Part 8

“You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not

believe until you love one another. Shall I not guide you to

something, which, if you do it, will make you love one another? Spread greetings of peace among yourselves.’"]

And in yet another hadith, the Messenger of Allah #8 said,

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“The rights of a Muslim upon another Muslim are six.” He 2% was then asked, ‘‘And what are they, O’ Messenger of Allah?” He #8 said, “If you meet a Muslim, then extend to him greetings of peace...’"1

The Manners Of Giving Greetings Of Peace

1) It ls Sunnah To Initiate Greetings Of Peace, It Is Waajib

(Compulsory) To Return The Greetings

There are many proofs which show that it is Sunnah to initiate

"1 Bukhaaree (3326), Muslim (2841)

"1 Related by Muslim, in the chapter, “None Shall Enter Paradise Except For

greetings of peace. We have just mentioned one of those proofs:

“The rights of a Muslim upon another ‘Muslim are six. Df you meet a Muslim, then extend to him greetings of peace.

Another proof is the practice of the Prophet #%, or of his Companions 4; we will not mention proofs to that effect because their practice of extending greetings of peace to one another is so well known.

If person A extends greetings of peace to person B, the latter must return the greetings; otherwise, he is sinning. Among the many proofs that establish this ruling, is the saying of Allah 38:

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“When you are greeted with a resting, greet in return with what is better than it, or (at least) return it equally” (Qur’an 4:86)

Tbn Hazm, Ibn ‘Abdul-Barr, and Ash-Shaikh Taqee-ud-Deen - each of these have said that there is a consensus among the scholars in this issue: that it is compulsory to return greetings of peace. Question: If a man greets a group of people, does each one of them have to respond to his greeting, or is it sufficient for one of them to respond?

Answer: If a man greets a group of people, it is better for all of them to respond; however, if only one of them returns the greeting, the others do not have to return it as well, and there is no sin upon them for not returning it. ‘Alee Ibn Abee Taalib 4 said, ‘When a group passes by, it is sufficient for one of them to give greetings of peace, and as for those who are sitting, it is sufficient for one of them to respond.”

"I Related by Abu Daawood (5210). Al-Albaanee said, “sahih.” And Ibn ‘Abdul-Barr related it with his chain that goes back to the Prophet # and described it as being Hasan, without anything that opposes it. However, Ibn ‘Abdul-Barr said the following about Sa’eed Ibn Khaalid AlKhuzaa’ee, one of the narrators: “Some do not find any fault with him,

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2) The Manner Of Giving Greetings Of Peace

In order of best, second best, and third best, these are the ways of extending greetings of peace:

1) “Assalaamu ‘Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakaatuhu”’: Peace as well as the mercy and blessings of Allah upon you.

2) “Asslaamu ‘Alaikum Warahmatullah’: Peace and the mercy of Allah upon you.

3) “Assalamu ‘Alaikum’’: Peace upon you.

This order is proven by the narration of Abu Hurairah 4, in which a man passed by the Messenger of Allah 2% - who was seated in a gathering - and said, “Assalaamu ‘Alaikum.” The Prophet # said, “Ten good deeds [are written for him].” Another man passed by and said, “Assalaamu ‘Alaikum Warahmatullah,” and the Prophet #8 said, “Twenty good deeds.” Then another man passed by and said, ““Assalaamu ‘Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakaatuhu,” and the Prophet #% said, ‘Thirty good deeds,"

I mentioned the ways of extending greetings of peace from best to least best, and in responding to one of those greetings, one should give a similar or better greeting, for Allah 3€ said:

but a group [of scholars] have ruled that he is weak.” (At-Tamheed (6:290). And in Al-Irwaa Al-Ghaleel, Ash-Shaikh Al-Albaanee ruled that the hadith is Hasan, and he mentioned the ruling of An-Naisaabooree: “This hadith is Hasan.” He then mentioned the different chains for this hadith and their overall effect of strengthening the hadith, and at the end of his commentary, he said, “With its various chains, perhaps this hadith becomes stronger, to the level of Hasan; and this seems to be the stronger view, and Allah knows best (Al-Irwaa (778).” Note: I have gone in detail here because it is necessary to know if there is a sin on a group of people if only one of them responds to a greeting, and the ruling in this issue hinges upon the authenticity of this narration.

" Related by At-Tirmidhee (2689), who said, “The hadith is Hasan sahih, and Ghareeb from this chain.” And Al-Bukhaaree related it in Al-Adab AlMufrad (986). Al-Albaanee said, “sahih.” Ad-Daarimee (264) and Ahmad (19446) related it as well.

“When you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with what is better than it, or (at least) return it equally’ (Quran 4:86)

And even if you are responding to the greeting of a single Muslim, you should use the plural pronoun: ‘Wa-‘AlaikumusSalaam...’ instead of ‘Wa-‘Alaikas-Salaam.’

Question: Suppose someone gives us greetings of peace and ends his greeting with, ‘Wabarakaatuhu.’ In order to respond with a better greeting, as is mentioned in the verse

may we add, ‘Wa-maghfiratuhu Wa-Ihsaanuhu...(And His forgiveness and generosity...)?

Answer: When responding to another person’s greeting, you should not add anything after, ““Wabarakaatuhu,” even if that is where the other person ended. Ibn ‘Abdul-Barr said, “Ibn ‘Abbaas # and Ibn ‘Umar # said to, ‘Finish [greetings of] peace with Al-Barakah (i.e., ‘Wabarakaatuhu’), just as Allah 3% said about His righteous slaves:

“The Mercy of Allah and His Blessings be on you, O the family [of Ibraaheem]”’ (Quran 11:73).

And they both disliked for anyone to add anything after ‘Wabarakaatuhu’ in his greetings of peace.”

3) It Is Disliked To Initiate A Greeting With “Alaikas-Salaam (Thus Reversing The Word Order, Which Is Correctly Done When One Responds To Another Person’s Greeting)”

There are authentic narrations that establish this ruling; for

example, Jaabir Ibn Saleem Al-Hujaimee 4 said, ‘I went to the

Prophet #% and said, ‘Alaikus-Salaam,’ to which he #% responded,

Chapter -2 The Manners Of Giving Greetings Of Peace 59

‘Do no say, ‘Alaikus-Salaam,’ but instead say, ‘As-Salaamu- ‘Alaik.”"

And the wording of the Prophet's answer is slightly different in Abu Daawood’s narration:

“Do not say, ‘Alaikus-Salaam,’ for ‘Alaikus-Salaam,’ is the greeting of the dead.’

Therefore, it is disliked to initiate a greeting with, “AlaikusSalaam,”

4) If You Are Greeting A Large Gathering Or If You Doubt Whether The Person You Greeted Heard You, It Is Recommended To Repeat The Greeting Three Times

5) It Is Sunnah To Initiate Greetings And Respond To Them Out Loud

It is from the guidance of the Prophet # that he would raise his voice when he gave and returned greetings of peace. One does

"I Sunan Abu Daawood (5209); Al-Albaanee said, “sahih.””

not, therefore, receive reward for whispering greetings or saying them in such a low voice that no one but he can hear them - there is an exception to this ruling, which we will come to later on. Thaabit Ibn ‘Ubaid said, “I went to a gathering wherein ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar was present, and he said, ‘When you give greetings of peace, then let others hear you, for it is a blessed and good greeting.””"1)

Ibn Hajr pointed out that the Prophet 2 ordered Muslims to spread greetings of peace among themselves, but that order cannot be fulfilled when one gives greetings in a low, inaudible voice; hence, in order for one to comply with that command, one must initiate and return greetings in a loud voice. Consequently, it is not enough for one to signal his greetings with, for instance, a motion of the hand.

And An-Nawawee ruled that one who gives an inaudible greeting of peace has given no greeting whatsoever; hence, it is not compulsory - nor really possible - for the other person to respond. At the very least, one should return greetings, if not out loud, then at least in an audible tone; otherwise, he has not fulfilled the compulsory duty of responding to greetings of peace.

6) It Is Sunnah To Make One’s Greetings Inclusive Of Everyone — Of Those One Knows And Of Those One Does Not Know”!

A man once asked the Prophet #, ‘Which Islam is best?” The Prophet 2 said, W535 AS ay Cie U4 Je pol 1s pda Bb “Feeding food [to others] and saying ‘As-Salaam,’ both to those you know and to those you don’t know.)

"1 Al-Adab Al-Mufrad (1005); Al-Albaanee said, “It has an authentic chain.” And Al-Haafidh said the same (11/18): sahih Al-Adab Al-Mufrad (pg. 385)

2] Of course, this ruling applies in the case of Muslims and not in the case of disbelievers, for they are not befitting of this supplication.

'9] Al-Bukhaaree (12) and Muslim (39)

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