وَتَقْرَأُ السَّلَامَ عَلَى مَنْ عَرَفْتَ، وَعَلَى مَنْ لَمْ تَعْرِفْ
“Give the greeting of peace to everyone, whether you recognise them or not.”
Benefits:
Greeting with salam upon meeting is one of the distinguishing marks of our religion, Islam. If those meeting are already acquainted, the salam becomes a means of mutual love, affection and goodwill; and if there was no prior acquaintance, this very word becomes a means of connection, trust and goodwill. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ strongly emphasised giving salam and described its virtues.
For instance, in a hadith it is stated:
“You will not enter Paradise until you become complete believers, and you will not be true believers until you love one another. Shall I not direct you to an action which, if you do it, will create love among you? It is this: spread the salam among yourselves.”
According to a hadith, the right of a Muslim over another Muslim is that when he meets him, he should give him salam.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ emphasised this greatly. He ﷺ said:
“When one of you meets his Muslim brother, he should greet him with salam. If after that a tree, a wall or a stone comes between them and then they meet again, he should greet him with salam.”
This hadith shows how great the importance of giving salam is in the Shariah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): “O my son! When you enter upon your family, give them salam. It will be a source of blessing for you and for your household.”
