حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يُونُسَ النَّسَائِيُّ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْمَلِکِ بْنُ عَمْرٍو حَدَّثَنَا فُلَيْحٌ عَنْ هِلَالِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ عَنْ عَطَائِ بْنِ يَسَارٍ عَنْ مُعَاوِيَةَ بْنِ الْحَکَمِ السُّلَمِيِّ قَالَ لَمَّا قَدِمْتُ عَلَی رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّی اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَلِمْتُ أُمُورًا مِنْ أُمُورِ الْإِسْلَامِ فَکَانَ فِيمَا عَلِمْتُ أَنْ قَالَ لِي إِذَا عَطَسْتَ فَاحْمَدْ اللَّهَ وَإِذَا عَطَسَ الْعَاطِسُ فَحَمِدَ اللَّهَ فَقُلْ يَرْحَمُکَ اللَّهُ قَالَ فَبَيْنَمَا أَنَا قَائِمٌ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّی اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي الصَّلَاةِ إِذْ عَطَسَ رَجُلٌ فَحَمِدَ اللَّهَ فَقُلْتُ يَرْحَمُکَ اللَّهُ رَافِعًا بِهَا صَوْتِي فَرَمَانِي النَّاسُ بِأَبْصَارِهِمْ حَتَّی احْتَمَلَنِي ذَلِکَ فَقُلْتُ مَا لَکُمْ تَنْظُرُونَ إِلَيَّ بِأَعْيُنٍ شُزْرٍ قَالَ فَسَبَّحُوا فَلَمَّا قَضَی رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّی اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ مَنْ الْمُتَکَلِّمُ قِيلَ هَذَا الْأَعْرَابِيُّ فَدَعَانِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّی اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ لِي إِنَّمَا الصَّلَاةُ لِقِرَائَةِ الْقُرْآنِ وَذِکْرِ اللَّهِ جَلَّ وَعَزَّ فَإِذَا کُنْتَ فِيهَا فَلْيَکُنْ ذَلِکَ شَأْنُکَ فَمَا رَأَيْتُ مُعَلِّمًا قَطُّ أَرْفَقَ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّی اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
سنن ابودوٗد · Hadith 931
Muawiyah bin 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 ﷺ 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: what do you mean by looking at me with furtive glances. Then they glorified Allah. When the prophet ﷺ finished his prayer, he asked; who was the speaker? The Prophet told him; this Bedouin. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ called me and said to me: Prayer is meant for the recitation of the Quran, and making mention of Allah. When you are in it (prayer), this should be your work therein. I never saw an instructor more lenient than the Messenger of Allah ﷺ
Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020