'*Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim*' [In the name of Allah most Gracious Most Merciful]
Allah says, in Quran This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islâm as your religion. (Al-Maeda-3) Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu The Virtues Of Islamic Greeting orginally posted by Asma Bint Saeed http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Seekers-Of-Islam/message/3 One very simple but very important virtue we can all implement in our lives is the Greeting, Islam emphasizes it as one of the most important duties amongst Muslims, it is very beneficial for improving relations, building a stronger bond of love and brotherhood with our fellow Muslims and to cultivate good manners, not to mention the psychological factors involved in greeting someone. Islam is the most civilized way of life. How many of us have walked past their Muslim brother by ignoring them as we pass them across the street, pretending to have not seen them? or whenever making conversation one ,mailing .chatting or sending SMS we use to convey Hi,Hey, Hello etc. instead of Islamic Greeting. May Allah forgive us ! Do I have to greet someone I dont even know ? Abdullah ibn Amr reported that a man said, "Messenger of Allah, which aspect of Islam is best?" He replied, "Feeding people and greeting those you know and those you do not know." (Bukhari) So, yes, greet those you know as well as those you dont know! How to return the greeting ??? Quran 4:86. "When you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with what is better than it, or (at least) return it equally. Certainly, Allah is Ever a Careful Account Taker of all things." So, if someone says As-salaamu Alaykum (peace be upon you) to return it with that which is better would be to say-- Wa alaykum us salaam Wa rahmatullahi or Wa Alaykum us salaam Wa rahmatullahi Wa barakatuhu ,and Allah knows best. “Wa Alaykum us salaam” (and peace be upon you) “Wa Alaykum us salaam wa rahmatullahi” (and peace and the mercy of Allah be upon you) “Wa Alaykum us salaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu” (and peace and mercy of Allah and His blessings be upon you) Who exactly should greet whom first ? Abdur-Rahman ibn Shibl said that he heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The person riding should greet the person on foot. The person on foot should greet the person who is seated. The smaller group should greet the large. Whoever answers the greeting, that is for him. Whoever does not answer it, has nothing." (Bukhari) Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The young person greets the old person, the person walking greets the person sitting down, and the small group greets the large group."(Bukhari) Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When one of you comes to a gathering, he should give the greeting. If he leaves, he should give the greeting. Neither is more of a duty than the other."(Bukhari) But, what if we are both walking ? Jabir said, "When two people walking meet, then the one who gives the greeting first is the better of them." (Bukhari) The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'The one riding greets the one walking, and when one of a group of people gives a greeting, it is enough for all of them'. (Muwatta Hadith 53.1). The Prophet, 'Those who are nearest to Allah are they who are first to give a salutation'. (Abu Dawood Hadith 5178). I am sure you know that people have a very strong sense of 'I am better than everyone else' which is not the correct way to think, the correct way to think is for the pleasure of Allah and gaining blessings, even though you may, or may not realise rewards in this life, be sure that Allah will reward you with good in the hereafter. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "It is not halal for a muslim to shun his brother for more than three nights, that is they meet, and this one turns away and that one turns away. The better of the two is the one who says the greeting first". (Muwatta Hadith 47.13). Yahya related to me from Malik from Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Talha that at-Tufayl ibn Ubayy ibn Kaab told him that he visited Abdullah ibn Umar one morning and went out with him to the market, and when they were out, Abdullah ibn Umar did not pass by anyone selling poor merchandise or selling commodities or a needy person or anyone but that he greeted them. At Tufayl said, "I came to Abdullah ibn Umar one day and he asked me to follow him to the market. I said to him, 'What will you do in the market if you will not stop to sell nor seek any goods or barter with them or sit in any of the assemblies or market?' Abdullah ibn Umar said that we should sit down and talk, and then he explained, Abu Batni, (lit. father of the belly, At Tufayl had a prominent stomach), we go out in the morning only for the sake of the greeting. We greet whomever we meet.' (Muwatta Hadith 53.6). The prophet also said, 'When one of you meets his brother, he should salute him, then if he meets him again after a tree, wall or stone has come between them, he should also salute him'. (Abu-Dawood Hadith 5181). The Prophet, peace be upon him, commanded us to respond to the salutation of the imam and to love each other, and to salute each other. (Abu Dawood Hadith 996 Narrated by Samurah ibn Jundub). And I finish off with an Ayah from the quran about the inhabitants of Heaven, their greeting will be Salaam! SubhanAllah, the people of paradise will greet each other with the same greeting. So lets try to implement this simple yet rewarding Sunnah into our lives, even if the person across the road doesn't say it first! Quran 14:23. And those who believed and did good works are made to enter Gardens underneath which rivers flow, therein abiding by permission of their Lord, their greeting therein, Peace! http://www.turntoislam.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4220 Assalamualykum Asma Bint Saeed http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Seekers-Of-Islam/ ________________________________ The Best Greeting There Could Ever Be By Asma bint Shameem with inputs by Adil Khan Did you wake up this morning and say “As-Salaamu Alaikum” to your spouse or your child ? Or did you greet them with a “Good Morning” or even a casual “hi” ? Have we been teaching our children the importance of greeting each other with salaam ? Or when we see them off to school, do we send them off with a ‘bye’, instead of “As-Salaamu Alaikum”, the dua for peace and blessings? For some of us, this may seem a minor issue. Or it may even be a ‘progressive’ issue. But, in our haste to ‘adapt’, we forget thatsaying “As-Salaamu Alaikum” is the best greeting there could ever be. “When those who believe in Our Ayaat (proofs, verses, signs, etc.) come to you, say: "Salaamun Alaikum" (peace be on you)..…” (Surah al-An‘aam:54) Ibn al-Qayyim says: “Allaah, the Sovereign, the Most Holy, the Peace, prescribed that the greeting among the people of Islam should be ‘As-Salaamu Alaikum’, which is better than all the greetings of other nations which include impossible ideas or lies, such as saying, ‘May you live for a thousand years,’ or things that are not accurate, such as ‘An’im sabaahan (Good morning),’ or actions that are not right, such as bowing in greeting. Thus the greeting of salaam is better than all of these, because it has the meaning of safety which is life, without which nothing else can be achieved….” (Badaai al-Fawaaid) “As-Salaamu Alaikum” is the best Dua The word ‘salaam’ comes from the root ‘salema‘, which implies to disassociate oneself from evil and harm. Thus, when we greet other Muslims, the greeting means: “No harm shall come to you from me (may no evil come to you, may no harm come to you) And since As-Salaam is also one of the Beautiful Names of Allaah, the greeting of salaam also means, “May the blessing of His Name descend upon you, may Allah be with you, may Allah guide and protect you.” Subhaan Allaah! What a beautiful greeting! Yet, it is utterly tragic to see that some of us have exchanged something so beautiful for something ugly, when we stopped saying Assalaamu Alaikum and started with ’Good Morning’ or ‘Hi’. It is especially sad to see some of our youth, who don’t even know how to say the words clearly and properly. Some say ‘Saakum”, some just mumble something incomprehensible under their breath and some don’t even bother to say anything at all! And if they are being really nice to you, they just might throw you a ‘hey’ from afar. And even those of us who do say salaam, some of us are so stingy or hesitant in doing so. Although, at the time of the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaihi wa Sallam) the Sahaabah would compete with each other to see who could give salaams first. They would go to the market just to say salaam to people they knew and to the people they did not know. The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: "The best of the two persons is the one who begins with salaam." (Related by an-Nawawi) BENEFITS OF “AS-SALAAMU ALAIKUM” 1.“As-Salaamu Alaikum” is a means of immense reward A man passed by the Messenger of Allaah (Sal Allaahu Alaihi wa Sallam) while he was sitting with others, and said “As-salaamu ‘alaykum.” The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said, “[He will have] ten hasanaat.” Another man passed by and said “As-Salaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullaah (peace be upon you and the mercy of Allaah).” The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said, “[He will have] twenty hasanaat.” Another man passed by and said “As-Salaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuh (peace be upon you and the mercy of Allaah and His blessings).” The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said, “[He will have] thirty hasanaat.” 2.“As-Salaamu Alaikum” is an aspect of Imaan Once a man asked the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaihi wa Sallam) about which aspect of Islam was best. The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaihi wa Sallam) replied: "Feeding the hungry, and saying salaam to those you know and those you don't know." (Bukhaari and Muslim) 3. “As-Salaamu Alaikum” is a means of entering Jannah The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: “You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I not tell you about something which, if you do it, you will love one another? Spread salaam (the greeting of peace) among you." (Muslim) 4. “As-Salaamu Alaikum” gets rid of sins The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaihi wa Sallam) also said, “When two Muslims meet (give salaam), and shake hands, they are forgiven their sins before they part (with each other).” (Abu Dawud) 5. “As-Salaamu Alaikum” is the greeting of the people of Jannah “Then, those that feared their Lord shall be driven in companies into Paradise . When they draw near its gates will be opened, and its keepers will say to them: "Salaamun 'Alaikum" (Peace be upon you), you have done well. Enter and live in it for ever.” (Surah Zumar:73) 6. Even Allaah (swt) says “As-Salaamu Alaikum” Jibreel came to house of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) and Khadeeja was there. Jibreel said: “Allah sends his salaam to Khadeeja.” The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "O Khadeeja, Allah is sending His salaams to you." She said, "Allah is As-Salaam. And upon you O Jibreel, be as-salaam and upon you Rasulullah be as-salaam." [Bukhaari] It is obligatory to return the greeting of “As-Salaamu Alaikum” “The Muslim has five rights over his fellow-Muslim: he should return his salaams, visit him when he is sick, attend his funeral, accept his invitation, and pray for mercy for him & [say “Yar ha'mu kallaah”] when he sneezes.” (Bukhaari, Muslim) We should say “As-Salaamu Alaikum” when we enter our homes “When you enter houses, greet (with peace) one another with a salutation from Allah, blessed and good. As such Allah makes clear to you His verses so that you understand.” (Surah an-Nur: 61) “As-Salaamu Alaikum” is also to be said at time of leaving The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: "When one of you joins a gathering, he should greet those present; and when he leaves them he should salute them, because the first salutation is not better than the last one." (Abu Dawud and Tirmithi) Why would you want to give up something beautiful for something ugly?? It is sad to see that when it comes to the matters of Dunya, we strive our utmost to give our families and friends the best. Yet when it comes to greetings, we forget the most beautiful and comprehensive greeting “As-Salaamu Alaikum”, which is also a prayer….a prayer of peace and blessing….of security and protection from all harm and all evil…..a blessing that Allaah Himself sends down to His beloved slaves……a greeting of the people of Jannah itself. Important note: The head should NEVER be bent or bowed as a sign of greeting. We bend our heads only to Allah. It must also be emphasized that other body gestures in any form or shape (for example, raising eyebrows, extending the arms, smiling, winking, etc.) cannot replace the beautiful greeting of “As-Salaamu Alaikum”. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LoveIslam_LiveIslam/Allah sends His Salaam upon the people who believe in Him, especially the prophets such as Nuh, Ibraheem, Ismaeel, Musa, etc.(Surah as-Saaffaat) as well as other pious people.This was the practice and teaching of Prophet Muhammad (Sal Allaahu Alaihi wa Sallam), the best example for mankind. And it was Allaah Himself that prescribed the manner of greeting among Muslims as “As-Salaamu Alaikum” [not ‘salaams’ or ‘good morning’ or ‘hey’ or ‘hi’ or whatever] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
