Imām Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī said:

The second matter I wished to discuss is that of greeting with the salām upon meeting one another. This is, unfortunately, an abandoned Sunnah. This is a practice still widely observed in Muslim countries—all praise is for Allāh—although in some places they have begun to show carelessness with regards to it such that a person meets his brother in Islām and wishes him a ‘good morning’ or ‘good afternoon’ but does not immediately greet him with the ṣalām. Then, in some of these places, if you extend the greeting of ṣalām to others they do not respond with ‘waʿalaykum al-salām”. Instead, they reply with “welcome!” or “salutations!”. This is a grave error and a magnanimous mistake. As Allāh said in the honourable āyah:

وَإِذَا حُيِّيتُم بِتَحِيَّةٍ فَحَيُّوا بِأَحْسَنَ مِنْهَا أَوْ رُدُّوهَا ۗ

“When you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with what is better than it, or (at least) return it equally.”
(Al-Māʾidah, 4:86)

No Muslim should be ignorant of the fact that the legislated Islamic greeting of the salām is as the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: “It [Salām] is a name among Allāh’s names which He has placed on this earth. So disperse it amongst yourselves”.¹ Therefore, whoever greets another Muslim with the salām, but is answered with ‘welcome!’ or ‘greetings!’ or ‘good morning!’ or ‘good afternoon!’ would not have replied with that which is better than the greeting he was provided with in the first place. This is an act of disobedience that those who reply in this way need to be cognizant regarding.

Related to this matter is another that is deserving of being highlighted which is that many of those who conscientiously greet others with the salām are often careless of similarly bidding one another salām upon farewell. The Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: “If one of you approaches a gathering, he must greet those present with the salām. When he leaves them, he must also bid them salām. For one occasion is not more deserving [of salām] than the other”.² This is a point I wanted to remind everyone regarding because, in many of the countries that I have travelled to, complete abandonment of the salām upon dispersal has become a rampant practice. Rather, there may be two people walking together and one of them will leave the other wordlessly, such that his companion is completely unaware that he is now walking by himself. This is because the one leaving never gave him the salām prior to his departure The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) has clarified, as in the aforementioned ḥadīth, that saying the salām upon meeting someone is akin to saying it upon leaving him, and that giving salām on the occasion of meeting someone is not more deserving than providing it upon leaving them.³

On the authority of Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) who said: The Messenger of Allāh (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: “None of you shall enter Paradise until you truly believe and none of you will have attained true belief until you love one another. Shall I not guide you towards a practice that, when enacted, leads to the blossoming of love amongst you? Spread the [greeting of] salām amongst yourselves”.⁴

Al-Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ explains:

“None of you shall enter Paradise until you truly believe and none of you will have attained true belief until you love one another”: That is, none of you would have perfected or completed his belief, nor reached the state of a truly exemplary believer except by loving those who share his belief, treating them with friendliness and amicability. This is further reinforced by his (صلى الله عليه وسلم) saying: “Shall I not guide you towards a practice that, when enacted, leads to the blossoming of love amongst you? Spread the [greeting of] salām amongst yourselves”. In it, there is a clear encouragement towards greeting fellow believers with the salām, regardless of whether you have a previous rapport with them or they are completely unknown to you. For greeting others with the salām represents the first level of elevation leading to a state of piety, the first habit that breeds amiability and familiarity and the key to affection. As, in spreading the greeting of salām, Muslims will find comfort and ease with one another. By means of it, they verbally bring attention to a rite of Islām that distinguishes and sets them apart from others, while invoking Allāh to firmly establish safety and tranquility amongst them. As this is the meaning of the ‘salām’ that is used as a greeting. It gradually leads to the blossoming of love amongst all Muslims, as the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) alludes to in this ḥadīth. It also acts as a manifestation of the humility and desire for connection and communication centred around Islamic belief only, not seeking the attainment of some trivial worldly goal.⁵

Al-Ḥafiẓ al-Nawawī explains:

In it, there is another benefit which is the mending of relationships amongst Muslims who have severed ties or completely abandoned one another. Warding off the feelings of rancour and hatred that have contaminated such relationships and broken them. This ḥadīth highlights that the greeting of ṣalām is given seeking Allāh’s reward only, not in accordance with one’s whims or personal attachments. For this reason, one does not use the salām to greet only his close friends or those he strongly admires.⁶

On the authority of ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn (رضي الله عنه) who said: A man once approached the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and greeted him saying “al-ssalāmu ʿalaykum”, so he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) replied to him. When the man sat down, he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said “Ten good deeds”. Then, another approached and greeted him saying “al-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-raḥmatullāh” and again he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) replied. When this man sat down, he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: “Twenty good deeds”. Then, another man approached and greeted the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) saying: “al-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-raḥmatullāh wa barakātuh”, so he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) replied to his greeting. When this man sat down, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: “Thirty good deeds”.⁷

Imām Ibn al-ʿUthaymīn explains:

As for the reward attributable to greeting others with the salām, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) has clarified in this ḥadīth that merely greeting another with “al–salāmu ʿalaykum” is deserving of ten good deeds. These are good deeds that one shall find before him on the Day of Resurrection when he is in dire need of them. These are good deeds that increases the īmān present in the heart of the greeter, just as any good deed that is enacted solely for the sake of Allāh alone and emulating the Messenger of Allāh (صلى الله عليه وسلم) results in an increase in īmān:

وَالَّذِينَ اهْتَدَوْا زَادَهُمْ هُدًى وَآتَاهُمْ تَقْوَاهُمْ

“While as for those who accept guidance, He increases their guidance, and bestows on them their piety.”
(Muḥammad, 47:17)

Merely greeting others with the salām is a means towards entering Paradise, as clarified by the Messenger of Allāh (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in the aforementioned ḥadīth of Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه). In it, there is a command towards spreading the greeting of salām amongst people such that it is made apparent. For spreading salām garners reciprocal affection amongst the believers, and being affectionate towards fellow believers is an indication of the perfection of one’s īmān, and īmān facilitates entry into Paradise.⁸

Compiled and translated: Riyāḍ al-Kanadī