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Refutations

Yawning in the Sunnah: What the Prophet ﷺ Said and What Modern Research Discovered

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Yawning: A Scientific and Islamic Perspective

Table of Contents

The Nature of Yawning

The word’s origin in Latin is bataculaere, meaning “open.” Yawning is considered the first cause of jaw twisting. It is shared by a group of animals such as some fish and mammals, with the exception of the giraffe, but it varies from one animal species to another. Yawning is an involuntary phenomenon because the yawner cannot hold it back after starting it, even if he can control it. A child yawns between 25 and 30 times a day in the first year, then yawning decreases with age, reaching 10 times a day on average in the elderly. People differ in yawning as they differ in sleep.

Yawning often occurs when attention is reduced on different occasions such as:

  • A strong desire to sleep
  • During the stretching process upon waking up
  • When completing tasks that are repeated and do not vary
  • When fasting or overeating
  • When feeling hot or when there are many people in a limited place

The Three Stages of Yawning

Yawning takes between 5 to 10 seconds and is done in three stages, after which the person feels comfortable.

The Inhalation Stage

This stage is characterized by contraction of the muscles of the neck, jaw, and diaphragm, which results in opening the mouth and major respiratory tracts and the appearance of the teeth, allowing a large amount of air to enter and thus a deep inhalation occurs. Hearing decreases for a short period due to the closure of the Eustachian tube that connects the middle ear and the pharynx. The eyelids also come together and sometimes a tear falls on the cheek. This stage may be accompanied by stretching resulting from muscle stretching, and the back becomes rounded or concave depending on the species.

The Apex Stage

This stage is characterized by a short period of cessation of breathing during which the chest is filled with air.

The Exhalation Stage

During this stage, the air is expelled, which is often accompanied by the sound that characterizes yawning. The Muslim must do his best to avoid this sound as much as possible. During this stage, things return to normal as the mouth closes, the eyes open, and the muscles relax.

Scientific Research on Yawning

During paradoxical sleep, the body’s muscles relax, including those involved in breathing, which leads to constriction of the upper respiratory tract. However, after waking up, the body performs a series of stretches and yawns that enable the expansion of these tracts and the reactivation of the body’s muscles. When the body feels tired or bored, it sends signals to the brain, which activates the yawning mechanisms that intervene to raise attention. However, if the body is in dire need of rest and sleep, yawning does not allow it to pay attention.

In 1980, some biologists concluded that yawning is linked to the eating regimen, when they noticed that laboratory mice accustomed to a daily meal at a specific time began to yawn four to ten times in the hour preceding the meal after three weeks. After they were subjected to fasting for three days, they stopped yawning at that time.
In 1998, other scientists concluded that brain hormones called hypocretin are important in yawning. The Japanese researcher Etoko Satozuki injected these hormones into mice and found that they yawn and their alertness increases.
Scientific research has proven the hypothesis that claims that the yawning process is carried out by the body to supply the brain with oxygen is wrong. Researchers measured the percentage of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood before and after yawning and noticed that this percentage does not change.

Why Does Contagious Yawning Occur

Usually, a person is in a gathering and then finds himself forced to yawn after another person sitting next to him yawns. Sometimes the wave of yawning spreads to several people in the same gathering, especially when their attention is low. While yawning is a common phenomenon among a group of animals, the phenomenon of contagion or imitation is specific to humans. Scientists have conducted many experiments to find out the mechanism of this imitation:

Psychiatrist Robert Bovan conducted an experiment in which he showed a film in which yawning was repeated thirty times. Volunteers watched it, most of whom fell into the yawn trap, whether after a few seconds or after a few minutes. However, when animated cartoons replaced the film, these volunteers did not yawn.
Stefan Platek’s experiments in 2003 demonstrated that a person is more likely to imitate yawning the more able he is to interact with others, know their emotions, and decode their feelings.
Rita Harry concluded through experiments conducted in June 2003 that mirror neurons are activated during the process of imitating yawning. She noticed that the nerves of the temporal groove — which belong to the mirror neurons — are activated when observing the yawning of others, while they are not activated when observing other facial expressions. This researcher concluded that these nerves are likely responsible for the phenomenon of imitation.

Yawning in the Sunnah of the Prophet

Allah the Almighty praised His believing servants and mentioned that one of their greatest attributes is that they are humble in their prayers. The Prophet ﷺ mentioned that Satan seeks to distract the one praying, and Allah has tested the believers with this. One of the ways Satan distracts the one praying is by occupying his mind and whispering to him in his prayer — including his intrusion upon him by making him yawn until he distracts him from his prayer. The Prophet ﷺ informed us that yawning is from Satan and commanded us to suppress yawning as much as we can. If yawning overcomes us, he commanded us to put our hands over our mouths.

On the authority of Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “When one of you yawns — and in another narration: during prayer — let him suppress it as much as he can, for the devil enters.” — Narrated by Muslim (2995)
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Yawning is from the devil, so if one of you yawns, let him suppress it as much as he can, for if one of you says ‘Ha,’ the devil laughs.” — Narrated by al-Bukhari (3115) and Muslim (2994)
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Allah loves sneezing and hates yawning. So if one of you sneezes and praises Allah, it is the right of every Muslim who hears him to say to him: May Allah have mercy on you. As for yawning, it is from the devil. So if one of you yawns, let him suppress it as much as he can, because when one of you yawns, the devil laughs at him.”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said in another hadith: “If one of you yawns, let him cover his mouth with his hand, because the devil enters.”
And in another narration: “If one of you yawns during prayer, let him suppress it as much as he can, because the devil enters.”
Our religion is a complete religion in which a person finds a beacon that illuminates his path in all matters of worship and dealings. These hadiths prove this, as the Prophet ﷺ teaches us through them the etiquette of yawning and how to deal with it.

Scholarly Explanations of the Hadiths

Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Ibn Battaal said: Attributing yawning to the devil means attributing pleasure and will — i.e., the devil likes to see a person yawning, because it is a state in which his appearance changes and he laughs at him — not that what is meant is that the devil caused the yawning.”
Ibn al-Arabi said: “Every detestable action is attributed by the Shari’ah to the devil because he is his intermediary, and every good action is attributed to the angel because he is his intermediary. Yawning is from being full, and it results in laziness — and that is through the devil. Sneezing is from reducing food, and it results in activity — and that is through the angel.”
An-Nawawi said: “Yawning is attributed to the devil because it calls for desires, as it is due to the heaviness of the body, its relaxation and its fullness, and what is meant is to warn against the reason from which that is generated, which is overeating.”
Al-Hafiz Al-Iraqi said in Sharh Al-Tirmidhi: “Most narrations of the two Sahihs contain the general meaning of yawning, and in another narration it is restricted to the state of prayer. It is possible that the general meaning is interpreted as restricted, and the devil has a strong purpose in disturbing the one praying. However, it does not necessarily mean that it is not disliked outside the state of prayer — its dislike in general is supported by the fact that it is from the devil.”
Regarding the narration of Muslim — “for the devil enters” — Ibn Hajar explained: “It is possible that what is meant is entering in reality. Even though the devil flows through a person like blood, he cannot penetrate him as long as the person is remembering Allah. The one who yawns in that state is not remembering, so the devil can enter him in reality. It is also possible that ‘enter’ is said to mean ‘to be able to do so,’ because it is the nature of someone who enters something to be able to act within it.”
Regarding placing the hand over the mouth: “The command to place the hand on the mouth applies whether the mouth opens due to yawning — so it is covered with the palm or something similar — or if the mouth is still closed, to protect it from opening. In the meaning of the hand is placing a garment or anything similar that achieves that purpose. This command applies to both the one praying and others, though it is emphasized during prayer. This is an exception to the prohibition on the one praying placing his hand over his mouth. One of the things commanded of the one who yawns during prayer is to stop reciting until it stops, lest the rhythm of his recitation be changed.” — Fath al-Baari (10/612)
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Whether the yawning occurs during prayer or outside of it, it is recommended to place the hand over the mouth. It is only disliked for the worshipper to place his hand over his mouth during prayer if there is no need — such as yawning and the like.” — Al-Adhkar (p. 346)

Advice from the Scholars

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Yawning is from the Shaytaan. This was authentically reported from the Prophet ﷺ. If a person yawns, whether during prayer or outside of prayer, he should suppress his yawn as much as he can. If he is unable to do so, then he should place his hand over his mouth, whether during prayer or outside of prayer. Whoever wants to get rid of yawning during prayer should enter it with seriousness, energy, and strong resolve. He should know that the Shaytaan is his enemy, so he should take him as an enemy and try to stop him as much as he can. If the yawn overcomes him, then he should place his hand over his mouth.”

A young man of 22 years asked Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen about suffering from constant yawning during prayer, even while reciting Ayat al-Kursi, sometimes yawning ten times in a single prayer. The Shaykh replied:

“Yawning is from the devil, as the Prophet ﷺ informed us. Just as the devil has power over the one who is praying by casting whispers and thoughts into his heart, he may also have power over him by making him yawn a lot, to the point that it distracts him from his prayer. If he finds that, then let him do what the Prophet ﷺ commanded — suppress it as much as he can. If he cannot, then let him cover his mouth so that he does not give the devil a way to him. He should be keen to approach the prayer with energy, enthusiasm, and sincere determination, and let him ask Allah, the Most High, for well-being from what happens to him in his prayer. Allah, the Most High, says: ‘And when My servants ask you concerning Me — indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me that they may be guided.’ (Al-Baqarah: 186)”
This is in Islamic law. As for yawning in the field of science, its characteristics are still being delved into by researchers, who promise more results — especially regarding the phenomenon of imitation. What is clear is that the Prophetic guidance on this matter preceded modern science in recognizing yawning as something to be resisted and controlled, reflecting the completeness and wisdom of the Islamic way of life.

This article is part of the OpenIslam Wiki — Islamic Sciences & Daily Life series.