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Bismillah irRahman irRaheem
In the Name of Allaah, The Most Gracious, The Most Kind
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Reference & Source: -source: http://www.ConvertsToIslam.org
(redistributed with permission and encouragement to spread islamic
knowledge, insh Allah!)
THE GRADES OF SALAAM
There are several forms of exchanging salaam. Each has
its grade which corresponds to the extent of the phrase.
There is a Hadith where Imran Ibn Hussayn (may Allah
be pleased with him) narrated that:
"A man came to the Prophet and said, 'assalaamu
alaykum!' The Prophet returned his greeting and
when the man sat down, the Prophet said: 'Ten.'
Another man came and said: 'assalaamu alaykum wa
rahmatullah.' to which the Prophet also responded,
and when the man sat down, He said 'Twenty.' Another
man came and said: 'assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi
wa barakatuh.' The Prophet returned his greeting,
and after the man sat down, he said: 'Thirty." (Abu
Dawud and Tirmithi)
"The Hadith has been interpreted to mean that the
minimum form of the Islamic greeting which is acceptable
is "assalaamu alaykum" and one is rewarded ten good
deeds for saying it. The second grade, adding "wa
rahmatullah", raises the reward to twenty good deeds.
The best grade of salaam is "assalaamu alaykum wa
rahmatullahi wa barakatahu", and this is worth thirty
good deeds.
The response to the greeting is similar in form and
rewards. The least one could say is "Wa
alaykum-us-salaam" and the best response is: "Wa
alaykum-us-salaam wa rahmatulahi wa
barakatahu".
In the time of the Prophet the Sahabah (companions
of the Prophet ) would compete with each other, to
see who could give salaams first.
The Prophet said:
"The best of the two persons is the one who begins with
salaam." (Related by Nawawi in his book Al-Adkar)
"The Prophet was asked: 'O Messenger of Allah !
When two persons meet with each other, who should
take the lead in greeting the other? He answered: 'The
one who is closest to Allah." (Tirmithi)
The Prophet said:
"The person closest to Allah is the one who precedes
others in greeting." (Abu Dawud)
THE ISLAMIC RULING ON SALAAM
Initiating salaams is considered 'Sunnah' or optional,
returning the salaams after it is offered is considered
'wagib' or obligatory, based on the first Qur'anic ayah
mentioned. Islam also encourages people to offer the first
greeting as mentioned in the Hadiths mentioned
previously.
The Prophet was asked about the most appropriate
way to give salaams as shown in the following Hadith:
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) says that a man
asked the Prophet :
"O Messenger of Allah , when any one of us meets a
Muslim brother or a friend then should he bow his head
(as a sign of courtesy to him)?' He said: 'No.' The man
said: 'Should he embrace him?' He said: 'No.' The man
then asked: 'Should he clasp his hands?' He said: 'Yes."
(Tirmithi)
Unfortunately, now in our community Muslims have
adopted other methods of giving salutations, and as we
can see in this Hadith, The Prophet was very precise
about how salaams were to be given.
We as Muslims, should remember that Prophet
Muhammad is the best example for us to follow in all
aspects of our life, and we should be careful not to add
anything new to the Deen of Islam, for fear of implying
that the Prophet Muhammad did not complete his
mission.
As Allah (Most Exalted is He) says in the Qur'an:
"You have indeed in the Messenger of
Allah, a beautiful pattern for anyone whose
hope is in Allah and the Last Day."
(Qur'an, Al-Ahzab 33:21)
The Messenger of Allah said:
"I have not left anything which Allah (Most Exalted is He)
ordered except that I have ordered you with it, nor
anything that Allah forbade you, except that I forbade
you from it." (Buhaiqi)
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