What if I sneeze, cough or laugh during prayer?

Sneezing

A sneeze is involuntary, so it doesn't break your prayer. You can carry on straight away. Many scholars say you may quietly say "Alhamdulillah" (praise be to Allah) after sneezing in prayer. A Companion, Rifa'ah ibn Rafi, once sneezed while praying behind the Prophet ﷺ and said words of praise. When the prayer ended, the Prophet ﷺ asked who had spoken, and told him he had seen over thirty angels racing to see which would carry those words up first (Jami at-Tirmidhi 404).

What you shouldn't do is answer someone else's sneeze with "Yarhamukallah" (may Allah have mercy on you). A Companion named Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam did exactly this, and the Prophet ﷺ gently taught him that conversation has no place in the prayer, which is for glorifying Allah, saying "Allahu akbar" and reciting the Quran (Sahih Muslim 537). He did not scold him, and scholars say a person who didn't know the rule is excused. See Can I still say "bless you" when someone sneezes as a Muslim?

Coughing and clearing your throat

A cough you can't hold back is fine. If you need to clear your throat to continue reciting, most scholars allow it as long as there is a real need. Clearing it constantly or without any reason is better avoided, because some schools say that deliberate throat-clearing with no need can spoil the prayer. If you're ill with a heavy cough, pray as best you can; a cough you cannot control is excused.

Yawning is similar. The Prophet ﷺ said that yawning is from Satan and that you should hold it back as much as you can, covering your mouth with your hand (Sahih Muslim 2995). It doesn't break your prayer.

Laughing and smiling

• A smile: doesn't break the prayer or wudu in any school.
• Laughing out loud: breaks the prayer according to the scholars, so you repeat it. Some schools are more lenient if it was truly beyond your control, so ask your imam if it happens.
• Wudu: in the Hanafi school, loud laughter in a prayer also breaks your wudu, so you renew it before praying again. The other schools say wudu remains and only the prayer is repeated.

If you feel laughter coming, look down at your place of prostration, breathe slowly and focus on the words. If you do laugh aloud, just stop, say nothing, and begin the prayer again. See Does laughing break wudu?

If something else interrupts

Other small slips, such as a short cough or a quick move to silence your phone, are tolerated. For a list of what does break prayer, see What invalidates prayer in Islam?