يُسْتَحَبُّ أَنْ يَقُولَ المُبتَدِئ بالسَّلامِ:«السَّلامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَركَاتُهُ» فَيَأتِي بضَمِيرِ الجَمْعِ، وَإنْ كانَ المُسلَّمُ عَلَيْهِ وَاحِداً، وَيَقُولُ المُجِيبُ:«وعَلَيْكُمْ السَّلامُ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وبَرَكَاتُهُ»، فَيَأْتِي بواوِ العَطفِ في قوله: وَعَلَيْكُمْ.
It is recommended that the person initiating the greeting says: “As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakātuh” (Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings). He uses the plural pronoun even if he is greeting one person. The greeted person should reply saying: “Wa ‘alaykum as-salām wa rahmatullahi wa barakātuh” (And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings). So he starts with the conjunction 'wa' (which means 'and').
1/851 ــ عن عِمْرَانَ بنِ الحُصَيْنِ رضي الله عنهما قَالَ: جاء رجلٌ إلَىٰ النَّبيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم، فَقَالَ: السَّلام عليكُمْ، فرَدَّ عليه ثُمَّ جَلَسَ، فَقَالَ النَّبيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم: «عشْرٌ» ثُمَّ جاء آخَرُ، فَقَالَ: السَّلامُ عليكُمْ ورحمةُ اللهِ، فرَدَّ عليه فَجَلَسَ، فَقَالَ:«عِشْرُونَ» ثم جَاءَ آَخَرُ، فقال:السَّلامُ عَلَيكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ، فَرَدَّ عَلَيْهِ فَجَلَسَ، فقال: «ثَلاثُونَ». رواه أبو داود والترمذي وقال: حديث حسن.
851/1 - ‘Imrān ibn al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported: “A man came to the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and said: ‘Peace be upon you.’ The Prophet responded to his greeting and the man sat down, then the Prophet said: ‘Ten.’ Then another man came and said: ‘May the peace and mercy of Allah be upon you.’ The Prophet replied to his greeting and the man sat down, then the Prophet said: ‘Twenty.’ Then another man came and said: ‘May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.’ The Prophet replied to his greeting and the man sat down, then the Prophet said: ‘Thirty.’” [Narrated by Abu Dāwūd and Al-Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hasan (sound)]
1) كلما زاد العبد في صيغة السلام، بحسب ما ورد في السنة، زاد أجره.
1) The longer the greeting of peace used by a person, according to the Sunnah, the greater the reward.
2) الترغيب في الحسنات العظيمة عَلَىٰ العمل اليسير، وهذا من توفيق الله تَعَالَىٰ لعبده المؤمن.
2) It encourages us to reap great rewards for simple deeds. This comes from the bounty and grace of Allah towards His believing servants.
2/852 ــ حديث عَائِشَةَ رضي الله عنها قالت: قَالَ لي رَسُولُ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: «هذا جِبرِيلُ يَقرَأُ عَلَيْكِ السَّلامَ، قَالَتْ: قُلتُ: وَعليه السَّلامُ ورحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ». متفقٌ عليه.
852/2 - ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: “This is Jibrīl (Gabriel) giving you the greeting of peace.” I said: “And may peace be upon him and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
وهكذا وقع في بعض رواياتِ الصحيحين: «وَبَرَكَاتُهُ» وَفي بَعْضِها بحَذفِهَا وَزِيَادَةُ الثِّقَةِ مَقبُولَةٌ.
In some of the versions reported by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim, it comes with “and His blessings of”, and other versions do not have this part. An addition made by trustworthy reporters is accepted.
1) السُّنَّة إذَا نقل السَّلام من شخص إلَىٰ شخص أن يقول المُسَلَّم عليه: «عليك السَّلام» أو «عليك وعليه السَّلام»؛ لأن الذي نقل السَّلام مُحسِن، فتكافئه بالدعاء لَهُ.
1) When a person conveys the greeting of peace from one to another, it is Sunnah to say to him: “And peace be upon you,” or “Peace be upon you and him.” This is because the person conveying the greeting has done something good so you reward him by supplicating in his favor.
2) وجوب إبلاغ الوصية بالسَّلام إذَا التزمه الإنسان وصار أمانة، {إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأمُرُكُم أَن تُؤَدُّواْ ٱلأَمَٰنَٰتِ إِلَىٰٓ أَهلِهَا}، وأما من غير التزام فلا يجب تبليغه.
2) If a person is asked to convey the greeting of peace to someone and he commits to it, it becomes a trust and he must convey it. {Indeed, Allah commands you to render trusts to whom they are due} If he does not commit to it, however, then he is under no obligation to convey it.
3) فضيلة عَائِشَة رضي الله عنها حين سلَّم عليها أشرف الملائكة بوساطة أشرف الرسل عليهم الصلاة والسلام.
3) It shows the merit of ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), as the noblest of all angels sent her the greeting of peace through the noblest of all messengers.
3/853 ــ عن أنَس رضي الله عنه أنَّ النَّبيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم كان إذَا تكلَّم بكَلمة أعَادَها ثلاثاً حَتَّىٰ تُفهمَ عَنْه، وإذا أتىٰ عَلَىٰ قوْمٍ فسلَّم عليهم سلَّم عليهم ثلاثاً. رواه البخاري.
853/3 - Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “Whenever the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) spoke a word, he would repeat it thrice until it is understood from him. And whenever he greeted a group of people, he would greet them thrice.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri]
وهذا مَحْمُولٌ عَلىٰ مَا إذا كان الجَمْعُ كَثيراً.
This is taken to refer to the case when there is a large gathering.
1) حرص النَّبيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَلَىٰ إيصال الخير لأمته، وشفقته عليهم.
1) The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) was keen to deliver everything good to his Ummah and was compassionate towards them.
2) المؤمن يخاطب النَّاس عَلَىٰ قدر عقولهم، ويلتمس لهم الأعذار.
2) A believer should address people in the manner that suits their level of understanding and find excuses for them.
4/854 ــ وعن المِقْدَادِ رضي الله عنه في حديثِهِ الطويل قال: كُنَّا نَرفَعُ للنَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم نَصِيبَهُ مِنَ اللَّبَنِ، فَيَجِيءُ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ، فَيُسَلِّمُ تَسْلِيماً لا يُوقِظُ نَائماً، وَيُسْمعُ اليَقَظَانَ، فَجَاءَ النَّبيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فسَلَّمَ كما كانَ يُسلِّمُ. رواه مُسلِم.
854/4 - Al-Miqdād (may Allah be pleased with him) reported in a long Hadīth: “We used to set aside for the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) his share of milk, and he would come at night and offer greetings of peace in a tone that did not disturb those who were asleep but was heard by those who were awake. So (one night), the Prophet came and gave greetings of peace as he used to greet... ” [Narrated by Muslim]
1) كمال هدي النَّبيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ورحمته بالمؤمنين؛ فكان سلامه يسمعه اليَقظان، ولا يوقظ النيام.
1) It shows the Prophet’s perfect guidance and his mercy towards the believers. His greeting would be heard by those awake and not disturb those asleep.
2) لا ضرر ولا ضرار في هدي الإسلام.
2) There should be no harm nor reciprocation of harm; an Islamic rule.
5/855 ــ حديث أسماءَ بنتِ يزيدَ رضي الله عنها أنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم مرَّ في المسجد يوماً، وعُصبةٌ مِنَ النِّسَاء قُعودٌ، فألوىٰ بيده بالتَّسْليم. رواه الترمذي وقال: حديث حسن[1].
855/5 - Asmā bint Yazīd (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) passed through the mosque one day while a group of women were sitting there, so he moved his hand with the greeting of peace. [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi; he classified it as Hasan (sound)] [1]
وَهذا مَحْمُولٌ عَلىٰ أنه صلى الله عليه وسلم جَمَعَ بَيْنَ اللَّفظ والإشارَة، ويُؤَيِّدُهُ أن في رِوايةِ أبي داود: فَسَلَّمَ عَلَيْنَا.
This is taken to mean that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said and signaled the greeting, which is supported by another version narrated by Abu Dāwūd in which it is reported: “so he gave us the greeting of peace.”
فألوىٰ: أشار.
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عصبة: جماعة.
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1) التسليم باليد فحسب دون التلفظ بالسَّلام منهيٌّ عَنْه؛ لأنه مشابه لسلام مَن أُمرنا بمخالفتهم، وهم اليهود والنصارىٰ.
1) It is forbidden to give the greeting only with the hand, without saying it verbally, for this resembles the manner of the Jews and Christians, from whom we are commanded to differ.
2) جواز السلام عَلَىٰ النساء عند عدم الفتنة، أما المرأة الواحدة فلا يسلِّم الأجنبي عليها، لما يُخشىٰ من الفتنة.
2) It is permissible to greet women when temptation is not feared. But when a woman is alone, it is not permissible for an unrelated man to greet her, for fear of temptation.
3) إن مخالفة النَّبيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم لأهل الكتاب من شعائر أهل الإسلام. ومن ذلك: شأن السلام، فأين المسلمون عن هذا الأصل العظيم؟
3) That the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) would differ from the People of the Book is one of the rites of Islam. This includes the greeting of peace. So where are Muslims from this great principle?
6/856 ــ عن أبي جُرَيّ الهجَيْميِّ رضي الله عنه قَالَ: أتيتُ رَسُول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، فقُلتُ: عليك السَّلامُ يارسول الله، قَالَ: «لا تَقُلْ عليكَ السَّلامُ، فإنَّ عليْكَ السَّلامُ تحيَّةُ المَوْتىٰ».
856/6 - Abu Jurayy al-Hujaymi (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I went to the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and said: “Upon you be peace, O Messenger of Allah.” He said: “Do not say ‘Upon you be peace’, for this is the greeting to the dead.”
رواه أبو داود، والترمذي وقال: حديث حسن صحيح. وقد سبق بِطولِه.
[Narrated by Abu Dāwūd and Al-Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hasan Sahīh (sound and authentic). It has previously been cited in its entirety]
1) الحث علىٰ تعليم الجاهل المسألة، وتنبيه من أخطأ باللفظ عَلَىٰ الصحيح من الألفاظ الشرعية.
1) It urges us to teach the ignorant what they do not know about and alert the person who uses the wrong wording to the correct wording prescribed in the Shariah.
2) بيان صفة السلام عَلَىٰ الموتىٰ في القبور بقولنا: «عليك السلام»، فهو خطاب لغير حاضر قريب. لكن دلت السنة أيضاً علىٰ جواز السلام علىٰ الموتىٰ بقول: «سلام عليكم أهل الديار» فالتحية واحدة للأحياء والأموات.
2) It shows the manner of saying the greeting to the dead in their graves; it is: “‘Alayka as-salām” (Upon you be peace). This is addressed to someone who is absent yet near. However, the Sunnah also indicates that it is permissible to greet the dead with the words “Salāmun ‘alaykum ahl ad-diyār” (Peace be upon you, O inhabitants of the dwellings). So, the greeting is the same to the living and the dead.