Blessing After Sneeze & its Response

A sneeze is a relief from a common temporary disorder in the human body. After being relieved from this temporary disorder, a Muslim should thank the Almighty with the words: (Al-Hamdulillah ), while those present around him, who hear him praise and thank the Lord, should pray for God's (Allah) mercy and blessings for him with the words: ( Yarhamukallah ). The initial utterance is obviously to thank the Almighty for the relief one feels after sneezing, while the response - entailing an invocation of God's mercy for the person who has thanked his Lord - signifies a reminder of the fact that God's mercy and His blessings are, in fact, the right only of the thankful. This practice of thanking God after sneezing and then of responding with an invocation of God's mercy for the person who has thanked God is known in the Arabic language as 'Tashmeet'. 'Tashmeet' has been one of the common practices among the followers of God's prophets. The mere fact that there was a word for this practice in the pre-Islamic Arabic language clearly evidences the fact that this practice was also in vogue among the Arabs even before the advent of the Prophet (pbuh). The Prophet (pbuh) approved and promoted this practice among his followers without any alteration. The Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said:

When one of you sneezes, he should say: "All gratitude is due to God", his brother or his companion, in response should say: "May God bless you/have mercy upon you", then again as a response, the listener should say: "May God guide you all and make you all more virtuous".