Manners Of Greeting With Salaam

𝑸𝑼𝑬𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵❓

I want to ask, what is the best phrases for giving and returning the greeting of salaam? I hope that you can explain this matter in detail.

𝑨𝑵𝑺𝑾𝑬𝑹❗️

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly: The Muslim may limit the greeting when initiating it to simply saying “As-salamu ‘alaykum (peace be upon you).” But if he adds “wa rahmatullah (and the mercy of Allah),” that is better. And if he also adds to that “wa barakatuhu (and His blessings),” that is even better.

And the one who is greeted may limit his response to the greeting by saying the same thing. But if he adds to that, it is better, because Allah, may He be exalted, says:

وَإِذَا حُيِّيتُمْ بِتَحِيَّةٍ فَحَيُّوا بِأَحْسَنَ مِنْهَا أَوْ رُدُّوهَا ۗ

{And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet [in return] with one better than it or [at least] return it [in a like manner]} [An-Nisa’ 4:86].

It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) when he was in an upper room of his, and he said: Al-salamu ‘alayka ya Rasool-Allah, al-salamu ‘alaykum, may ‘Umar enter? Narrated by Abu Dawud (5203); classed as sahih by al-Albani in Sahih Abi Dawud.

At-Tirmidhi (2721) narrated that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “When a man meets his Muslim brother, let him say ‘As-salamu ‘alaykum wa ramatullahi wa barakatuhu (peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings).” This hadith was classed as sahih by al-Albani in Sahih at-Tirmidhi.

It was narrated from ‘Imran ibn al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: A man came to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and said: As-salamu aleikum. He returned the greeting, then he sat down, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Ten [meaning ten hasanat or rewards for a good deed].” Another man came and said: As-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullah. He returned the greeting, then he sat down. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Twenty.” Another man came and said: As-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. He returned the greeting, then he sat down. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Thirty.”

Narrated by Abu Dawud (5195) and by at-Tirmidhi (2689), who said: It is hasan. It was classed as sahih by al-Albani in Sahih at-Tirmidhi.

It was narrated that ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to me: “Jibril conveys greetings of salam to you.” I said: And upon him be peace and the mercy of Allah.

Narrated by al-Bukhari (3045) and Muslim (2447).

An-Nawawi said in the chapter on how to give the greeting of salam:

It is recommended for the one who initiates the greeting to say: “As-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,” using the plural form of the pronoun (-kum, meaning you), even if the recipient of the greeting is just one person.

And the one who responds should say: “Wa ‘alaykum as-salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,” with the conjunction (wa, meaning and) in the phrase “wa ‘alaykum (and upon you).”(Riyadh as-Salihin p. 446).

With regard to adding “wa maghfiratuhu (and His forgiveness),” it is mentioned in some hadiths with regard to initiating the greeting and returning it, but these reports are not sound. Among the hadiths which mentioned that are the following:

1.. It was narrated from Sahl ibn Mu‘adh ibn Anas, from his father, from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)… A hadith similar to the hadith of ‘Imran quoted above, with the addition: A fourth man entered and said: “As-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu wa maghfiratuhu.” The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Forty.” Then he said: “Thus are good deeds rewarded.” Narrated by Abu Dawud (5196). This hadith and the addition “wa maghfiratuhu (and His forgiveness)” was classed as da‘if (weak) by Ibn al-‘Arabi al-Maliki, an-Nawawi, Ibn al-Qayyim, Ibn Hajar and al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on them).

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: This hadith is not proven, because it has three defects:

It is narrated by Abu Marhum ‘Abd ar-Rahim ibn Maymun, whose hadith cannot be quoted as evidence.

Its isnad also includes Sahl ibn Mu‘adh, to whom the same comment applies.

Sa‘id ibn Abi Maryam, one of the narrators of the hadith, was uncertain in his narration. In fact he said: I think I heard Nafi‘ ibn Yazid... Zad al-Ma‘ad fi Hadiy Khayr al-‘Ibad (2/417, 418).

See: as-Silsilah ad-Da‘ifah (5433).

2.. It was narrated that Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: A man would pass by the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and say: “As-salamu ‘alayka ya Rasulullah (peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah),” and he Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) would say to him: “Wa ‘alayka as-salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu wa maghfiratuhu wa ridwanuhu (and upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings and His forgiveness and His pleasure).” It was said to him: O Messenger of Allah, you greet this man with a salam with which you do not greet any of your companions. He said: “Why shouldn’t I do that, when he leaves with the reward of umpteen men?” And he used to take care of his companions.

Narrated by Ibn as-Sunni in ‘Amal al-Yawm wa’l-Laylah (235). It is a very weak (da‘if jiddan) hadith; it was classed as da‘if by Ibn al-Qayyim in Zad al-Ma‘ad (2/418) and by al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar when he said:

Ibn as-Sunni narrated in his book with a flimsy (wahin) isnad from Anas, who said: A man would pass by… Fath al-Bari (11/6).

3.. It was narrated that Zayd ibn Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) greeted us, we would respond: “Wa ‘alayka as-salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu wa maghfiratuhu.” Narrated by al-Bayhaqi in Shu‘ab al-Iman (6/456). He classed it as da‘if by saying: If this was sound, we would accept it, but in its isnad going back to Shu‘bah there are some narrators whose hadith is not to be quoted as evidence.

Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Al-Bayhaqi narrated in Shu‘ab al-Iman with a da‘if isnad from Zayd ibn Arqam… And he mentioned the same hadith."(Fath al-Bari 11/6).

Based on that, the best and most complete phrase to use when giving the greeting of salam is: “As-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu” and the best phrase to use when returning the greeting is: “Wa ‘alaykum as-salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.”

And Allah knows best.

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This text is one of the many fatwa (answers to questions based on authentic Islamic provisions) that are made available by Malam Khamis Yusuf. You can follow him on Facebook, Telegram, and WhatsApp.