Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: If a kaafir greets a Muslim in a clear manner, and says, “Al-salaamu ‘alaykum (peace be upon you),” then one should say, “Wa ‘alayka al-salaam (and upon you be peace),” because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “When you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with what is better than it, or (at least) return it equally” [al-Nisa’ 4:86] But if it is not clear, one should just say, “Wa ‘alayk (and also upon you).” Similarly if his greeting is clear and he says, “Al-saam ‘alaykum (may death be upon you),” then one should say, “Wa ‘alayk (and also upon you).” The three categories are as follows: 1 – If he clearly says, “Al-saam ‘alaykum (may death be upon you),” then one should reply, “Wa ‘alaykum (and also upon you).” 2 – If there is some doubt as to whether he said “al-saam (death)” or “al-salaam (peace),” then one should reply, “Wa ‘alaykum (and also upon you).” 3 – If he clearly says, “Al-salaamu ‘alaykum (peace be upon you),” then one should reply, “Wa ‘alaykum al-salaam (and upon you be peace),” because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “When you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with what is better than it, or (at least) return it equally” [al-Nisa’ 4:86] Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: If the listener is certain that what he said to him was “Al-salaamu ‘alaykum (peace be upon you), and he does not have any doubts about that, should he say, “Wa ‘alayka al-salaam (and upon you be peace)” or should he limit it to “wa ‘alayk (and also upon you).” What is indicated by the evidence and the basic principles of sharee’ah is that one should respond, “Wa ‘alayka al-salaam (and upon you be peace)”, because this comes under the heading of fairness and justice, and Allaah enjoins justice and kindness. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “When you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with what is better than it, or (at least) return it equally” [al-Nisa’ 4:86]
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 22:21:14 +0000
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