How many of us greet people we come across in a wedding hall let alone a public place? We tend to ignore most people and greet only those we know and sometimes that is bothersome too, how indifferent we have become towards our fellow humans! Islam teaches us that we should greet one another and that it is our duty upon our fellow Muslims to greet each other. Let us examine how important it is to greet each other with the best greeting given to us in Islam, "Assalamu Alaykum" which literally means "Peace and blessings be upon you." Ibn al-Qayyim said in his book, Badaa'i' al-Fawaa'id (144): "Allah, the Sovereign, the Most Holy, the Peace, prescribed that the greeting among the people of Islam should be ‘al-salaamu alaykum', which is better than all the greetings of other nations which include impossible ideas, such as saying, ‘May you live for a thousand years,' or statements that are not accurate, or actions that are not right, such as prostrating in greeting one another. Thus, the greeting of salam or peace 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." Thus, our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) commanded us to greet our fellow Muslims whether we know them or not, so as to establish peace and a sense of brotherhood. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said in a Hadith, "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 salam (greetings of peace) amongst yourselves." Furthermore, The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) 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 salam." This is evidence to show that we should not ignore our Muslim brothers or sisters when we come across them. We should also be prompt to return someone's greeting of peace. Allah says in the Holy Qur'an: {And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with what is better than it, or (at least) return it (in a like manner). Indeed, Allah is ever, over all things, an Accountant.} (Chapter 4, verse 86) We should try to be the better of the two, and initiate the greeting, hoping for Allah's mercy and reward. We should also overlook the mistakes of others and make an excuse for the other person if they do not respond to your greeting. Perhaps they did not hear your salam. This way, we will establish ties of brotherhood/ sisterhood, and will be greatly rewarded by Allah.
