How to Greet Non-Muslims
http://www.central-mosque.com/fiqh/salam1.htm
July 13th, 2006
Question: How is one suppose to greet non-Muslims, and if they greet you,
how must you answer them?
Answer: In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
The word 'Salam' is one of the names of Allah Almighty and it is included in
the Islamic greeting 'Assalamu Alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh' (May the
peace of Allah descend upon you and His Mercy and Blessings). In pre-Islamic
Arabia, when people met, they used to greet each other with various
greetings. Islam changed and replaced these greetings with this standard
form of greeting.
The greeting 'Assalamu Alaykum' is commonly translated as 'peace be upon you'
and it means: May you remain safe from every pain, sorrow and distress.
Qadhi Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi (Allah have mercy on him) states:
"The word Salam is one the good names of Allah Almighty and 'Assalamu
Alaykum' means: Allah Almighty is your guardian and caretaker. (Ahkam al-Qur'an).
Due to this aspect of Salam, it is generally impermissible to use this form
of greeting for non-Muslims. Imam al-Haskafi (Allah have mercy on him)
states:
"A believer may greet a non-Muslim (with the greeting of salam) if he has a
need from him otherwise it is prohibitively disliked (makruh)..Therefore,
one should abstain from saying Salam to the disbelievers, for the Hadith
says: "Do not commence by greeting the Christians and Jews with Salam. **If
you meet one of them on a pathway, force them to walk on the side"** recorded
by al-Bukhari... If a Jew, Christian or fire-worshipper greets you, then
there is nothing wrong in replying to them, but one should not say more than
'Wa alaykum'.
Allama Ibn Abidin (Allah have mercy on him) states by commentating on the
above:
"It is stated in al-Shir'a (name of a book) that when one greets
non-Muslims, one should say: Assalamu ala man ittaba'a al-huda (may peace be
upon the guided ones). The reason for this impermissibility of saying Salam
to non-Muslims is to not show them respect. When one greets them for a need,
it is not out of respect, thus permissible. (See: Radd al-Muhtar ala al-Durr
al-Mukhtar, 6/412).
Imam al-Bukhari records a Hadith in his Sahih on the authority of Anas ibn
Malik (Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless
him & give him peace) said: If the people of the book (ahl al-Kitab) greet
you, say in reply: Wa alaykum (and also on you)". (Sahih al-Bukhari).
Also in Sahih al-Bukhari, in the 'Chapter: How to greet a gathering in which
there are Muslims and non-Muslims' a long Hadith has been recorded on the
authority of Usama ibn Zaid (Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger
of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) passed by a gathering in which
there were Muslims, Idolaters and Jews, and the Messenger of Allah (Allah
bless him & give him peace) greeted them and invited them to Allah... (Sahih
al-Bukhari).
The author of Tafsir al-Mazhari states:
"If a group consists of Muslims, Idolaters and Jews, one should greet them
(with Salam), as mentioned in the Hadith recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim
from Usama ibn Zaid. However, the intention should be to say Salam to the
Muslims (of that group) so that it does not entail commencing to greet
non-Muslims" (See: Ahkam al-Quran by al-Tahanawi, 2/306).
One of the great Hanafi scholars of the Indian subcontinent, Imam Ashraf Ali
al-Tahanawi (Allah have mercy on him) states in his famous 'heavenly
ornaments':
"If one's teacher is a non-Muslim, then one should greet him by saying only
Assalam (peace) or Assalamu ala man ittaba'a al-huda. One should abstain
from using the words Assalamu Alaykum for non-Muslims". (P. 476).
From the foregoing, we can conclude our discussion in the following points:
1) It is impermissible to greet non-Muslims with the Islamic greeting of
Assalamu Alaykum
2) One may greet non-Muslims with the greeting they themselves use
3) At times of need, such as the hope of one accepting Islam, it would be
permissible to greet non-Muslims with the Islamic greeting
4) If a non-Muslim greets a Muslim with the Islamic greeting, one should
respond by saying Alaykum or Assalamu ala man ittaba'a al-huda. While doing
so, one should pray that Allah Almighty guide him/her to embrace Islam.
5) If a group consists of Muslims and non-Muslims, then it is permissible to
greet them with the Islamic greeting. However, the intention should be to
greet the Muslims only.
And Allah knows best
Muhammad ibn Adam
Darul Iftaa
Leicester, UK
[ed. Noticeably they don't believe everyone is equally worthy of a cheery,
all purpose "hello"...and our politicians think they will quietly assimilate
into Western society without fuss...riiiight...]
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