Is responding to a sneezer an individual or communal obligation?
2026-10-13
F202 · Selected fatwas
Shaykh Ibn Bāz
الشيخ عبد العزيز بن عبد الله بن باز
Original Q&A · Complete published question and answer
Complete short question and answer as published. ‘Responding to a sneezer’ translates tashmīt; the answer explicitly distinguishes the well-known scholarly view from the Shaykh's reading of the commands.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
تشميت العاطس فرض كفاية أم فرض عين؟
الجواب
ظاهر النصوص فرض عين، ظاهر النصوص وجوبه على المؤمن إذا سمعه، والمعروف عند العلماء أنه سنة مؤكدة؛ لكن ظاهر الأوامر الوجوب؛ لأن الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم أمر بذلك.
English translation
English translation prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited Arabic source. It is not an official translation.
Original question
Is responding to a sneezer with a prayer for mercy a communal obligation or an individual obligation?
Answer
The apparent meaning of the texts is that it is an individual obligation. Their apparent meaning is that it is obligatory upon the believer when he hears him. The well-known view among the scholars is that it is an emphatic Sunnah; however, the apparent meaning of the commands is obligation, because the Messenger ﷺ commanded it.
Source and editorial notes
Official Ibn Bāz website, fatwa 25257
الموقع الرسمي للشيخ عبد العزيز بن باز
Official Ibn Bāz website
Complete published Arabic question and answer checked against the official source, including follow-up exchanges and closing words where present. Arabic diacritics omitted, directional formatting marks removed and honorific glyphs expanded for display. Source footnotes are kept separate.