Allah Almighty says: {O you who believe, do not enter houses other than your own houses until you ascertain welcome and greet their inhabitants} [Surat an-Nūr: 27] He also says: {When you enter houses, give greetings of peace upon each other, a greeting from Allah} [Surat an-Nūr: 61] He also says: {And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet [in return] with one better than it or return it [in a like manner]} [Surat an-Nisā’: 86] Allah Almighty also says: {Has there reached you the story of the honored guests of Abraham? When they entered upon him and said: “Peace be upon you.” He said: “Upon you be peace; [you are] a people unknown.”} [Surat adh-Dhāriyāt: 24-25]
To greet someone with Salām (Peace) means to invoke Allah to make them safe from all harm. It is a general term, which is also intended as the greeting legislated by the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) for his Ummah. Muslims are required to give this greeting and spread it among themselves. It is an effective means for inspiring love among the believers.
1) The greeting of peace is a tradition of the messengers and the angels nearest to Allah (peace be upon them).
2) If you want to enter a house that is not yours, you should first seek permission and give the greeting of peace, in order to break the ice and create harmony.
3) It is recommended in returning the greeting to return it with a better one, in terms of the words and the manner of saying them. So, the best in terms of the words is to reply to “As-Salāmu ‘alaykum” (Peace be upon you) with “Wa ‘alaykum as-salām wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuh” (And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings). In terms of the manner, if a person greeted us in a clear voice while looking towards us, we should not return the greeting while looking away from him or in a weak and low voice.
845/1 - ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that a man asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him): “Which deed in Islam is better?” He said: “To feed people and to greet with peace those whom you know and those you do not know.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
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1) When someone asks a scholar about something useful, he should intend to act upon it, not merely to acquire knowledge.
2) Let us not only greet those we know, but give the greeting for the sake of cordiality and divine reward.
3) Feeding one’s relatives is regarded as both an act of charity and upholding of kinship ties, as well as fulfillment of an obligatory act. Feeding unrelated people, on the other hand, is regarded as charity and performance of a recommended act. What is obligatory is dearer to Allah Almighty than what is recommended.
Types of people with regard to the greeting of peace:
First: Muslims who are not known to be evildoers. We greet them, and the best of two persons meeting each other is the one who initiates the greeting of peace.
Second: Muslims who are known to be evildoers. We greet such people if the greeting serves a good purpose and we refrain from it if deserting them serves a good purpose.
Third: Disbelievers. We do not initiate the greeting to them. But if they greet us, we return the greeting, based on the generality of the verse that says: {And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet [in return] with one better than it or return it [in a like manner].}
846/2 - Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “After Allah Almighty created Adam (peace be upon him), He said: ‘Go and greet those - a group of sitting angels - and listen to what they greet you, for this is your greeting and the greeting of your progeny.’ Adam said: ‘As-salāmu ‘alaykum’ (Peace be upon you). They replied: ‘As-salāmu ‘alayk wa rahmatullah’ (Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah). They added ‘and the mercy of Allah’.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
1) The Islamic greeting is taken from the honorable angels by the command of Allah Almighty.
2) The best form for returning the greeting is: “Wa ‘alykum as-salām wa rahmatullāh wa barakātuh” (And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings).
It is not permissible to replace the greeting reported in the Shariah with phrases that people commonly say, such as “good morning” or “welcome”. This would be regarded as trading what is superior for what is inferior. Likewise, we may only return the greeting with the form reported in the Shariah. Such phrases as “and upon you be what you have said” and “hello and welcome” are not Islamic responses to the greeting.
847/3 - Abu ‘Umārah Al-Barā’ ibn ‘Āzib (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported: “The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) ordered us to do seven (things): to visit the sick, to follow the funeral processions, to say Tashmīt to a sneezer (i.e. saying: may Allah show mercy to you), to help the weak, to aid the oppressed, to spread the greeting of peace, and to help others fulfill their oaths.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim; this is the wording of one of the versions narrated by Al-Bukhāri]
1) It shows the rights of Muslims upon one another. Fulfillment of the rights of Muslims is one of the fruits of faith.
2) It is part of the Prophet’s guidance to give the greeting of peace, spread it among Muslims, and say it to those you know and those you do not know. This holds benefit for a person in his worldly life and in the Hereafter.
848/4 - Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I tell you of something which, if you do it, will make you love one another? Spread the greeting of peace among yourselves.” [Narrated by Muslim]
849/5 - Abu Yusuf ‘Abdullāh ibn Salām (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) say: “O people, spread the greeting of peace, feed others, maintain kinship ties, and pray at night when people are asleep; you will enter Paradise in peace.”
[Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi; he classified it as Hasan Sahīh (sound and authentic)]
1) Giving the greeting of peace among the believers is an effective means for creating love and cordiality.
2) The key to entering Paradise is faith, the key to faith is love, and the key to love is the greeting of peace.
3) It shows Allah’s mercy towards His servants, as He encourages them to enter Paradise through simple and easy deeds.
850/6 - Al-Tufayl ibn Ubay ibn Ka‘b reported: “I used to visit ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar in the morning and accompany him to the market. ‘Abdullāh would offer the greeting of peace to everyone he met on the way, whether they were junk dealers, store owners, or poor people. One day when I went to ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar, he asked me to accompany him to the market. I said to him: ‘What do you do in the market if you do not sell, nor ask about merchandise, nor offer a price for them, nor do you sit in the market gatherings?’ and I said to him: ‘Let us sit here and talk.’ He replied: ‘O one with the belly (a nickname, as Al-Tufayl had a big belly), we only go to the market to give the greeting of peace to everyone we meet.’”
[Narrated by Mālik in Al-Muwatta’, with an authentic Isnād]
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1) A believer should seize the opportunities to do good. When any door of goodness opens to him, he enters and gains a reward.
2) The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were keen on gaining divine rewards. This was Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) going out in the morning to give the greeting of peace! The successful person is the one who follows the example of the Companions.
3) Friends may call one another using nicknames by way of humor; this is permissible, and it depends on people’s tradition whether to accept or reject it. This does not fall under calling others by offensive nicknames.