By Asma bint Shameem
Have you ever noticed that as soon we stand up for prayer, want to read the Qur’aan, or some other act of worship, we suddenly get this irrepressible urge to start yawning? And it’s not like it is our bedtime either! It’s the middle of the day, we were fine a few minutes ago and now, all of a sudden, we get this irresistible desire to yawn. Why is that?
That is because yawning comes from the Shaytaan.
The Prophet (pbuh) said:
"Yawning is from Shaytaan, so if any of you feels the urge to yawn, let him resist it as much as he can." (Muslim)
In another hadeeth he (pbuh) 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 ‘haa’ (the sound made when yawning), the Shaytaan laughs.” (Bukhaari, Muslim).
The Ulama said, explaining the concept of yawning: “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. Also, every makrooh action is attributed to the Shaytaan 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.”
In other words, the Shaytaan wants to make us lazy, especially when it comes to worshipping Allaah, and so he distracts us from prayer, worship, etc. by making us yawn. And, of course, that pleases him.
The Prophet (pbuh) also said:
"Allah likes sneezing and dislikes yawning….." (Bukhaari)
"If any of you yawns, let him cover his mouth lest the Shaytaan enter." (Abu Dawud)
"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.” (Muslim)
Now, I know some of us ‘educated’ ones out there will argue…. “But, yawning is due to lack of oxygen in the brain” or something like that.
To them I say….“It doesn’t matter whether there is lack of oxygen or surplus of oxygen or whatever. There is one thing that has to be CRYSTAL CLEAR in the mind of the Muslim and that is…. If the Prophet (pbuh) said that yawning is from the Shaytaan, then yawning is from the Shaytaan and that is the end of the matter, no matter what science or anyone else says!
To minimize yawning during prayer or other worship
1. Start your prayer when you are energetic and active
2. Don’t delay Isha prayer too late when you know you will tend to be lazy and sleepy
3. Remember that the Shaytaan is your enemy so regard him as such, and try to resist him as much as you can
4. Ask Allaah to protect you against yawning and distraction in your prayer or worship
5. Focus on the meanings of what you are reciting or saying
6. Renew your wudu to help you ‘wake up’ before every Salaah or act of worship
7. Also, stop reciting until the yawning has ended, or else you may distort the recitation with the yawning. (Fath al-Baari)
8. And, don’t eat too much, since overfilling the stomach leads to heaviness and lethargy
Al-Nawawi said: “Yawning is attributed to the Shaytaan because it calls to desires, as it is caused by heaviness of the body and lassitude and fullness. What it means is: beware of the causes that lead to that, which is…eating too much.”
9. If you DO end up yawning, make sure to cover your mouth and, DON’T make the ‘haa’ sound associated with yawning. Surely, you don’t want the Shaytaan laughing at you!
Remember, don’t disregard yawning as a trivial matter as there are no trivial matters when it comes to our deen and following the instructions of the Prophet
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