Aslam

Praise be to Allah.

Al-Bukhaari (6226) and Muslim (2994) narrated from Abu

Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah likes sneezing and dislikes

yawning, so if one of you sneezes and praises Allaah (by saying Al-hamdu

Lillaah), it is a duty upon every Muslim who hears him to say to him,

Yarhamuk Allaah (may Allaah have mercy on you). With regard to yawning,

it is from the Shaytaan so if one of you feels like yawning, let him

suppress it as much as he can, for if one of you yawns the Shaytaan laughs

at him.

Concerning the meaning of

that, it was said that the Shaytaan likes to see a person yawning because it

makes him look different and so he laughs at him. It does not mean that the

Shaytaan is the one who makes him yawn. And it was said that yawning is

attributed to the Shaytaan because yawning comes from fullness of the

stomach, which generates laziness, which happens under the influence of the

Shaytaan. Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Yawning is

attributed to the Shaytaan because it promotes whims and desires, because it

stems from heaviness of the body, excessive relaxation and fullness of the

stomach. So what is meant is a warning against the thing that leads to that,

which is eating too much.

Al-Manaawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: It is

attributed to him because he is the one who calls for giving the self its

share of desires. What is meant here is to warn against the things that lead

to that, which is eating too much and eating one's fill, which makes the

body feel too heavy and tired to do acts of worship.

There should be no confusion stemming from the fact that

people yawn during Ramadaan even though the devils are chained up at that

time, because what is meant by saying that it is from the Shaytaan is that

he likes it. The fact that he likes it and approves of it does not mean that

he is not chained, rather that could happen even if he was chained.

Based on the view that this is caused by the influence of the

Shaytaan, either directly or indirectly, it was said that the ones who are

chained up during Ramadaan are the maarids among the devils (i.e., the

strong evil ones) only, and that others remain as they are, so yawning may

be caused by those who are not chained up.

But based on the view that what is meant by the chaining up

of the devils is that their influence on the believers is less during that

month than in other months, perhaps yawning results from the little

influence that they are still able to have during Ramadaan.

For more information on the chaining of the devils during

Ramadaan please see question no. 39736. See question no.

37965 to find out

the answer to the question: How can sins happen in Ramadaan when the devils

are chained up?

With regard to the ruling on the transmission of television

pictures, you will find the answer in question no.

10326.