One of the most salient features of Islam other than the notorious and often mentioned terrorism and sexism is the beautiful tradition of Muslims in greeting each other with the greeting of peace by saying ‘Assalamu Alaykum’. Assalamu alaykum means, peace be upon you and is universally used by Muslims of all races and languages, anywhere and any time of the day. The Muslim may also say good morning, hello or hi but this beautiful greeting precedes all.
Muslims say Assalamu alaykum to start a conversation, talk on the phone, knock on the door, enter an office or his or other people’s houses, to greet someone on the street and what is more beautiful is that they do it to anyone they know or they may not even know.
But the most beautiful thing about it is that it is an act of worship, the one who greets gets a reward and if the greeted person answers back by saying, Wa Alaykumus Salam – Peace be upon you too, he is rewarded too.
A MUSLIM OBLIGATION
Allah said, “When those who believe in Our verses come to you, say, “Peace be upon you.”” 28:55
Prophet Muhammad said about one of the rights of Muslims from their fellow Muslims, “If you meet him, greet him with greeting of peace.” Narrated by Imam Muslim
Prophet Muhammad 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 the greeting of peace amongst yourselves.” Narrated by Imam Ahmad.
Qadi Iyad commented about this prophetic saying, “This is urging us to spread greetings of peace, as mentioned above, among those whom we know and those whom we do not know. Greetings of peace are the first level of righteousness and the first quality of brotherhood, and it is the key to creating love. By spreading greetings of peace the Muslims’ love for one another grows stronger and they demonstrate their distinctive symbols and spread a feeling of security amongst themselves. This is the meaning of Islam.”
He also added, “Here the Prophet was urging the believers to soften their hearts. The best Islamic attitude is to love one another and greet one another, and this is achieved through words and deeds. The Prophet urged the Muslims to foster love between one another by exchanging gifts and food, and by spreading greetings of peace, and he forbade the opposite, namely forsaking one another, turning away from one another, spying on one another, seeking out information about one another, stirring up trouble and being two-faced.
Love is one of the duties of Islam and one of the pillars of the Islamic system. One should give greetings of peace to those whom one knows and those whom one does not know, out of sincerity towards Allah; one should not try to impress other people by giving greetings of peace only to those whom one knows and no-one else. This also entails an attitude of humility and spreading the symbols of this Muslim nation through the word of greetings of peace.”
Prophet Muhammad was asked, “What is the best thing in Islam?” He said, “Feeding others and giving the greeting of peace to those whom you know and those whom you do not know.” Narrated by Imam Al Bukhari and Imam Muslim.
Ibn Hajar commented on this that this greeting is for the Muslims in general and one should not single out anybody out of arrogance or to impress them but do it to honor the symbols of Islam and to foster Islamic brotherhood.
Prophet Muhammad said, ‘It is not permissible for a Muslim to forsake his brother for more than three days, each of them turning away from the other if they meet. The better of them is the first one to say Assalamu alaykum.’” Narrated by Imam Al Bukhari.
THE BEST GREETING THERE IS
Ibnul Qayyim said in his commentary on comparing the Islamic greeting with other greetings.
“Allah prescribed that the greeting among the people of Islam should be ‘Assalamu ‘Alaykum’, 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 may not be accurate, such as ‘An’im Sabahan or Good morning,’ or actions that are not right, such as prostrating in greeting.”
Ibnul Qayyim saying that some greetings are lies such as the greeting of living a thousand years is indeed impossible as no human today could live that long. Prostrating and bowing such as the way some Asians greet each other is considered improper in Islam as these are acts of worship reserved to Allah only.
Ibnul Qayyim continues,
“Thus the greeting of As Salamu ‘Alaykum is better than all of these because it has the meaning of safety which is life, without which nothing else can be achieved. So this takes precedence over all other aims or objectives. A person has two main aims in life: to keep himself safe from evil, and to get something good. Keeping safe from evil takes precedence over getting something good.”
As Sanoosi said, “What is meant by the greeting of Assalamu Alaykum is the greeting between people, which sows seeds of love and friendship in their hearts, as does giving food. There may be some weakness in the heart of one of them, which is dispelled when he is greeted, or there may be some hostility, which is turned to friendship by the greeting.”
Assalamu alaykum is also the greeting in Paradise. Allah said in the Quran, ““Their prayer therein shall be: “Glory to You, O Allah!” and “Salam (peace, be upon you)” shall be their greetings therein! And the close of their prayer shall be: “All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all that exists.” Quran 10:10.
