not inform us to
say such and such. Rather he صلى الله عليه وسلم
said to stop it or to cover the mouth with the hand, but he did not instruct us
to say: “A`oodhu billaahi min al-shaitaan al-rajeem”. And what has become
famous with some of the people is that when they yawn they say: “A`oodhu billaahi
min al-shaitaan al-rajeem”, this has no basis. Acts of `Ibaadah are based on the
Sharee`ah and not on desires.
Some
people said: “Does not Allaah says:
{وإما ينزغنك من الشيطان نزغ فاستعذ بالله
إنه سميع عليم}
{And if an evil whisper comes to you from Shaitaan then
seek refuge with Allaah. Verily, He is All-Hearer, All-Knower}
[Surah al-A`raaf (7): 200]
And
the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم
said that the yawning is from Shaitaan, so isn’t this evil?”
We
say: No, you have misunderstood the Verse. The Verse means, the inclination to
do evil or to leave of the Obligatory (acts of `Ibaadah), this is all evil
suggestion from Shaitaan, as Allaah تعالى said in this verse, Shaitaan wants to tempt them towards evil.
So Shaitaan’s temptation is to draw people towards sins and discourage them
from righteousness, so if you feel such temptations then say: “A`oodhu billaahi
min al-shaitaan al-rajeem”. But as for yawning, then the practical Sunnah in
this is to suppress it as much as possible and if one is unable to, then to
place the hand over the mouth.
*******
[1]
The Hadeeth on placing the hand over the mouth when yawning:
Abu
Hurairah رضي الله عنه reported that Allaah’s Messenger صلى الله
عليه وسلم said: “Sneezing is from Allaah and yawning is from the devil.
So when one of you yawns, let him put his hand over his mouth; but when he
says, ‘Ah, ah,’ the devil laughs from inside his mouth. And Allaah likes the
sneeze but dislikes yawning. When a man who yawns says, ‘Ah, ah,’ the devil
laughs inside his mouth.” [Tirmidhee (2746) and graded as “Hasan-Saheeh” by Shaikh al-Albaanee]
Salam alaikum,
ReplyDeleteAgain me - seems to become a habit hugh!
As far as I have read one says A`oodhu billaahi min al-shaitaan al-rajeem in case one forgets to put the hand infront of the mouth or in case one does not ave the time to do so on time, because the yawn is so sudden and then the Shaitan can enter the person, which is also stated in hadith, so one seeks refugee to prevent that?
Does it matter which hand to use? I once read on a Salafi website the right inneer hand or the left outer hand?
BarakAllah feek!
Salam alaikum
Nuha
wa `alaikum assalaam.
DeleteAs far sayinng: (A`oodhu billaahi min al-shaitaan al-rajeem), then this is the maater of `Ibaadah, which has to have a basis from the Qur'aan or the Sunnah. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم only instructed to put the hand over the mouth. So one has to bring the evidence on the permissibility of saying that.
As for using the right hand or the left, then even Shaikh al-`Uthaymeen did not clarify that. So it could be which ever hand is free, but preferring the right hand over the left. And Allaah knows best.
salam alaikum
Deletebut Rasul Allah, sal Allahu alayhi wa salam, also told us to seek refugee from the accursed shaytan by saying that, and since he can enter us when we forget, don't have time, or our hands are not available at the moment of yawning, should we then not seek refugee but let the shaytan enter us? I do NOT mean, to leave out the hand at all, of course one should use the hands to cover the mouth, ut sometimes it's not possible. Allahu alam.
And do you know what other scholars said about it?
Not asking out of doubt or to debate, but to learn : )
BarakAllah feek.
Salam alaikum wa rahmatAllah wa barakatuhu
Nuha
Wa `alaikum assalaam wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh sister,
DeleteThere is a text, the verse in the Qur’aan, which instructs us to Seek Refuge when one wants to begin the recitation of the Qur’aan. But as the Shaikh رحمه الله clarified, there is no text to support seeking refuge at the time of yawning.
Not able to put the hand over the mouth is a totally different issue. A situation where a person is not able to carry out the instructions due to inability is better than a person does something for which he has no textual proof.
As for the other scholars, then I do not know what they might have said about this issue. I myself have just started learning.
Wa feeki baarak Allaah.