What is the درجه (degree/grade) of the hadith: "A man sneezed in the side of the Prophet's house and said: 'Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah).' The Prophet said to him: 'Yarhamukallah (May Allah have mercy on you).' Then another man sneezed and said: 'Alhamdulillah Rabbil-'alamin hamdan kathiran tayyiban mubarakan fih (Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, abundant, good, blessed praise within it).' The Prophet, peace be upon him, then said: 'This one surpassed that one by nineteen degrees'"?
The hadith was narrated by Al-Tabari in "Tahdheeb al-Athar", and its chain of narration is weak due to the unknown identity of Umm Salama's mawla (freed slave), while the rest of its narrators are trustworthy. Ibn Hajar's statement "there is no harm in it" comes from the leniency regarding the virtues of deeds and the existence of a sound origin for the hadith.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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