Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadīyah, Vol. 1, p. 364
Question:
If two people are praying individually in the same place, and one of them finishes his prayer earlier, then while leaving the masjid he says “al-salāmu ʿalaykum,” can the other person — who is still in prayer — reply to his salām? Please explain in light of Qurʾān and Sunnah.
Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd:
The person engaged in prayer may reply to salām, but not verbally. Instead, he should reply with a hand gesture, because speaking is prohibited in prayer, and saying “wa ʿalaykum al-salām” aloud is considered speech.
Ḥadīth Evidence
Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما) said:
قُلْتُ لِبِلَالٍ: كَيْفَ رَأَيْتَ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ يَرُدُّ عَلَيْهِمْ حِينَ يُسَلِّمُونَ عَلَيْهِ وَهُوَ يُصَلِّي؟ قَالَ: يَقُولُ هَكَذَا، وَبَسَطَ كَفَّهُ، وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ: قَالَ يُشِيرُ بِيَدِهِ
(Narrated by the five except Aḥmad; in al-Nasāʾī and Ibn Mājah the narrator is Ṣuhayb instead of Bilāl. See Nayl al-Awṭār 2/331; Subul al-Salām 1/140)
Translation:
“I asked Bilāl (رضي الله عنه): How did you see the Prophet ﷺ reply to the salām when people greeted him during prayer? He said: The Prophet ﷺ would do this — and he spread his palm — and in another narration: he would reply with a hand gesture.”
Other Narrations
Imām al-Shawkānī mentioned that similar narrations are also reported from:
- Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنها)
- ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها)
- Jābir ibn ʿAbdillāh (رضي الله عنه)
- Anas ibn Mālik (رضي الله عنه)
- Buraydah al-Aslamī (رضي الله عنه)
- Ibn Masʿūd (رضي الله عنه)
- Muʿādh ibn Jabal (رضي الله عنه)
- al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah (رضي الله عنه)
- Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (رضي الله عنه)
- Asmāʾ (رضي الله عنها)
Al-Muttaqī al-Hindī wrote:
“It is authentically proven from the Prophet ﷺ through the ḥadīths of Umm Salamah, ʿĀʾishah, and Jābir (رضي الله عنهم) that he replied with a gesture during prayer.”
Clarification of Imām al-Shawkānī
He said:
والأحاديث المذكورة تدل على أنه لا بأس أن يسلم غير المصلي على المصلي لتقريره ﷺ على ذلك وجواز الرد بالإشارة
(Nayl al-Awṭār, Bāb al-Ishārah fī al-Ṣalāh li-Radd al-Salām aw Ḥājah Taʿruḍ, 2/331-332)
Translation:
“The mentioned aḥādīth indicate that there is no harm if a non-praying person greets one who is praying, since the Prophet ﷺ approved of this. It also proves the permissibility of replying by gesture.”
Conclusion
From these authentic and ḥasan aḥādīth, the following is established:
◈ It is permissible to offer salām to a person who is praying.
◈ The person in prayer may reply with a hand gesture, but not with words.
Some scholars prohibited this practice, citing certain aḥādīth, but as Imām al-Shawkānī explained, those prohibitions refer specifically to verbal replies, not to gestures.
For detailed discussion, refer to Nayl al-Awṭār.
هٰذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
