Al Minah Al `Aliyyah (32)

Sunnan of greeting,

gathering and sitting with others

1. To greet people is an act of Sunnah that is greatly rewarded .

There are numerous detailed evidences that support this Sunnah. Abu Hurairah t narrated that Allah’s Messenger said,

 “Six are the rights of a Muslim over another Muslim.” It was said to him: “Allah’s Messenger, what are these?” Thereupon he said: “When you meet him, offer him greetings; when he invites you to a feast accept it, when he seeks your council give him, and when he sneezes and says: ‘All praise is due to Allah,’ you say ‘Yarhamuk Allah’ (may Allah show mercy to you); and when he falls ill visit him; and when he dies follow his bier."^[1]

In another narration it mentions,

“If you meet him, greet him,”

and this was the practice of the Prophet r and his Companions. There is also more than one hadith that indicates this act of Sunnah. As for replying to this greeting, it is obligatory as Allah Almighty says,

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 “But when you are greeted with a greeting [of peace], answer with an even better greeting, or [at least] with the like thereof. Verily, Allah keeps count indeed of all things. ”(4:86)

The majority of the scholars such as Ibn Hazm, Ibn ‘Abdul Barr, Sheikh Taqy ed-Din, and others (may Allah have mercy on them) all agree that it is obligatory to reply to a Muslim’s greeting.^[2]

The best formula of greeting and response is, “May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon you.” Ibn Al-Qayyem (may Allah mercy on him) said, “The Prophet’s r Sunnah when ending the greeting is to say, ‘And Allah’s blessings.’” ^[3] Ibn ‘Abdul Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said, “Ibn ‘Abbas and ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) said: ‘The greeting ends with asking for Allah’s blessings as the Qur’an stated,

 5  6   7  8  9  :;  <    =  > 

“May the mercy of Allah and His blessings be upon you, people of the house.” (11:73).

They did not like anyone to add other words to the Islamic way of greeting and that such greetings end with the words, “and His blessing.” Accordingly, adding the word “and His forgiveness” has no basis in the Sunnah.”^[4]

To spread greetings (salam) among people is Sunnah and an act of Sunnah that is greatly rewarded, as mentioned in the hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah t.  Allah’s Messenger r said,

“By Him in whose Hand is my soul, you will not enter paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another: ‘spread salaam’ (the greeting of peace) among you.”^[5]

    greeting thrice if needed :

This is only in the case when there is doubt whether the other person heard your greeting or not, so you are allowed to repeat it three times. An example of this would be when there is a big gathering and only those in close vicinity hear it, so it is repeated in order to have all the people hear. What supports this is the Prophet’s r hadith that Anas t narrated, “If he spoke, he would repeat his words thrice so people could understand him. If he met some people, he would also greet them thrice.”^[6] Ibn Hajar stated, “The greeting can be repeated in case of gatherings, when some people do not hear it.” This is the same opinion and understanding of An-Nawawi on the hadith of Anas. The same thing applies if a person made the greeting and thought that the people did not hear him, so it is better to repeat it twice or thrice.^[7] Also, it could be concluded from the previous hadith of Anas t, that it is Sunnah to repeat a word twice or thrice if needed, such as when a person talks and no one hears them, thus they repeat it twice and thrice if they were not understood or heard.

Sheikh bin ‘Uthaimeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said, “However, it is recommended to say it thrice if they were not understood or heard, otherwise, they should not repeat it.”^[8]

3 . It is Sunnah to greet those who

      you know and those who you do not :

The following is the hadith of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) where a man asked the Messenger of Allah r,

“Which act in Islam is the best?’’ The Prophet r replied: “To give food and to greet everyone, whether you know them or not.’’^[9]

As for spreading the greeting among only the people you know, then my dear brothers and sisters, you have strayed far from the Sunnah. Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said that this act is one of the signs of the Day of Judgment and it was graded as sound by Al-Albani. Ibn Mas’ud t said.

“I heard Allah’s Messenger r saying. ‘One of the signs of the Day of Judgment is when you see people only greeting those they know.’” ^[10]

In another narration it says,

“Indeed, one of the signs of the Day of Judgment is to greet only the one you know.”^[11] In a different narration it says, “A vivid sign of the Day of Judgment is when you greet only those you know.”^[12]

4. To start greeting people the

    same as the Sunnah confirmed :

 Abu Hurairah t narrated,

“Allah’s Messenger r said, ‘The one who is riding should greet the one who is walking, the one who is walking should greet the one who is sitting and the small number of people should greet the big number.’”^[13]

 In another narration that Al-Bukhari reported we find,

 “The young should greet the old, the one who is riding should greet the one who is sitting and the small number should greet the large number.”^[14]

 There is no problem if someone does the opposite, namely, the old greet the young, but it is better of course to follow the Sunnah.

5. It is Sunnah to greet and

    shake hands with children :

 Anas ibn Malik t narrated that he was walking with the Prophet r and he passed by some children, so, he (the Prophet r) greeted them.^[15] Greeting children and shaking hands with them shows humbleness and teaches people the Sunnah.

  6. It is also Sunnah to greet the family

     members when entering the home :

 This is general even if the house is empty. However, this should be done after rubbing one’s teeth with siwak (tooth-stick). This is the fourth place that assures the use of siwak. ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated,

“The Prophet used to use siwak upon entering his home.”^[16]

Hence, he used to use siwak and greet his family members. Furthermore, some scholars have said that it is Sunnah to say the words of the greeting even if there is no one at home, since Allah the Almighty says,

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“But when you enter houses, give greetings of peace upon each other - a greeting from Allah, blessed and good. Thus does Allah make clear to you the verses [of ordinance] that you may understand.”                                                   (24:61)

Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said, “This would include making the greeting even if there was no one at home according to the Qur’anic verse mentioned above.” Besides, it is also Sunnah to greet any family that one is going to visit. Allah, the Almighty says,

ﯯ  ﯰ   ﯱ  ﯲ  ﯳ  ﯴ  ﯵ  ﯶ  ﯷ  ﯸ   ﯹ  ﯺ  ﯻﯼ  ﯽ  ﯾ  ﯿ  ﰀ  ﰁ   Z

“O you who have believed, do not enter houses other than your own houses until you ascertain welcome and greet their inhabitants. That is best for you; perhaps you will be reminded.”                                                                  (24:27)

                                          

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[1].  Muslim no. 2162.

[2].  Refer to: al-Adab ash-Shar’eyyah 1/365 Musssat ar-Reslah Press.

[3].  Zad al-Maad, 2/417.

[4].  Refer to: At-Tamhid 5/293

[5]. Muslim no. 54

[6]. Al-Bukhari no. 95

[7]. Referto: Fath al-Bari hadith no. 6244, chapter of greeting and asking for permission thrice. Refer to: Sharh  Riyadh as-Salihin, 2/11.64.

[8]. Refer to: Sharh  Riyadh as-Salihin, 2/1164.

[9]. Al-Bukhari no. 12, Muslim no. 39.

[10] Ahmad 1/387 no. 3664

[11] Ahmad 1/405 no. 3848  

[12] Ahmad 1/407 no. 3870

[13] Al-Bukhari no. 6233, Muslim no. 2160.

[14] Al-Bukhari no. 6234.

[15]   Al-Bukhari no. 6247, and Muslim no. 2168.

[16] Muslim no. 253.