Salam and Islam: The Bliss of Muslim Greeting

Source: Mariful Quran by Mufti Muhammad Shafi 

In Verse 86 which begins with the words  Allah Almighty tells us the etiquette of offering and returning greetings known as Salam among Muslims.

Lexically,  ‘Tahiyyah’ means saying  ‘Hayyakallah’, that is, ‘may Allah keep you alive’. In pre-Islam Arabia, when people met, they used to greet each other by saying ‘Hayyakallah’ or ‘An’amallahu bika ‘aynan’ or ‘An’im sabahan’ or other expression of this nature. When Islam came, it changed this style of greeting and replaced it with a standard form of greeting which is  ‘Assalamu Alaikum’ commonly, though incompletely, translated in English as ‘peace be on you’, the greeting means: ‘May you remain safe from every pain, sorrow and distress’.

In Ahkam al-Quran, Ibn Arabi says: The word Salam is on the of the good names of Allah Almighty and ‘Assalamu Alaikum’ means . That is Allah Almighty is your guardian and caretaker.

The Islamic Greeting is unique

All civilised people around the world have the custom of saying something to express mutuall familiarity or affection when they meet each other. If compared with these broadmindedly, the Islamic form of greeting will stand out significantly for  its comprehensiveness because it does not simply restrict itself to an expression of affection alone. It rather combines it with the fulfilment of the demands of love and affection. It means that we pray to Allah that He keep you safe against all calamities and sorrows. Then, this is no bland prayer for long life alone as was the way with pre-Islam Arabs. Instead of that, here we have a prayer for good life, that is, a life which is secure against all calamities and sorrows. Along with it, the Islamic salam is an expression of the reality of our relation with Allah Almighty – that we, the greeter and the greeted, are all dependant on Allah Almighty needing Him all the time and no one can bring any benefit to someone else without His will and leave. Taken in this sense, this form of greeting is an act of worship in its own right and, quite functionally indeed, a medium of reminding a brother-in-faith of Allah Almighty, the object of his obedience and love.

Staying with this line of presentation, let us imagine a person praying to Allah that his acquaintance remain safe against all calamities and sorrows. When doing so, is it not that he is sort of making a promise as well that the person being greeted is safe against his own hands and tongue. In other words, he is saying that he, in his place, is the guardian and protector of the person’s life, property and honour.

In Ahkam al-Qur'an, Ibn al-'Arab: has reported the following saying of Imam Ibn 'Uyaynah:

'Do you know what salam is? The greeter by salam says: 'You are safe from me.'

To sum up, it can be said that this Islamic form of greeting has a universal comprehensiveness as it is a medium of the remembrance of Allah while reminding the person greeted of Him. It is a vehicle of expressing love and affection for a brother-in-faith and, in fact. A wonderful prayer for him. Then, it also carries a commitment that the greeted will in no way face harm or discomfort from the greeter as it appears is a sound hadith where the Holy Prophet  said:

A Muslim is the one from whom all Muslims remain safe from his tongue and (safe) from his hands. (Tirmidhi,Kitabul-Iman)

At this point one may fondly wish that Muslims would not utter the words of this greeting as some sort of habitual custom which commonly prevails among other people of the world. How beneficial it would be if this greeting is offered out of a full understanding of its reality which, perhaps, may turn out to be enough for the reform of whole community. This is the reason why the Holy Prophet  laid great emphasis on popularizing the practice of Muslims in greeting each other with salam, and he identified it as the best of deeds and took time to explain its merits, graces, blessings and rewards. In a hadith of Sahih Muslim narrated by Sayyidina Abu Hurairah , the Holy Prophet  has been reported to have said:

"You cannot enter Paradise until you are a believer and your belief cannot be complete until you love each other. I tell you something which, if you put it in practice, will establish bonds of love among you all, and that is: Make salim a common practice among you which should include every Muslim, whether an acquaintance or a stranger”

Sayyidni Abdullah ibn Umar  says that someone asked the Holy Prophet , 'Out of the practices of Islam which is the worthiest?' He said: 'Feed people and spread the practice of salam, whether you know or do not know a person.' (Bukhari and Muslim)

The Musnad of Ahmed, Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud report from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah   that the Holy Prophet  said: 'Nearest to that the Holy Prophet Allah is the person who is the first one to offer salam.'

A hadith from Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Mas'ud  appearing in Musnad al-Bazzar and al-Mu'jam al-Kabir of al-Tabarani reports that the Holy Prophet said: 'Salam is one of the names of Allah Almighty with which He has blessed the people of the earth. So, make salam a common practice among you because, when a Muslim goes to a gathering of people and offers his salam to them, he is blessed with a station of distinction in the sight of Allah Almighty as he reminded everyone of Salam, that is, reminded everyone of Allah Almighty. If people in the gathering do not return his greeting, others will respond who are better than the people of this gathering, that is, the angels of Allah Almighty.'

In another hadith from Sayyidina Abu Hurairah  the Holy Prophet  is reported to have said: 'A big miser is the man who acts miserly in offering salam. (Tabarani, al-Mu'jam al-Kabir)

The effect that those teachings of the Holy Prophet  & had on his noble Companions can be gauged from a narration about Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Umar  who would frequently go to the bazaar just for the single purpose of having a chance to meet any Muslim there in the hope of offering salam to him and thus become deserving of the reward of an act of worship. Incidentally, he never intended to buy or sell anything while there. This narration from Sayyidina Tufayl ibn Ubayy ibn Ka'b  appears in Mu'atta of Imam Malik.

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Verse 4:86 of the Holy Qur'in which says: 'And when you are greeted with a salutation, greet with one better than it, or return the same', was explained by the Holy Prophet .. through his own action in the following manner. Once someone came to the Holy Prophet  and said: 'As-Salamu 'Alaikum Ya Rasulullah' (peace be on you, 0 Messenger of Allah). While returning the greeting, he added a word and said: 'Wa 'Alaikumus-Salam wa Rahmatullah’ (And peace be on you, and the mercy of Allah). Then someone else came and offered his salsm using the following words: 'As-Salamu 'Alaika Ya Rasulullah wa Rahmatullah' In response, he added yet another word and said: 'Wa 'Alaikumus-Salam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh (And peace be on you too, and the mercy of Allah, and His blessings). Then came a third person. He combined all three salutations in his initial salam and greeted him by saying the whole thing, that is: 'As-Salamu 'Alaika Ya Rasulullah wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.' In response, the Holy Prophet  said only one word 'Wa 'Alaik' (and on you).  Disappointed in his heart, he said: 'Ya Rasulallah, ransomed be my parents for you, you said many words of prayer while returning the greeting of those who came before me. But, when I greeted you with all those words, you limited your response to 'wa 'alaik' (and on you).' He said: 'You left nothing for me to add in the response! Since you used up all those words in your initial salam, I found it sufficient to return your greeting on the principle of like for like in accordance with the teaching of the Qur'an.' This narration has been reported by Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim with different chains of authorities.

There are three things we find out from this hadith: Words appearing in the verse under comment mean that a salam offered should be returned by adding more words to it. If someone says  Assalamu'Alaikum (peace be on you), you respond by saying Wa'Alaikumus-Salam wa Rahmatullah (And peace be on you, and the mercy of Allah). If he says As-Salamu 'Alaikum wa Rahmatullah (peace be on you, and the mercy of Allah), then, in response, you say Wa Alaikumus-Salam wa Rahmatullahi wabarakatuh(And peace be on you, and the mercy of Allah, and His blessings).
2. This addition of words is restricted to three words only as a masnun act, that is, conforming to the blessed practice of the Holy Prophet.  Going beyond that is not masnun. The logic behind it is obvious. The occasion for salam requires that the verbal exchange be brief. Any excess in this connection which interferes with ongoing business or which becomes heavy on the listener is not appropriate. Therefore, when the person visiting the Holy Prophet combined all three words in his very initial salam, he elected to abstain from any further addition of words. This was further explained by Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Abbas by saying that the Holy Prophet  stopped the man who went beyond the limit of the three words with the following statement  (Nazhari from al-Baghawi). It means that salam ends at the word, barakah. Saying anything beyond that was not the practice of the blessed Prophet. (Ibn Kathir)

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3. If someone makes his salam with three words spoken at the same time, returning it with only one word will be correct. That too comes under the principle of like for like and is sufficient in obedience to the Qur'inic command  (or return the same) as the Holy Prophet has, in this hadith, considered a one-word response as sufficient. (Tafsir Mazhari)

In summation, we can say that it is obligatory on a Muslim to return the salam offered to him. If he fails to do so without any valid excuse admitted by the Shari'ah of Islam, he will become a sinner. However, he has the option to choose the mode. He can either respond with words better than those used in offering the salam; or, the response could be in identical words.

It will be noticed that this verse very clearly states that returninga salam is obligatory but it is not explicit on the nature of offering a salam initially. However, in the Quranic expression  (And when you are greeted) there does lie a hint pointing towards this rule of conduct. That this statement is in the passive voice without identifying the subject precisely could be suggestive of salam being something all Muslims already do habitually and commonly.

The Musnad of Ahmad, al-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud report that the Holy Prophet  said: 'Nearest to Allah is the person who is the first to offer salam.' So, from the emphasis on salam and its many merits you have learnt from the teachings of the Holy Prophet  cited earlier, we get to understand that offering the initial salam has also been emphasized as part of the practice of the Holy Prophet . According to Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit, the initial salam is actually a sunnah mu'akkadah (emphasized practice of the Prophet of Islam) as held by the majority of Ulama. And Hasan al-Basri said , that is, 'the initial salam is voluntary while returning it is an obligation.'

Some more detailed explanations of this Qur'anic injunctions about salam and its answer have been given by the Holy Prophet & which the reader may wish to know briefly. According to a hadith in al-Bukhari and Muslim, the person riding should himself offer salam to the person walking; and the person walking should offer salam to the person sitting; and a small group of persons walking near a larger group should be the first to offer salam.

According to a hadith in Tirmidhi, when a person enters his house, he should offer salam to the members of his family as this act of grace will bring blessings for him as well as for his family.

According to a hadith in Abu Dawud, when one meets a Muslim more than once, he should offer salam every time; and the way offering salam is masnun (a requirement of sunnah) at the time of the initial meeting, so it is at the time of seeking leave when offering salam is in line with the practice of the Holy Prophet and a source of reward as well. This rule of guidance appears in Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud as narrated by Sayyidina Qatidah and Abu Hurairah .

Now a note of caution about the rule: It is obligatory to answer salam - however, there are certain exceptions to it. For instance, if someone says salam to a person who is offering salah, an answer is not obligatory. Indeed, it is a spoiler of salah. Similarly, a person may be delivering a religious sermon, or is busy in reciting the Holy Quran, or is calling the adhan or iqimah, or is teaching religious texts, or is busy with his human compulsions - in all such conditions, even offering the initial salam is not permissible, and he is not responsible for answering it as a matter of obligation either.

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