In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

The Virtue of Greeting with Salam (1) (In the Light of Hadith)

“Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and your faith will not be complete until you love one another. Shall I not inform you of a practice that, when you adopt it firmly, you will love one another? Spread the greeting of As-salamu ‘alaykum among yourselves.” (Sahih Muslim)

Who should greet whom:

“Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: The younger person should greet the elder, the one who is passing should greet the one who is sitting, and the smaller group should greet the larger group.” (Sahih al-Bukhari)

“Hazrat Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed by some boys and greeted them.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim)

The method and manner of greeting:

“Hazrat ‘Imran bin Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: As-salamu ‘alaykum. He ﷺ returned the greeting, then the man sat down. The Prophet ﷺ said: Ten good deeds (are recorded) for him. Then another man came and said: As-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullah. He ﷺ returned the greeting, then he sat down. The Prophet ﷺ said: Twenty good deeds (are recorded) for him. Then another man came and said: As-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. He ﷺ returned the greeting; when he sat down, the Prophet ﷺ said: Thirty good deeds (are recorded) for him.” (Sunan Abu Dawud, Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi)

“Hazrat Asma’ bint Yazid (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ once passed by the mosque while a group of women were sitting there, and he greeted them with a gesture of his hand.” (Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi)

This is understood to mean that he combined both words and gesture; that is, he uttered the words verbally and also indicated with his hand. Greeting from a distance by hand gesture alone is prohibited because this method is common among non-Muslims; however, making a gesture along with verbal greeting is permissible. It was permissible for women to greet the Prophet ﷺ, because he was protected and safeguarded by Allah. As for others, doing so is not permissible where there is fear of temptation. Where there is no fear of temptation or other harm, there is scope to act upon the hadith. For example, greeting respectable and elderly women is permissible; however, greeting young women may become a cause of temptation, therefore where there is fear of temptation, greeting should be avoided.

“Hazrat Miqdad (may Allah be pleased with him) says in his lengthy hadith that we used to set aside the Prophet’s ﷺ share of milk for him. He would come at night and greet in such a manner that he would not awaken one who was sleeping but would let the one who was awake hear. Then the Prophet ﷺ came and greeted in the manner he used to greet.” (Sahih Muslim)

In this there is clarification of the issue: where some people are asleep and some are awake, how should greeting be given? It should be given in such a manner that those who are asleep are not awakened, while those who are awake hear the greeting and respond to it.