When I came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), I was taught matters of Islam, and among what I was taught was that he said to me: "When you sneeze, praise Allah, and if the sneezed one praises Allah, then say to him: 'May Allah have mercy upon you.'" He said: While I was standing with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in prayer, a man sneezed and praised Allah, so I said: "May Allah have mercy upon you," raising my voice with it. The people cast glances at me, until that troubled me, so I said: "What is the matter with you that you are looking at me with furtive glances?" They began to strike their hands on their thighs. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) finished his prayer, he said: "Who is the speaker?" It was said: This Bedouin. So the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) called me and said to me: "Indeed, this prayer is not suitable for any of the speech of the people; it is only for the recitation of the Quran, and making mention of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, so when you are in it, let that be your concern." I have never seen a teacher more lenient than the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يُونُسَ النَّسَائِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْمَلِكِ بْنُ عَمْرٍو، حَدَّثَنَا فُلَيْحٌ، عَنْ هِلاَلِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ، عَنْ عَطَاءِ بْنِ يَسَارٍ، عَنْ مُعَاوِيَةَ بْنِ الْحَكَمِ السُّلَمِيِّ، قَالَ لَمَّا قَدِمْتُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عُلِّمْتُ أُمُورًا مِنْ أُمُورِ الإِسْلاَمِ فَكَانَ فِيمَا عُلِّمْتُ أَنْ قَالَ لِي " إِذَا عَطَسْتَ فَاحْمَدِ اللَّهَ وَإِذَا عَطَسَ الْعَاطِسُ فَحَمِدَ اللَّهَ فَقُلْ يَرْحَمُكَ اللَّهُ " . قَالَ فَبَيْنَمَا أَنَا قَائِمٌ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي الصَّلاَةِ إِذْ عَطَسَ رَجُلٌ فَحَمِدَ اللَّهَ فَقُلْتُ يَرْحَمُكَ اللَّهُ رَافِعًا بِهَا صَوْتِي فَرَمَانِي النَّاسُ بِأَبْصَارِهِمْ حَتَّى احْتَمَلَنِي ذَلِكَ فَقُلْتُ مَا لَكُمْ تَنْظُرُونَ إِلَىَّ بِأَعْيُنٍ شُزْرٍ قَالَ فَسَبَّحُوا فَلَمَّا قَضَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم الصَّلاَةَ قَالَ " مَنِ الْمُتَكَلِّمُ " . قِيلَ هَذَا الأَعْرَابِيُّ فَدَعَانِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ لِي "إِنَّمَا الصَّلاَةُ لِقِرَاءَةِ الْقُرْآنِ وَذِكْرِ اللَّهِ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ فَإِذَا كُنْتَ فِيهَا فَلْيَكُنْ ذَلِكَ شَأْنَكَ " . فَمَا رَأَيْتُ مُعَلِّمًا قَطُّ أَرْفَقَ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم
Translation
Mu’awiyah b. al-Hakam al-Sulami said ; when I came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) I learnt many things about islam. One of the things that I was taught was that it was that it was pointed out me. When you sneeze, praise Allah (I,e, say “praise be to Allah”); and when someone sneezes and praises Allah, say “ May Allah have mercy on you. Meanwhile I was standing along with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) during prayer, all of a sudden a man sneezed, and he praised Allah. So I said, “may Allah have mercy on you”, in a loud voice. The people gave me disapproving looks so much so that I took ill of it. So I said