Greeting in Islam

[fatima]

Greeting another Muslim
As salamu alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
Translation: May the peace of Allah descend upon you and His Mercy and Blessings.
 
 

When someone conveys salam to you on another's behalf:
Alayka wa alay-his salaamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
Translation: Upon you and upon him be the peace of Allah, His mercy and blessings.
 

[Shamim Ansary]

Proper Greetings in Islam

I have on occasion come across Muslims who are sincere but ignorant of some of the finer points of Islamic lifestyle according to the traditions of the Holy Prophet (may Peace and Blessings be upon him). This however, is easy to do in this day and age where there are so many forgotten traditions of the Holy Prophet which if we saw today we may think they are some strange bidat! One of these forgotten traditions is one of the most basic and fundamental elements of our dear religion, the Islamic greeting. The Islamic greeting, as-salaamu ‘alaikum; God’s Peace be upon you, is an element of good Islamic manners. In the proper conduct of greetings one may find keys to good social behavior and the proprieties of friendship and exchanges in Islamic framings. God says in the Qur’an (BismillaharRahmanirRahim),

    “When you are greeted with a greeting, greet with better than it or return it. Allah takes count of all things”. (004:086)

So clearly it is preferred to return a greeting by adding to it. But there have been so many times where I have greeted a Muslim and received no greeting at all! And perhaps times where a Muslim has greeted me and received only an equal greeting in return, or worse. These days we greet people we know, and only people we know. When we receive a greeting from someone we don’t know we are silent looking oddly as if someone has violated an unwritten code of ethics. But this unwritten code of ethics is un-Islamic by nature and egoistic at best.

One aspect of our Islamic greeting would puzzle me when I first began studying the Arabic language and that was, the fact that we salute a single individual in the the plural saying, as-salaamu ‘alaikum, ‘alaikum implying “upon you all”. This plural pronoun was also used in response. Al-A’mash, Ibrahim an-Nakha’i discussed this item saying,

    “When you salute a single individual, you must say: as-salaamu ‘alaikum [using the pronoun -kum], for the angels are with him.”

It should be interesting to note that our greeting, seemingly of a simple nature, holds many keys within it. And like other keys or secrets, there are protocols upon their use. For example a hadith, tradition of the Prophet (may Peace and Blessings be upon him), reported in the Sahih of Muslim as narrated by Abu Huraira (may Allah be well pleased with him) says that according to God’s Messenger (may Peace and Blessings be upon him),

    “The rider should salute the walker, the walker the sitter, and the few the many.”

Shaikh Ahmad Fathu’llah Jami’s Sifat al-Mu’minin (The Attributes of the Believers) gives a clear and concise commentary on this hadith explaining that,

    “He began mentioning the rider, because of his elevated rank, and because pride might otherwise deter him from being the first to salute. The same principle was then applied to the walker [in relation to the sitter]. It has also been said: “Since the sitter is in the state of dignity, calm and composure, he is entitled to that prerogative [of being saluted], rather that the walker, whose state is the opposite.” As for the salutation offered by the few to the many, it is a mark of respect for the majority of Muslims. As recorded by al-Bukhari, this Prophetic tradition includes the addition words:
    “The younger should salute the adult.”

Another custom of the Holy Prophet (may Peace and Blessings be upon him) is shaking hands while offering salaams. This custom in particular, you will find upon meeting me that I have a fondness for, perhaps to a fault. Today, we must ask ourselves, how much of this, seemingly simple custom are we following? And if we are not what have we adopted in its place? Especially when there is blessing and reward for us in these simple customs. For instance concerning the shaking of hands, the Prophet (may Peace and Blessings be upon him) says,

    “When two Muslims shake hands, their sins fall to the ground, as leaves of the tree fall to the ground.”

MashaAllah! And we pass the opportunity to rid ourselves of sins on a daily basis. Yes, mashaAllah to us! There are so many customs for greetings that are lost. But those that we have we should try our best to apply and to raise our children with, to train our children to exercise so that they can benefit from them for generations and not lose these gems, these salutations of the Prophet in later generations. Some of these customs I had never seen in regular life until I attended regular association with a shaykh. Some of which have happened more recently, these customs include:

(Continued)

[Shamim Ansary]

When entering an empty house, you must offer the salutation of peace.
       -You are saluting yourself on Allah’s behalf.
       -You are saluting the believing jinn who occupy the house.
       -Through the blessings of peace, you are seeking safety from the devils and harmful influences present in the house.
       -Custom requires the person who initiates the salutation to be in a state of ritual purity (wudu’) as well as the respondent.
       -When two people meet, custom requires them to try and forestall each other in offering the salutation, as a demonstration of humility.

Source: http://wasalaam.wordpress.com/2007/09/25/proper-greetings-in-islam/

[Shamim Ansary]

The Islamic Greeting and it’s Etiquette

Islam has professed the use of the Islamic greeting when encountering another Muslim or leaving the company of another Muslim because it unifies the hearts and strengthens bonds between Muslims.

Imam Muslim reported that the prophet (S.A.W.) said, "I swear by the one whose hand my soul is in that you will not enter paradise until you believe. And you won’t be believed until you love one another. May I tell you something, that if you practice it you will love another, spread the (salam) Islamic greeting among you." This makes it clear to us, that spreading salam among Muslims is the first step towards paradise. This is because spreading salam leads to increasing the love between our hearts. And the increase of love between our hearts will increase the Iman, (faith).

An authentic hadith reported by Imams At-Termithi and Ibn Majah that the prophet (S.A.W.) said: "Oh you people, spread salam among you, serve the food, behave kindly with your blood relations, and offer prayer at night when others are asleep, and you will enter paradise safely." And Imams Bukhari and Muslim reported that a man asked the prophet (S.A.W.), "what in Islam is the best?" He (S.A.W.) answered, "To feed people and to say salam to everyone whether you know them or not."

What is the history of the Islamic greeting, when did it start, and who was the one who chose it?

Imams Bukhari and Muslim reported that the prophet (S.A.W.) said, "When Allah created Adam he told him to go and say Assalamu Alikum to a group of Angels and listen to their reply. It is your greeting and the greeting of your descendants. Adam went and said: Assalamu Alikum they said Assalamu Alikum Wa Rahmatulah."

The complete form for the Islamic greeting is Assalamu Alilkum Wa Rahmatulah Wa Barakatuh meaning peace, mercy, and blessings be upon from Allah (S.W.T.). This is because Imams Abu-Dawood and At-Termithi reported in a good hadith that a man came to the prophet (S.A.W.) and said, "Assalamu Alikum." The prophet responded and the man sat down. The prophet said, "Ten rewards." Another man came and said, "Assalamu Alikum Wa Rahmatullh." The prophet responded and the man sat down. The prophet said, "twenty rewards."

Then another man came and said: Assalamu Alakum Wa Rahmatulah Wa Barakatuh. The prophet responded and the man sat down. The prophet said, "thirty rewards."

The Scholars have agreed that starting with salam is highly recommended. And responding is obligatory because Allah (S.W.T.) said in surat An-Nesa’, (verse 86), what can be translated as, "When a courteous greeting is offered to you, meet it with a greeting still more courteous, or at least of equal courtesy."

It is enough for one to say the Islamic greeting to a group and it is enough for one of the group to return it. This is the meaning of the two ahadith that were reported by Imams Abu Dawood and Malik.


From the Etiquette of Salam:

    The one who comes greets the Muslims that are present.
    The one who is riding greets the one who is walking.
    The one who is walking greets the one who is sitting.
    The smaller group greets the bigger group.
    The young greet the elder.

Imams Bukhari and Muslim reported that the prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) said, "A rider should greet a pedestrian, a pedestrian should greet one who is sitting, and a small party should greet a large party, a younger should greet an elder one."

Salams are recommended when leaving as well as when you meet. Imams Abu-Dawoud, and At-Tirmith reported in a good hadith that the prophet Muhammed (S.A.W.) said, "When one of you joins a gathering he should greet those present; and when he leave them he should greet them because the first salutation is not better than the last one."

What does Islam say about saying salams to the people of the book?

The majority of scholars reported that starting with Assalamu Alikum is not permitted. They refer to the hadith of the prophet that was reported by Imam Muslim in which the prophet (S.A.W.) said, "Don’t start with the (salam) Islamic greeting when encountering Jews or Christians."

Some scholars see no problem in starting with the Islamic greeting. Some of the Shafies agree with this. This is the opinion of Ibn-Abbas one of the companions of the prophet. He said that this hadith was special for the Jewish of Quraizah, not for all of the people of the book.

What if the people of the book start with the salams with the Muslims. Some of the scholars, like Ahnaf say that it is allowed to return salam and others say it’s obligatory.

Ibn Abbass said, "Whoever says Assalamu Alakum to you, you have to return his greeting even if he was a Majos (fire-worshipper). He was referring to a verse from surat An-Nesa’ (verse 86), what can be translated as, "When a courteous greeting is offered to you, meet it with a greeting still more courteous, or at least of equal courtesy."

The scholar had agreed upon starting the greeting with the non-Muslims is allowed with any word but Assalamu Alikum, like good morning, how are you? etc..

When meeting another Muslim shaking hands is highly recommended, along with a great smile, because it increases the love and respect among Muslims.

It was reported by Imam Bukhari that Qatadah asked Anass (R.A.) if shaking hands was practiced by the companion at the time of the prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.). He said, "Yes."

Shaking hands with another Muslim will result in forgiveness from Allah (S.W.T.).Imams Abu Dawood and At-Termithi reported that the prophet (S.A.W.) said, "If Muslims meet and shake hands with each other, they will be forgiven before they leave."

Imam At-Termithi reported a good hadith that a man said: "O messenger of Allah if one of us meets his brother or friend, should he bend down to him? The prophet said, " No." He asked should he hug him and kiss him? The prophet answered, "No." He asked should he take his hand and shake it. The prophet answered, "Yes."

Imam At-Termithi reported that Anass (R.A.) said, "When the prophet use to meet a man, he shook hands with him and the prophet (S.A.W.) would not pull away his hand until the man would pull his hand away first."

Source: http://islam1.org/khutub/Islamic_Greeting.htm

[Shamim Ansary]

Alsalam_greetings_in_Islam.pdf

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