The Ruling on Salaam
http://www.darultawhid.com/en/forum/index.php?topic=451.0
Salaam to a person whose being Muslim or kafir is unknown
It was reported in the hadith that you should say salaam to those you know and
those you do not (Bukhari) but this applies only to Muslims, or those who
appear to be Muslim. It was also reported that it is forbidden to say salaam to
Jews and Christians, because RasulAllah (saw) said: “Do not initiate the
greeting of salaam to a Jew or Christian, and if you meet them in the street,
push them to the narrowest part of the road.” (Muslim). He (saw) also said: “If
the People of the Book greet you with salaam, say ‘wa ‘alaykum’ (and also upon
you).” (Bukhari).
The People of the Book are the Jews and Christians; the ruling concerning the
rest of the kuffaar is the same as the ruling concerning the Jews and
Christians with regard to this matter, because there is no evidence (daleel) to
indicate anything different.
But at that time the People of the Book and the mushrikeen were distinct from
the Muslims in their dress and appearance, and they were not allowed to
resemble Muslims.
If in Darul-Islam if someone who looks like the mushrikeen says salaam to you,
say “Wa ‘alaykum,” and do not initiate the greeting, because of the uncertainty
about him. If he objects and tells you off, then apologize to him. You had
reason to act as you did, because you did know whether he was a Muslim or a
Christian, because he is not dressing as a Muslim and prefers the dress of the
Christians and others. Tell him that “whoever imitates a people is one of them”
(Ahmad), and advise him to distinguish himself from the kuffar and to dress as
the Muslims dress. (If however if you are in Darul-Kufr and the person that
initiated the salaam objects, then explain to him that salaam, salah, name, and
many more characteristics of the Muslims have become popular amongst the Kuffar
who have never in their entire lives rejected Taghut nor have they practised
all the conditions/requirements of La ilaha illalAllah. It may be beneficial to
give a summary of
the 'Salat is not a unique sign of Islam nowadays' and relate it to the salaam
and there maybe more useful points to to discuss from the section 'Fiqh
al-Waaqi').
So we should not initiate the greeting of salaam to a kafir at all; if he
initiates the greeting of salaam, then we should say “wa ‘alaykum” in response,
in obedience to the command of RasulAllah (saw). There is no reason why we
cannot then say, How are you? Or, How are your children? – as has been
permitted by some of the scholars, including Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah
(ra), especially when doing so serves an Islamic purpose such as encouraging
him to take an interest in Islam so that he will be receptive to da’wah,
because Allah commands:
“Invite (mankind, O Muhammad) to the way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom
(i.e. with the Divine Revelation and the Qur’an) and fair preaching, and argue
with them in a way that is better” (al-Nahl 16/125)
“And argue not with the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), unless
it be in (a way) that is better (with good words and in good manner, inviting
them to Islamic Monotheism with His Verses), except with such of them as do
wrong” (al-Ankabut 29/46)
وَٱلسَّلاَمُ عَلَىٰ مَنِ ٱتَّبَعَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ
“Peace be upon him, who follows the guidance!”
“Peace be upon him, who follows the guidance!” (TaHa 20/47)
Tabari said: “In the ayah the method of saluting the ghayri-muslim is
explained. RasulAllah (saw) had written at the beginning of the letter, ‘Peace
be upon you if you follow the guidance’ when he (saw) sent a letter to
Heraclius.” (Tafsir)
Ibn Kathir stated: “And peace will be upon him who follows the guidance!
Meaning, `peace be upon you if you follow the guidance.' Because of this, when
the Messenger of Allah wrote a letter to Heraclius, the emperor of Rome,
beginning with, ‘In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, to Heraclius the emperor of Rome. Peace
be upon him who follows the guidance. Thus, to proceed: Verily, I invite you
with the invitation of Islam. So accept Islam and you will be safe, and Allah
will give you a double reward.’ Due to this, Musa and Harun said to Fir`awn,
‘And peace will be upon him who follows the guidance! Truly, it has been
revealed to us that the torment will be for him who denies, and turns away’.”
(Tafsir)
Qurtubi said: “peace will be upon him who follows the guidance! Az-Zajjaj said:
Meaning the person who followed the guidance would be saved from the wrath and
punishment of Allah and would be conveyed to peace. He (Musa) did not mean to
greet him (Pharaoh) when he uttered it. The evidence for this (hukm) is that he
had not uttered it at the beginning of their meeting nor at the beginning of
the conversation.” (Tafsir)
Razi: “Regarding the statement of ‘peace will be upon him who follows the
guidance’ in the ayah some of the scholars said this statement is a statement
among which had been told to them (Musa and Harun) by Allah. According to this
as if Allah commanded: ‘Tell we are two of the messengers of your Lord and tell
them ‘peace will be upon him who follows the guidance’. Other mufassir said: On
the contrary the command of Allah had completed with ‘with a Sign, indeed, have
we come from thy Lord’ The phrase which comes after this command ‘peace will be
upon him who follows the guidance’ is a glad tidings and promise that salvation
of the punishments of dunya and akhirah from Musa (as) and Harun (as) to the
believers and those who confirms.” (Tafsir)
It is narrated from Abdullah bin Abbas (ra) that he said: “Abu Sufyan bin Harb
informed me that Heraclius had sent a messenger to him while he had been
accompanying a caravan from Quraish. They were merchants doing business in Sham
(Syria, Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan), at the time when RasulAllah (saw) had
truce with Abu Sufyan and Quraish infidels. So Abu Sufyan and his companions
went to Heraclius at Ilya (Jerusalem). Heraclius called them in the court and
he had all the senior Roman dignitaries around him. He called for his
translator who, translating Heraclius's question said to them, ‘Who amongst you
is closely related to that man who claims to be a Prophet?’ Abu Sufyan replied,
‘I am the nearest relative to him (amongst the group).’
Heraclius said, ‘Bring him (Abu Sufyan) close to me and make his companions
stand behind him.’ Abu Sufyan added, ‘Heraclius told his translator to tell my
companions that he wanted to put some questions to me regarding that man (i.e.
RasulAllah) and that if I told a lie they (my companions) should contradict
me.’ Abu Sufyan added, ‘By Allah! Had I not been afraid of my companions
labeling me a liar, I would not have spoken the truth about the Prophet. The
first question he asked me about him was:
'What is his family status amongst you?'
I replied, 'He belongs to a good (noble) family amongst us.'
Heraclius further asked, 'Has anybody amongst you ever claimed the same (i.e.
to be a Prophet) before him?'
I replied, 'No.'
He said, 'Was anybody amongst his ancestors a king?'
I replied, 'No.'
Heraclius asked, 'Do the nobles or the poor follow him?'
I replied, 'It is the poor who follow him.'
He said, 'Are his followers increasing decreasing (day by day)?'
I replied, 'They are increasing.'
He then asked, 'Does anybody amongst those who embrace his religion become
displeased and renounce the religion afterwards?'
I replied, 'No.'
Heraclius said, 'Have you ever accused him of telling lies before his claim (to
be a Prophet)?'
I replied, 'No. '
Heraclius said, 'Does he break his promises?'
I replied, 'No. We are at truce with him but we do not know what he will do in
it.' I could not find opportunity to say anything against him except that.
Heraclius asked, 'Have you ever had a war with him?'
I replied, 'Yes.'
Then he said, 'What was the outcome of the battles?'
I replied, 'Sometimes he was victorious and sometimes we.'
Heraclius said, 'What does he order you to do?'
I said, 'He tells us to worship Allah and Allah alone and not to worship
anything along with Him, and to renounce all that our ancestors had said. He
orders us to pray, to speak the truth, to be chaste and to keep good relations
with our Kith and kin.'
Heraclius asked the translator to convey to me the following, I asked you about
his family and your reply was that he belonged to a very noble family. In fact
all the Apostles come from noble families amongst their respective peoples. I
questioned you whether anybody else amongst you claimed such a thing, your
reply was in the negative. If the answer had been in the affirmative, I would
have thought that this man was following the previous man's statement. Then I
asked you whether anyone of his ancestors was a king. Your reply was in the
negative, and if it had been in the affirmative, I would have thought that this
man wanted to take back his ancestral kingdom.
I further asked whether he was ever accused of telling lies before he said what
he said, and your reply was in the negative. So I wondered how a person who
does not tell a lie about others could ever tell a lie about Allah. I, then
asked you whether the rich people followed him or the poor. You replied that it
was the poor who followed him. And in fact all the Apostle have been followed
by this very class of people. Then I asked you whether his followers were
increasing or decreasing. You replied that they were increasing, and in fact
this is the way of true faith, till it is complete in all respects. I further
asked you whether there was anybody, who, after embracing his religion, became
displeased and discarded his religion. Your reply was in the negative, and in
fact this is (the sign of) true faith, when its delight enters the hearts and
mixes with them completely. I asked you whether he had ever betrayed. You
replied in the negative and likewise the
Apostles never betray. Then I asked you what he ordered you to do. You replied
that he ordered you to worship Allah and Allah alone and not to worship any
thing along with Him and forbade you to worship idols and ordered you to pray,
to speak the truth and to be chaste. If what you have said is true, he will
very soon occupy this place underneath my feet and I knew it (from the
scriptures) that he was going to appear but I did not know that he would be
from you, and if I could reach him definitely, I would go immediately to meet
him and if I were with him, I would certainly wash his feet.' Heraclius then
asked for the letter addressed by Allah's Apostle which was delivered by Dihya
to the Governor of Busra, who forwarded it to Heraclius to read. The contents
of the letter were as follows: ‘In the name of Allah the Beneficent, the
Merciful (This letter is) from Muhammad the slave of Allah and His Apostle to
Heraclius the ruler of Byzantine. Peace be
upon him, who follows the right path. Furthermore I invite you to Islam, and
if you become a Muslim you will be safe, and Allah will double your reward, and
if you reject this invitation of Islam you will be committing a sin by
misguiding your Arisiyin (peasants). And I recite to you Allah's Statement:
'O people of the scripture! Come to a word common to you and us that we worship
none but Allah and that we associate nothing in worship with Him, and that none
of us shall take others as Lords beside Allah. Then, if they turn away, say:
Bear witness that we are Muslims (those who have surrendered to Allah).' (al
Imran 3/64).
Abu Sufyan then added, ‘When Heraclius had finished his speech and had read the
letter, there was a great hue and cry in the Royal Court. So we were turned out
of the court. I told my companions that the question of Ibn-Abi-Kabsha (the
Prophet Muhammad) has become so prominent that even the King of Bani Al-Asfar
(Byzantine) is afraid of him. Then I started to become sure that he (the
Prophet) would be the conqueror in the near future till I embraced Islam (i.e.
Allah guided me to it).’
The sub narrator adds, ‘Ibn An-Natur was the Governor of llya' (Jerusalem) and
Heraclius was the head of the Christians of Sham. Ibn An-Natur narrates that
once while Heraclius was visiting ilya' (Jerusalem), he got up in the morning
with a sad mood. Some of his priests asked him why he was in that mood?
Heraclius was a foreteller and an astrologer. He replied, 'At night when I
looked at the stars, I saw that the leader of those who practice circumcision
had appeared (become the conqueror). Who are they who practice circumcision?'
The people replied, 'Except the Jews nobody practices circumcision, so you
should not be afraid of them (Jews).
'Just Issue orders to kill every Jew present in the country.'
While they were discussing it, a messenger sent by the king of Ghassan to
convey the news of Allah's Apostle to Heraclius was brought in. Having heard
the news, he (Heraclius) ordered the people to go and see whether the messenger
of Ghassan was circumcised. The people, after seeing him, told Heraclius that
he was circumcised. Heraclius then asked him about the Arabs. The messenger
replied, 'Arabs also practice circumcision.'
(After hearing that) Heraclius remarked that sovereignty of the 'Arabs had
appeared. Heraclius then wrote a letter to his friend in Rome who was as good
as Heraclius in knowledge. Heraclius then left for Homs. (a town in Syrian and
stayed there till he received the reply of his letter from his friend who
agreed with him in his opinion about the emergence of the Prophet and the fact
that he was a Prophet. On that Heraclius invited all the heads of the
Byzantines to assemble in his palace at Homs. When they assembled, he ordered
that all the doors of his palace be closed. Then he came out and said, 'O
Byzantines! If success is your desire and if you seek right guidance and want
your empire to remain then give a pledge of allegiance to this Prophet (i.e.
embrace Islam).'
(On hearing the views of Heraclius) the people ran towards the gates of the
palace like onagers but found the doors closed. Heraclius realized their hatred
towards Islam and when he lost the hope of their embracing Islam, he ordered
that they should be brought back in audience.
(When they returned) he said, 'What already said was just to test the strength
of your conviction and I have seen it.' The people prostrated before him and
became pleased with him, and this was the end of Heraclius's story (in
connection with his faith).” (Bukhari)
On the commentary of this hadith Ibn Hajar stated the following regarding
giving salaam to the kuffar and the meaning of the phrase Peace be upon him,
who follows the right path: “When it comes to the statement of RasulAllah
‘Peace be upon him, who follows the right path’ this phrase is mentioned in the
Qur’an while the story between Musa (as) and Harun (as) and Pharaoh is
narrated. It is understood (from the ayah) that this phrase is one among the
statements that both the prophets had been commanded to tell the Pharaoh. (And
peace to all who follow guidance! Taha 20/47) If it is asked ‘how could it be
possible to greet the kuffar first?’ we will give an answer to this questions
as: ‘Mufassir said that with this phrase greeting had not been meant’. The
meaning of this (phrase) is: ‘Only the Muslim can be saved from the punishment
of Allah’. For this reason right after the (mentioned) ayah the statement had
followed with: ‘the
Penalty (awaits) those who reject and turn away.’ The same statement had also
been mentioned in the later parts of the letter: ‘and if you reject this
invitation of Islam you will be committing a sin by misguiding your Arisiyin
(peasants).’ If we give a summarized answer we would say: ‘The salaam had not
been directed towards the kuffar first.’ Although it is understood from the
statement this is not the case. It is because the person who had been mentioned
in the incident had not accounted one of those who had intended. It is because
he is not one among those who had adhered to the hidayah therefore salaam was
not directed to him.” (Fathu’l-Bari)
***
the archive of the salaf and the discussion forum "Darultawhid"
www.darultawhid.com/en
