On getting closer to the Qur’an we find that Allah Almighty tells us the etiquette of offering and returning greetings known as Salam among Muslims.
In Islam the standard form of greeting As-Salamu Alaikum; commonly, though incompletely, translated into English as ‘peace be to you’. The greeting actually broadly means: ‘May you remain safe from every pain, sorrow and distress.’ The word Salam is one of the good names of Allah, that is, Allah Almighty is your guardian and caretaker.
A hadith reports that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) said: ‘Salam is one of the names of Allah Almighty with which He has blessed the people of the earth. So, make salam a common practice among you because, when a Muslim goes to a gathering of people and offers his salam to them, he is blessed with a station of distinction in the sight of Allah Almighty as he reminded everyone of Salam, that is, reminded everyone of Allah Almighty. If people in the gathering do not return his greeting, others will respond who are better than the people of this gathering, that is, the angels of Allah Almighty.’
All civilized people around the world have the custom of saying something to express mutual familiarity or affection when they meet each other. If compared with these broadmindedly, the Islamic form of greeting will stand out significantly for its comprehensiveness because it does not simply restrict itself to an expression of affection alone. It rather combines it with the fulfilment of the demands of love and affection. It means that we pray to Allah that He keep you safe against all calamities and sorrows.
Along with it, the Islamic salam is an expression of the reality of our relation with Allah Almighty – that we, the greeter and the greeted, are all dependent on Allah Almighty, needing Him all the time and no one can bring any benefit to someone else without His will and leave. Taken in this sense, this form of greeting is an act of worship in its own right and, quite functionally indeed, a medium of reminding a brother-in-faith of Allah Almighty.
To sum up, it can be said that this Islamic form of greeting has a universal comprehensiveness as it is a medium of the remembrance of Allah while reminding the person greeted of Him. It is a vehicle of expressing love and affection for fellow brother and, in fact, a wonderful prayer for him. Then, it also carries a commitment that the greeted will in no way face harm or discomfort from the greeter as it appears in a sound hadith where the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) said: A Muslim is the one from whom all Muslims remain safe – (safe) from his tongue and (safe) from his hands. (Tirmidhi, Kitabul-’Iman)
At this point one may fondly wish that Muslims would not utter the words of this greeting as some sort of habitual custom which commonly prevails among other people of the world. How beneficial it would be if this greeting is offered out of a full understanding of its reality which, perhaps, may turn out to be enough for the reform of the whole community. This is the reason why the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) laid great emphasis on popularising the practice of Muslims in greeting each other with salam, and he identified it as the best of deeds and took time to explain its merits, graces, blessings and rewards. In a hadith of Sahih Muslim the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) has been reported to have said:
“You cannot enter Paradise until you are a believer and your belief cannot be complete until you love each other. I tell you something which, if you put it in practice, will establish bonds of love among you all, and that is: Make salam a common practice among you which should include every Muslim, whether an acquaintance or a stranger.”
The Musnad Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud report that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) said: ‘Nearest to Allah is the person who is the first one to offer salam.’
In another hadith the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) is reported to have said: ‘A big miser is the man who acts miserly in offering salam. (Tabarani, al-Mu` jim al-Kabir)
Refer to Ayat 4:86 of the Holy Qur’an which says: ‘And when you are greeted with a salutation, greet with one better than it, or return the same’, was explained by the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) through his own action in the following manner. Once someone came to the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) and said: ‘As-Salam, o Alaikum Ya Rasulallah’ (peace be to you, O Messenger of Allah). While returning the greeting, he added a word and said: ‘Wa Alaikumus-Salam wa Rahmatullah (And peace be to you, and the mercy of Allah). Then someone else came and offered his salam using the following words: ‘As-Salamu Alaika Ya Rasulallah wa Rahmatullah.’ In response, he added yet another word and said: ‘Wa Alaikumus-Salam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh (And peace be to you too, and the mercy of Allah, and His blessings). Then came a third person. He combined all three salutations in his initial salam and greeted him by saying the whole thing, that is: ‘As-Sala-mu Alaik Ye Rasulallah wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.’ In response, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) said only one word ‘Wa Alaik’ (and to you). Disappointed in his heart, he said: ‘Ya Rasulallah, ransomed be my parents for you, you said many words of prayer while returning the greeting of those who came before me. But, when I greeted you with all those words, you limited your response to ‘wa ‘alaik’ (and to you).’ He said: ‘You left nothing for me to add in the response! Since you used up all those words in your initial salam, I found it sufficient to return your greeting on the principle of like for like in accordance with the teaching of the Qur’an.’ (Ibn Jarir). Salam ends at the word, barakah. Saying anything beyond that was not the practice of the blessed Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him). (Ibn Kathir)
In summation, we can say that it is obligatory on a Muslim to return the salam offered to him. If he fails to do so without any valid excuse admitted by the Shari’ah of Islam, he will become a sinner. However, he has the option to choose the mode. He can either respond with words better than those used in offering the salam; or, the response could be in identical words.
The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) said: ‘Nearest to Allah is the person who is the first to offer salam.’ So, from the emphasis on salam and its many merits that we have learnt from the teachings of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) cited earlier, we get to understand that offering the initial salam has also been emphasised as part of the practice of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him).
According to a hadith in Tirmidhi, when a person enters his house, he should offer salam to the members of his family as this act of grace will bring blessings for him as well as for his family.
Towards the end of Ayat 86, it is said: ‘Surely, Allah is the Reckoner over everything’. It means that with Allah rests the reckoning of everything which includes all human and Islamic rights such as salam and its answer. These too will have to be accounted for before Allah Almighty.