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Is it permissible for the muezzin to interrupt the call to prayer (adhan) to say "Yarhamukallah" (may Allah have mercy on you) to someone who sneezes?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Brief speech that is not religiously required is disliked during the Adhan. As for speech that is religiously required, such as returning a greeting (salaam) or saying "Yarhamukallah" to someone who sneezes, there is a difference of opinion among the madhhabs (schools of thought).

Hanafis: Brief speech is disliked absolutely. Shafi'is: It is contrary to what is superior (khilaf al-awla). Hanbalis: It is permissible. Malikis: It is disliked, and one should not interrupt the words of the Adhan with speech or returning a greeting, even by gesture.

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

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