relates to alerting a human being, except that it is for a reason other than the prayer, such as one who sneezes and praises Allah, or is stung by a scorpion and says 'Bismillah' (In the name of Allah), or hears or sees something that distresses him and says: {Verily, to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return}. Or he sees something amazing and says: 'Subhan Allah' (Glory be to Allah). This is not recommended in prayer, but it does not invalidate it. Ahmad stated this in the narration of the group, regarding one who sneezes and praises Allah, that his prayer is not invalidated. In the narration of Muhanna, he said regarding one who was told while praying: 'A boy has been born to you,' and he replied: 'Alhamdulillah' (Praise be to Allah). Or it was said to him: 'Your shop has burned down,' and he said: 'La ilaha illa Allah' (There is no god but Allah). Or: 'Your purse is gone,' and he said: 'La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah' (There is no power and no strength except by Allah). His prayer has passed [i.e., remains valid]. If it was said to him: 'Your father has died,' and he said: {Verily, to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return}, he does not repeat his prayer. He mentioned the hadith of 'Ali when he answered the Khariji. This is the view of al-Shafi'i and Abu Yusuf. Abu Hanifa said: His prayer is invalidated, because it is the speech of a human. It has been narrated from Ahmad similar to this; for he said regarding one who was told: 'A boy has been born to you,' and he said: 'Alhamdulillah Rabb al-'Alamin' (Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds), or he mentioned a tragedy and said: {Verily, to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return}, he said: 'He repeats the prayer.' The Qadi said: 'This is interpreted as referring to one who intended to address a human.' As for us, we rely on what 'Amir ibn Rabi'ah narrated, saying: A young man from the Ansar sneezed behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) while he was in prayer, and said: 'Alhamdulillah hamdan kathiran tayyiban mubarakan fihi, hatta yarda rabbuna, wa ba'da ma yarda min amr al-dunya wa al-akhirah' (Praise be to Allah, a praise that is abundant, good, and blessed therein, until our Lord is pleased, and after He is pleased, regarding the affairs of this world and the Hereafter). When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) finished, he said: 'Who is the speaker of these words? For he has said nothing wrong until it reached the Throne.' Narrated by Abu Dawud. And from 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, that a man from the Khawarij said to him while he was in the morning prayer, calling out to him: {If you associate partners with Allah, your deeds will be void and you will certainly be among the losers}. He said: 'So he listened to him until he understood, then he answered him while he was in prayer: {So be patient; indeed, the promise of Allah is truth, and do not let those who have no certainty be disquieted}.' Ahmad cited this as evidence, and Abu Bakr al-Najjad narrated it with his chain of transmission. Furthermore, because that which does not invalidate the prayer initially, does not invalidate it when it is performed following a cause, like the tasbih for alerting his imam.