They say sneezing is from Allah and yawning is from Satan; can you explain why?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Sneezing usually helps the body to become lighter, more relaxed, more vigorous, to get rid of some germs and to be healthy. It is a good thing and a blessing. Therefore, Allah is praised while sneezing. The act of sneezing is attributed to Allah because it is a blessing.

As for yawning, it is usually a sign indicating that the body is heavy, slack and inclined to laziness.

The reason why yawning is attributed to Satan may be this: Satan invites people to their bodily desires and wishes, such as eating too much, drinking too much and sleeping too much. They are the things that cause yawning. With that statement, man is warned against such wastefulness.

Therefore, the Prophet (pbuh) states the following in a narration:

“Allah likes sneezing and dislikes yawning. So, if one of you sneezes and then praises Allah, it is a duty for every Muslim who hears him to say ‘yarhamukallah’ (May Allah be merciful to you). However, as regards yawning, it is from Satan. So, one must try his best to stop it in prayer and to avoid saying ‘Ha’ while yawning. It is from Satan; it means Satan is laughing at him.” [Bukhari, Adab 125, 128, Bad’ul-Khalq 11; Muslim, Zuhd 56, (2994); Abu Dawud, Adab 97, (5028); Tirmidhi, Salah 273, (370), Adab 7, (2747, 2748)]

Khattabi states the following: “The meaning of the expressions attributed to Allah, such as liking and disliking, depends on the cause of sneezing and yawning. This is because sneezing is due to the lightness of the body, the opening of the pores and lack of satiety. It is the opposite of yawning because it stems from the body’s being full, and also from the heaviness caused by eating too much and mixed food. The former state gives enthusiasm for worship. The latter state, on the contrary, leads to heedlessness.”

The command to restrain oneself while yawning does not mean that it lies in one’s power to stop yawning because once yawning occurs, it cannot be stopped completely. Therefore, the stopping means to prevent the yawning from happening naturally, and to minimize the body movements to result from it. In the hadith mentioned above, the phrase “in prayer” is used but in some narrations, the phrase “in prayer” does not exist; The phrase “If one of you yawns...” shows that it is general. The following is stated in a narration: “If one of you yawns, let him put his hand over his mouth and not allow the sound of ‘ha’ when he yawns because Satan laughs at him.”

Yawning is from Satan because Satan loves it. Satan loves everything that makes man heedless, reduces his good deeds, and interrupts his prayers. Besides, yawning is a state that is usually caused by eating too much. Overeating is also the work of Satan. Turbushti makes the following explanation: “It is attributed to Satan because Satan likes to intervene in mandub deeds such as the peace that the servant will feel before Allah and the pleasure that he will derive from his ecstatic supplication.” (see Ibn Hajar the explanation of the hadith in question; İbrahim Canan, Kütüb-i Sitte Tercüme ve Şerhi, 10/196-7)

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