Posted by Umm Sahl in Did You Know | 16 Comments
Spread Salaam
Did you know, greeting Muslims is one of the rights of a Muslim!
How many times do we pass by Muslims, and just move on without saying salaam?
Now you might wonder how do we know if he is a Muslim or not?
Very Thoughtful!
True, it is not easy to identify Muslims (specially men) all the time. But when there is a lady in hijab who is with that man, it is easy to tell that he is Muslim.
For the Muslim sisters out there, we are a source of identification for others. Our Hijab helps others identify that our husbands/fathers/brothers…are Muslim!
So Break the Ice Cubes and let the salaams travel far and wide inshaAllah!
Prophet (saw) has told us that when we meet a muslim, we have to greet him as this is one of the rights of a Muslim. (Sahih Muslim)
The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaihi wa Sallam) 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 salaam (the greeting of peace) among you.” (Muslim)
Read my experience relating to Salaam, click Here
Umm Sahl, your sister in Islam, a wife and mother of 3 beautiful blessed babies
Assalamu Alaiakum my dear brothers and sisters:)
I remember when I was new to Canada, I used to be surprised that when I met sisters in the streets, shopping malls, grocery stores, etc, they used to greet me salam. And I was really very excited about that! Because living in Dubai my entire life till I came here, we never greeted people on the streets with Salam! We definitely greeted people whom we did not know in masjid or when we attended classes, but randomly on the streets, NO!
So then my husband told me that I should also start the same. Initially there was a starting problem, but now Alhamdulillah it has become so easy. Its a nice feeling when we spread salam to people whom we don’t know either:) It brings a huge smile on our and their faces too:) Masha Allah!
Little bit of effort from our side, and Masha Allah the amount of reward we shall get insha Allah!
Don’t forget to share your experiences…
mash’Allah tats was nice shaji.i will also start from 2day when ever i see my sister in & around…
Masha Allah.. thats great dear:) May Allah accept our good deeds. Ameen
Assalamu Alikkum All,
I learnt the beauty of greeting Salaam to strange muslims from "New Muslims" while i was in US.As Sis Shayistha mentioned back home in India too we usually greet to the people whom we are familiar with.But while in US i too was surprised and delighted by the enthusiasm the new muslims showed to greet muslims as they pass by.Since then i have always made sure that i am the first one to greet:).We shuould try not to forget/skip to do this great deed of immense reward which takes little effort from our side.May Allah SWT accept our deeds and help us to be in the righteous path. Ameen.
In one Hadith a man asked the Prophet about which aspect of Islam was best. The Prophet replied:
"Feeding the hungry, and saying salaam to those you know and those you don’t know." (Bukhari and Muslim)
The Prophet said:
"The best of the two persons is the one who begins with salaam." (Related by Nawawi in his book Al-Adkar)
Assalamu alaykum Sis,
Masha ‘Allah, your new way of emailin us is amazain, really!!
Thanks for sharin your experiences.
Several weeks ago me and my friend challenged to greet every sister in our college as we pass by. Some returned our Salam and, Uff, some remained silent thinkin if we know them or not…
It’s too sad that born Muslims don’t know the importance of Greeting one another!! It’s good to know that the New Muslims greet those whom they know and whom they don’t know 🙂
wassalamu alaykum sis May Allah accept your works as havin been done for His sake only!
Walaikum Assalam Anonymous:)
Subhan Allah! I had the same experience you had. While I was in India few months back, I told salaam to a lady pass by, and she was soooo surprised that thought that I knew her and she could not recognize me:)
We really have to set examples insha Allah.
Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmathullahi Wa Barakathuhu
Dear Brothers and Sisters
Say Salaams full Version as " Assalamu Aalaikum wa rahmathullahi Wa Barakathuhu " then we will get thirty rewards. If we Say "Assalamu Alaikum " then we will get only Ten.If we say " Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmathullah" then we will get Twenty.
Ma a ssalama
Assalamu alaikum!
Truly salaam carries so much virtues with it of which we are not aware.By saying salaam you are in fact guaranteeing the other person that you will cause him no harm and are spreading peace.
I have heard that there was a lady who used to greet every woman she saw with a pleasant smile.One day a woman came to her and said she had accepted Islam just because she was so impressed by the lady`s way of greeting!
wsalam.
SubahnAllah jazakumAllah khair for sharing such inspiring and encouraging stories related to Salam. It’s really hard initially…but it’s a great feeling that someone smiled because of your lovely Salam. tell me what should a person do when wearing Niqab(face veil)…it’s strange cause the sister beside you suddenly hears a voice whom she doesn’t know… without any prior smile or similar gesture from that niqabi sister saying salam…it’s seems to be a bit hard..
May Allah help us to be an example and firmly plus confidently follow the footsteps of our beloved Prophet.
Sister if i am not wrong its not preferable to initiate salam to a non-mehrum…although one has to response to a salam initiated by a non-mehrum..
please guide me and correct me
Walaiakum Assalam warahmatullahi wabaraktuhu.
JazakAllahu Khairan brother Abdul Kader for the information. Reference to what brother said:
A man passed by the Messenger of Allaah (Sal Allaahu Alaihi wa Sallam) while he was sitting with others, and said "As-salaamu ‘alaykum." The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said, "[He will have] ten hasanaat." -Another man passed by and said "As-Salaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullaah (peace be upon you and the mercy of Allaah)." The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said, "[He will have] twenty hasanaat." -Another man passed by and said "As-Salaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuh (peace be upon you and the mercy of Allaah and His blessings)." The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said, "[He will have] thirty hasanaat." ( Nasaai)
Sister, I got this from http://www.islam-qa.com
There is nothing wrong with a man greeting a non-mahram woman with salaam, without shaking hands with her, if she is elderly, but he should not greet a young woman with salaams when there is no guarantee that there will be no fitnah (temptation). This is what is indicated by the comments of the scholars, may Allaah have mercy on them.
Imam Maalik was asked: Can a woman be greeted with salaam? He said: With regard to the elderly woman, I do not regard that as makrooh, but with regard to the young woman, I do not like that.
Al-Zarqaani explained the reason why Maalik did not like that, in his commentary on al-Muwatta’: Because of the fear of fitnah when he hears her returning the greeting.
In al-Adaab al-Shar’iyyah (1/370) it says: Ibn Muflih mentioned that Ibn Mansoor said to Imam Ahmad: (What about) greeting women with salaam? He said: If the woman is old there is nothing wrong with it.
Saalih (the son of Imam Ahmad) said: I asked my father about greeting women with salaam. He said: With regard to old women, there is nothing wrong with it, but with regard to young women, they should not be prompted to speak by being made to return the salaam.
Al-Nawawi said in his book al-Adhkaar (p. 407):
Our companions said: Women greeting women is like men greeting to men. But when it comes to women greeting men, if the woman is the man’s wife, or his concubine, or one of his mahrams, then it is like him speaking to another man; it is mustahabb for either of them to initiate the greeting of salaam and the other is obliged to return the greeting. But if the woman is a stranger (non-mahram), if she is beautiful and there is the fear that he may be tempted by her, then the man should not greet her with salaam, and if he does then it is not permissible for her to reply; she should not initiate the greeting of salaam either, and if she does, she does not deserve a response. If he responds then this is makrooh.
If she is an old woman and he will not be tempted by her, then it is permissible for her to greet the man with salaam and for the man to return her salaams.
If there is a group of women then a man may greet them with salaam, or if there is a group of men, they may greet a woman with salaam, so long as there there is no fear that any of the parties may be tempted.
Abu Dawood (5204) narrated that Asma’ the daughter of Yazeed said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed by us woman and greeted us with salaam." Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.
And al-Bukhaari (6248) narrated that Sahl ibn Sa’d said: "There was an old woman of our acquaintance who would send someone to Budaa’ah (a garden of date-palms in Madeenah). She would take the roots of silq (a kind of vegetable) and put them in a cooking pot with some powdered barley. After we had prayed Jumu’ah, we would go and greet her, then she should offer (that food) to us."
Al-Haafiz said in al-Fath:
Concerning the permissibility of men greeting women with salaam and women greeting men: what is meant by its being permitted is when there is no fear of fitnah.
Al-Haleemi was quoted as saying: Because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was infallible and protected from fitnah. Whoever is confident that he will be safe from temptation may greet (women) with salaam, otherwise it is safer to keep silent.
And al-Muhallab is quoted as saying: It is permissible for men to greet women with salaam and for women to greet men, if there is no fear of fitnah.
And Allaah knows best.
sister Muslimah,
When I usually greet Niqabi women, I look into their eyes, so I get to know from their eyes reaction that they have replied to my salam. Sometimes they just nod their head.
I have come across when Niqabi women tell salaam to me, they look at me and somehow I understand that they told me salam. Its either by their eyes or by the way they shake their head. And then I reply to them.
Subhan AllaH! I am sure it might be difficult! But when there is a will, there is a way:)
MashaAllah! fruitful discussion..