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Is it obligatory to say "Yarhamuk Allah" to the sneezer after each consecutive sneeze, or after he has finished all repeated sneezes?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Saying "Yarhamuk Allah" (may Allah have mercy on you) to one who sneezes is a communal obligation (fard kifaya) if they praise Allah. The obligation is fulfilled if one person says it to them; otherwise, all are sinful. If sneezing repeats more than three times, one should not say "Yarhamuk Allah" but rather supplicate for their well-being, based on the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "The sneezer is responded to with 'Yarhamuk Allah' for three times; anything more than that, then he is suffering from a cold." When sneezing repeats after the third time, one should say, "May Allah grant you well-being (Afaak Allah)," while explaining the reason: "You are suffering from a cold," so that it is not misunderstood that the supplication for well-being is for something other than a cold.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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