When I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I learned a number of matters concerning Islam. Among the things he taught me, he said to me, "When you sneeze, praise Allah, and when someone sneezes and praises Allah, say to him, 'May Allah have mercy on you.'"While I was standing with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in prayer, a man sneezed and praised Allah, so I said aloud, "May Allah have mercy on you." The people shot me sharp looks until it troubled me, so I said, "What is the matter with you that you stare at me with such hostile eyes?"They began saying "Subhan Allah."When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ finished the prayer, he asked, "Who was the one speaking?"It was said, "This Arabi."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ called me over and said to me, "The prayer is for the recitation of the Quran and the remembrance of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. When you are in it, let that be your occupation."I have never seen a teacher gentler than the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
حدثنا محمد بن يونس النسائي حدثنا عبد الملك بن عمرو حدثنا فليح عن هلال بن علي عن عطاء بن يسار
لما قدمت على رسول الله ﷺ علمت أمورا من أمور الإسلام فكان فيما علمت أن قال لي إذا عطست فاحمد الله وإذا عطس العاطس فحمد الله فقل يرحمك الله قال فبينما أنا قائم مع رسول الله ﷺ في الصلاة إذ عطس رجل فحمد الله فقلت يرحمك الله رافعا بها صوتي فرماني الناس بأبصارهم حتى احتملني ذلك فقلت ما لكم تنظرون إلي بأعين شزر قال فسبحوا فلما قضى رسول الله ﷺ قال من المتكلم قيل هذا الأعرابي فدعاني رسول الله ﷺ فقال لي إنما الصلاة لقراءة القرآن وذكر الله جل وعز فإذا كنت فيها فليكن ذلك شأنك فما رأيت معلما قط أرفق من رسول الله ﷺ
No references are available.
[Its isnad is hasan]. Bukhari narrated it in Juz Qira, no. 68, from the hadith of Fulayh bin Sulayman via this route, and he is hasan al-hadith. Bayhaqi also narrated it, 2/249, from the hadith of Abu Dawud via this route.