Thread: Yawning and its etiquettes

Asalam o alikum warahmatulahi wabarakatuh..

It was narrated that Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“If one of you yawns – according to another report: whilst praying – let him suppress it as much as he can, for the Shaytaan comes in.”

Narrated by Muslim


It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“Yawning comes from the Shaytaan, so if one of you feels the urge to yawn, let him suppress it as much as he can, for if one of you says ‘ha’ (the sound made when yawning), the Shaytaan laughs.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3115; Muslim, 2994.


Ibn Battaal said: Yawning is attributed to the Shaytaan in the sense that he approves of it and wants it to happen, i.e., the Shaytaan likes to see a man yawning, because it is a state in which his appearance changes so he laughs at him. It does not mean that the Shaytaan causes yawning.

wasalam o alikum warahmatulahi wabarakatuh.

Assalâmu 'alaykum..

I read somewhere, that if you can't supress your yawn as much as you wanted to, then you can hold your right hand over your mouth, so it's only like a sigh-sound that comes out of your mouth..

Etiquettes of Yawning

It was narrated that Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If one of you yawns – according to another report: whilst praying – let him suppress it as much as he can, for the Shaytaan comes in.” Narrated by Muslim

(2) It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah(may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Yawning comes from the Shaytaan, so if one of you feels the urge to yawn, let him suppress it as much as he can, for if one of you says ‘ha’ (the sound made when yawning), the Shaytaan laughs.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3115; Muslim, 2994.

Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar(mayAllaah have mercy on him) said: Ibn Battaal said: Yawning is attributed to the Shaytaan in the sense that he approves of it and wants it to happen, i.e., the Shaytaan likes to see a man yawning, because it is a state in which his appearance changes so he laughs at him. It does not mean that the Shaytaan causes yawning.

Ibn al-‘Arabi said: We have explained that every makrooh action is attributed to the Shaytaan in Islam because he is the means behind it, and every good action is attributed to the angel in Islam because he is the means behind it. Yawning is caused by a full stomach and leads to laziness, and that is by the means of the Shaytaan, whereas sneezing is caused by lack of food, and leads to energy, and that is by the means of the angel.

The phrase “if one of you feels the urge to yawn, let him suppress it as much as he can” means: let him try to stop it. It does not mean that he will be able to stop it, because what happens cannot be reversed, and it was said that what is meant by “if he feels the urge to yawn” is if he wants to yawn…

As for the command to place the hand over the mouth, this is the case if he opens his mouth, so he should cover it with his hand, or if he yawns whilst his mouth is closed, he should still put his hand over it, lest it opens.

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

Yawning comes from the Shaytaan, as is narrated in saheeh reports from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). So if a person yawns, whether during prayer or otherwise, he should suppress his yawning if he can, and if he cannot, then he should place his hand over his mouth, whether he is praying or not.

Yawning comes from the Shaytaan as the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us. Just as the Shaytaan tries to gain power over the one who is praying by whispering into his heart and throwing ideas into his mind, so too he may try to gain power over a person by means of yawning, so he yawns a great deal and that distracts him from his prayer. If anyone experiences that, let him do what was enjoined by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), such as suppressing it as much as he can, and if he cannot, then let him place his hand over his mouth so that he will not give the Shaytaan any way to reach him.

Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Yawning is from the Shaytaan. If any of you feels the urge to yawn, let him resist it as much as possible, for if any of you says ‘Ha’ (makes a noise when yawning), the Shaytaan laughs." (al-Bukhari no. 3289)

Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Allaah loves the act of sneezing and dislikes the act of yawning. If any one of you sneezes and praises Allaah, it is a duty on every Muslim who hears him to say ‘Yarhamak Allaah (May Allaah have mercy on you).’ As for yawning, it is from Shaytaan, so if any of you feels the urge to yawn, let him resist it as much as he can, for if any of you yawns, the Shaytaan laughs at him." (al-Bukhari, Fath, no. 6226)

Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "If any of you yawns, let him cover his mouth lest the Shaytaan enter." (Abu Dawud)

From the reports quoted above, we may summarize the following:

1. That Shaytaan prompts the human to yawn, which is indicative of laziness and sluggishness.
2. That Shaytaan enters the person who yawns.
3. That Shaytaan laughs at man and makes fun of his ugly appearance when he is in that state.

The person who is praying must take care of the following:

1. He should resist yawning.
2. He should cover his mouth
3. He should suppress his voice (not make a sound).

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JazaakAllaah khair.

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3115; Muslim, 2994.


Ibn Battaal said: Yawning is attributed to the Shaytaan in the sense that he approves of it and wants it to happen, i.e., the Shaytaan likes to see a man yawning, because it is a state in which his appearance changes so he laughs at him. It does not mean that the Shaytaan causes yawning.

dunno about anyone else but I find facial expressions look funnier when trying to supress a yawn

Originally Posted by Umm Safiyah
Assalâmu 'alaykum..

I read somewhere, that if you can't supress your yawn as much as you wanted to, then you can hold your right hand over your mouth, so it's only like a sigh-sound that comes out of your mouth..

u heard right..

Yawning in Islam:

When you yawn, you must either keep your lips locked, or cover your mouth with your hand(s):

The son of Abu Said al-Khudri reported on the authority of his father that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: "When one of you yawns, he should keep his mouth shut with the help of his hand, for it is the devil that enters therein. (Translation of Sahih Muslim, The Book Pertaining to Piety and Softening of Hearts (Kitab Al-Zuhd wa Al-Raqa'iq), Book 042, Number 7130)"

The devil here in the Saying of our beloved Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him is your act of offense to others. Many people would get offended when people yawn without covering their mouths.

The same applies to sneezing.

do you people know animals yawn too. I have seen cats and dogs yawning.