Perhaps a Sneeze is Allah’s Way of Making You Praise Him

We often fall prey to the routine of this world, busying ourselves with what we deem so important so as to allow it to distract us from our purpose. Al-Rahman’s mercy is all-encompassing and as a result, He often sends us subliminal reminders of our dependence on Him.

The sneeze, then, can be seen as an acute reminder of Allah at a particular time. And how powerful of a reminder it can be, resulting in a disruption of whatever activity we had previously been involved in, accompanied by a corresponding change in stature and an utter paralysis as the whole body directs its efforts to this sole endeavor.

It is also a predestined source of reward for those who reflexively praise Allah as a result. We are often conditioned to develop this reflex as children, but it may also be less automatic — and thus more mindful and beneficial. This response is so important that the Prophet (ﷺ) did not reply to those who did not exhibit it:

Two men sneezed in the presence of the Prophet(ﷺ) and he replied (‘YarhamukAllah; may Allah have mercy on you’) to one and not to the other. It was said: ‘O Messenger of Allah(ﷺ), two men sneezed in your presence and you replied to one and not to the other?’ He said: ‘This one praised Allah but that one did not.’ — [Sunan Ibn Majah 3713, Sahih]

The Sunnah, then, is to respond to Muslims who sneeze, if and only if, they praise Allah in the process. This results in a environment that is cognizant of Allah’s presence and a close-knit community in which manners are given supremacy. All community members are ever the more mindful of, and caring for, one another’s health.

And if a sneeze is such a potent reminder and a cause of such potential reward, what can then be said of the cold, where Allah sends the body into a seemingly perpetual state of sneezing? The Prophet teaches us that the indication of this is the enumeration of more than 3 sneezes, at which point a fellow Muslim is exempt from responding:

“The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) said: ‘The one who sneezes may be responded to three times; if he sneezes more than that, he has a cold.’” — [Sunan Ibn Majah 3714, Sahih]

And more so,

“The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) said: “No believer is pricked by a thorn or more but that Allah will raise him one degree in status or erase a sin.” — [Bukhari 5317]

Thus, a cold can be seen as a larger prescribed dose of remembrance and praise for the humble servant.

Sure, this may be a rather homeopathic interpretation of a medically explicable phenomena. But Allah is the ontological foundation of the Universe, the ultimate cause of all events. As such, whether a sneeze is biologically inspired or not is irrelevant to its being decreed by Allah. That sneeze was destined for you, and your response, whether praise or otherwise, recorded. So, be mindful of the reminders that Allah sends for you and the signs that He allows you to recognize. And may Allah’s peace and mercy be upon you.