Salam

Priority: c, Quality: b
From wikishia

Furu' al-Din

Prayer
Wajib: Daily PrayersEssentials of PrayerFriday PrayerEid PrayerAl-Ayat PrayerFuneral PrayerIstijari Prayer

Mustahab: Night PrayerGhufayla PrayerJa'far al-Tayyar Prayer


Other types of worship
FastingKhumsZakatHajjJihadEnjoining the goodForbidding the evilTawalliTabarri


Rulings on Tahara
Wudu'GhuslTayammumNajisMutahhiratTadhkiyaDhabh


Civil Law
WikalaWasiyyaDimanKifalaIrth


Family Law
MarriageTemporary marriagePolygamyDivorceMahrBreastfeedingIntercourseSexual gratificationAdopted childFormula for marriage


Criminal Law
JudgmentDiyatHududQisasTa'zirHoarding


Economic Laws
Bay'IjaraQardRibaMajhul al-MalikShari'a payments


Other Laws
HijabSadaqaNadhrTaqlidFoods and drinksWaqf


See also
FiqhRulings of Shari'aManual of Islamic lawPubertyWajibHaramMustahabMubahMakruh

Salām (Arabic: سلام) is an Islamic greeting and salutation. It literally means health, safety, or peace. The Qur'an and hadiths have emphasized on saying Salam and counted it as one of the highly recommended acts in Islam. Responding to Salam is an immediate obligation even for one who is praying; however if a person from a group responds to Salam, it is no longer an obligation to the others to respond. Saying Salam has special etiquette and rulings, and it has several functions in the Qur'an and Islamic tradition.

Meaning and Phrase

Meaning

Lexically, Salam means health, safety, or peace.[1] The word "Salam" was chosen for greeting[2]; as it means praying for being away from physical and religious defects. Moreover, Salam is considered a covenant among Muslims to protect each other's lives, property, and honor.[3] The Qur'an says Salam is a blessed and pure greeting from God to the faithful: "Greet yourselves with a salutation from Allah, blessed and good."[4]

Phrase

According to the majority of jurists, there are four phrases for saying Salam:[5]

  • Salam 'Alayk
  • al-Salam 'Alayk
  • Salam 'Alaykum
  • al-Salam 'Alaykum

Some said that these four phrases are the only phrases for saying Salam.[6] On the contrary, some maintain that every phrase that is recognized as a greeting and salutation is counted as a phrase of Salam; whether it is "Salam 'Alaykum," "'Alaykum al-Salam" or even "Salam" per se.[7]

Salam, a Divine Attribute

Salam is one of Allah's attributes] that can have three meanings:

  • First, as a Negative Attribute that indicates the almighty God is pure from all shortcomings which relate to His creatures.[8][9] Supporting and explaining this meaning al-Shaykh al-Saduq says, interpreting this verse of the Qur'an "For them will be Dar al-Salam (house of peace) near their Lord,"[10]: "Salam" is God and "Dar" is Paradise. Paradise is called Dar al-Salam because it is away from this world's shortcomings.[11]

Importance

The Qur'an has counted Salam as the greeting of dwellers of Paradise,[14] and has ordered Muslims to say Salam.[15] In hadiths, it is counted as one of the Prophet's traditions and as one of the highly recommended acts. It is narrated from the Prophet (s): "Do not respond to one who has started speaking without Salam."[16]

Etiquette

Audible Salam

Imam al-Baqir (a) says, "Indeed God likes Salam to be audible.[17]" Explaining this hadith al-Fayd al-Kashani writes: "It means whenever you met someone, say Salam, regardless of what kind of person he is."[18]

Observing the Status

Imam al-Sadiq (a): "The young should greet the old, the one who is passing should greet the one who is sitting, a small group should greet the larger group."[19]

First to Say Salam

Imam al-Sadiq (a): "The one who starts saying Salam, is closer to God and His apostle."[20]

Proper Salam

Imam al-Sadiq (a): "Whoever says 'al-Salam 'Alaykum', there are 10 good [deeds' reward] for him and whoever says 'al-Salam 'Alaykum wa Rahmat Allah' there are 20 good for him, and whoever says 'al-Salam 'Alaykum wa Rahmat Allah wa Barakatuh' there are thirty good for him."[21] Based on Islamic traditions, it is better to respond to Salam or a greeting with a more complete or at least the same phrase. The Qur'an reads: "When you are greeted with a salute, greet with a better one than it, or return it; indeed, Allah takes account of all things".[22]

Moreover, shaking hands, while saying Salam, with the one who is not going to travel and hugging the one who wants to travel is recommended.[23]

Rulings

Saying Salam

To say Salam first is highly recommended and abandoning it is disliked (makruh),[24] However the one who is in the middle of Salat must not say Salam first.[25] It is also recommended to say Salam to yourself when entering an empty house, using this phrase: "al-Salam 'Alayna min 'ind Rabbina" (a Salam from our Lord be upon us).[26] Likewise, saying Salam for goodbye when leaving a place is mustahab,[27] however there is disagreement whether its response is wajib (obligatory) or mustahab (recommended).[28]

Men are allowed to say Salam to non-Mahram women, and vice versa, unless there is fear of committing a sin.[29] However, some have asserted that it is disliked for a man to say Salam to a young non-Mahram woman.[30]

Response of Salam

Saying Salam is mustahab, but responding to it is wajib even for the one who is in the middle of a prayer.[31] Responding Salam is immediate obligation,[32] i.e. it must be replied immediately.[33]

Moreover, responding to a Salam is also collective compulsion i.e. if a person from a group responds to the Salam, it is no longer wajib for others to respond to it.[34] According to the majority of jurists the response must be loud enough to be heard by the one who said Salam first;[35] nevertheless, some have doubted its obligation[36] and some said that during prayer a quiet response will suffice as well.[37]

Responding to a Salam delivered by another person[38] is not wajib, although it is mustahabb to respond to it by: "'Alayk wa 'Alayh al-Salam" (be upon you and upon him the peace).[39] Likewise, responding to a written Salam - as in letters - is not wajib, but mustahab.[40]

Saying Salam in Salat

To be the first one to say Salam while praying is not permissible;[41] However, responding to Salam is wajib in this state.[42] According to the majority of jurists, the response of Salam while praying must be the same as Salam, i.e. if someone said "Salam 'Alaykum" the one who is praying must respond "Salam 'Alaykum"; while other responses such as "'Alaykum al-Salam" are not allowed.[43]

Salam in Qur'an

Salam and its derivatives have been used 140 times in the Qur'an.[44] In his book al-Salam fi al-Qur'an wa al-hadith, al-Gharawi maintains that Salam has been used in various meanings in the Qur'an, and by studying these usages it can be concluded that Salam has four main meanings in the Qur'an:[45]

  • An attribute of God: "He is Allah—there is no god except Him—the Sovereign, the All-holy, the Impeccable…".[46]
  • Peace and leaving war: "Do not say to someone who offers you peace, 'You are not a believer,…".[47]
  • Universal primary peace: "O you who have faith! Enter into peace (and reconciliation), all together…".[48]
  • Greeting and salutation:[49] the author believes that Salam has been used in this meaning in many cases in the Qur'an and it is a comprehensive meaning that includes all the other meanings of this word.[50] He mentions that in ten verses of the Qur'an, Salam is explicitly used in this meaning.[51]

Salam of Salat

The final part of a salat (prayer) is Taslim (saying Salam), which is performed after the last tashahhud in salat. Taslim is one of its compulsory acts, although it is not a Rukn (necessary element). It is a part of every Salat except for Funeral Prayer.

Salam of Salat consists of three Salams:

  • "Al-Salam 'Alayk Ayyuh al-Nabi wa Rahmat Allah wa Barakatuh" (peace be upon you, O Prophet, and God's mercy and blessings)
  • "Al-Salam 'Alayna wa 'ala 'Ibad Allah al-Salihin" (peace be upon us and God's righteous servants)
  • "Al-Salam 'Alaykum wa Rahmat Allah wa Barakatuh" (peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings)[52]

Notes

  1. al-Muʿjam al-wasīṭ, under the word "Silm".
  2. The meaning of the word Salam (hello)
  3. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, Muʿjam al-muṣṭalaḥāt wa l-alfāẓ al-fiqhīyya, vol. 2, p. 284.
  4. Qur'an, 24:61.
  5. Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 11, p. 103.
  6. Baḥrānī, al-Ḥadāʾiq al-nāḍira, vol. 9, p. 72.
  7. Ḥillī, Mukhtalaf al-Shīʿa, vol. 2, p. 204; Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 11, p. 103.
  8. Samʿānī, Rawḥ al-arwāḥ, p. 21.
  9. Ṣadūq, al-Tawḥīd, p. 204.
  10. Quran 6:127.
  11. Ṣadūq, al-Tawḥīd, p. 205.
  12. Ṣadūq, al-Tawḥīd, p. 204; Kafʿamī, al-Miṣbāḥ, p. 318.
  13. Fakhr al-Rāzī, Lawāmiʿ al-bayyināt, p. 188.
  14. Qura'n, 10:10.
  15. Quran 24:61.
  16. Kulaynī, Uṣūl al-kāfī, vol. 4, p. 459.
  17. Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 645.
  18. Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Kitāb al-Wāfī, vol. 5, p. 596.
  19. Muṣṭafawī, Uṣūl al-kāfī, vol. 4, p. 462.
  20. Muṣṭafawī, Uṣūl al-kāfī, vol. 4, p. 460.
  21. Muṣṭafawī, Uṣūl al-kāfī, vol. 4, p. 461.
  22. Quran 4:86
  23. Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 12, p. 73.
  24. Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 12, p. 57.
  25. Ṭabāṭabāʾī Yazdī, al-ʿUrwat al-wuthqā, vol. 3, p. 15.
  26. Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 12, p. 80-81.
  27. Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 12, p. 83.
  28. Ḥillī, Tadhkirat al-fuqahāʾ, vol. 9, p. 23; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 84, p. 276; Qummī, Ghanāyim al-ʾayyām, vol. 3, p. 236; Anṣārī, Sirat al-najat, vol. 3, p. 291.
  29. Baḥrānī, al-Ḥadāʾiq al-nāḍira, vol. 9, p. 83; Narāqī, Mustanad al-Shīʿa, vol. 7, p. 73; Ṭabāṭabāʾī Yazdī, ʿUrwat al-wuthqā, vol. 3, p. 25.
  30. Qummī, Ghanāyim al-ʾayyām, vol. 3, p. 237.
  31. ʿĀmilī, Miftāḥ al-kirāma, vol. 4, p. 973; Narāqī, Mustanad al-Shīʿa, vol. 7, p. 67.
  32. ʿĀmilī, Miftāḥ al-kirāma, vol. 4, p. 969; Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 11, p. 111.
  33. Muḥaqqiq Sabziwārī, Dhakhīrat al-maʿād, p. 367; Baḥrānī, al-Ḥadāʾiq al-nāḍira, vol. 9, p. 81.
  34. Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 11, p. 106.
  35. Muḥaqqiq Sabziwārī, Dhakhīrat al-maʿād, p. 366; Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 11, p. 108.
  36. Muqaddas Ardibīlī, Majmaʿ al-fāʾida, vol. 3, p. 119-120.
  37. Ḥillī, al-Muʿtabar, vol. 2, p. 264.
  38. It means that someone says that another person greeted (said hello to) you.
  39. Baḥrānī, al-Ḥadāʾiq al-nāḍira, vol. 9, p. 82.
  40. Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 11, p. 110-111.
  41. Ṭabāṭabāʾī Yazdī, al-ʿUrwat al-wuthqā, vol. 3, p. 15.
  42. ʿĀmilī, Miftāḥ al-kirāma, vol. 4, p. 973; Narāqī, Mustanad al-Shīʿa, vol. 7, p. 67.
  43. Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 11, p. 101.
  44. Rūḥānī, al-Muʿjam al-Iḥsāʾī, vol. 1, p. 485.
  45. Gharawī, al-Salām fī l-Qurʾān wa l-ḥadīth, p. 28-29.
  46. Qur'an 59:23.
  47. Qur'an 4:94.
  48. Qur'an 2:208.
  49. Qur'an 37:79-109-120-130-181; Qur'an 11:48; Qur'an 27:59; Qur'an 6:54; Qur'an 51:25; Qur'an 13:23-24.
  50. Gharawī, al-Salām fī l-Qurʾān wa l-ḥadīth, p. 29.
  51. Gharawī, al-Salām fī l-Qurʾān wa l-ḥadīth, p. 19-56.
  52. The translation of Tashahhud and Taslim (saying Salam) of prayer.

References

  • Qurʾān.
  • ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, Maḥmūd. Muʿjam al-muṣṭalaḥāt wa l-alfāẓ al-fiqhīyya'. Cairo: Dār al-faḍīla.
  • ʿĀmilī, Sayyid Jawād. Miftāḥ al-kirāma fī sharḥ qawā'id al-ʿallāma. Beirut: Dar al-Turāth, 1417-1418 AH.
  • Anṣārī, Murtaḍā. Sirat al-najat. Edited by Muhammad Husayn Fallahzada. Qom: Intishārāt-i Kungira-yi Buzurgdāsht-i Diwistumīn Sālgard-i Tawallud-i Shaykh Anṣārī, 1373 Sh.
  • Baḥrānī, Yūsuf al-. Al-Ḥadāʾiq al-nāḍira fī aḥkām al-ʿitrat al-ṭāhira. Qom: Muʾassisat al-Nashr al-Islāmī Tābiʿat li Jamāʿat al-Mudarrisīn, 1405-1416 AH.
  • Burūjirdī, Murtaḍā. Mustanad al-ʿUrwa(al-Ṣalāt). transcribed by: Khoeī, Abū l-Qāsim. Qom: Luṭfī, 1414 AH.
  • Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. al-ʿUmar al-. Sharḥ asmāʾ al-ḥusnā (Lawāmiʿ al-bayyināt). Cairo: Maktabat al-kullīyyāt al-azharīyya.
  • Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Muḥsin. Kitāb al-Wāfī. Isfahan: Kitabkhāna-yi Amīr al-Muʾminīn, 1406 AH.
  • Gharawī, Muḥammad. Al-Salām fī l-Qurʾān wa l-ḥadīth. Beirut: Dār al-Aḍwāʾ, 1411 AH.
  • Ḥakīm, Muḥsin. Mustamsak al-ʿUrwat al-wuthqā. Qom: Maktabat Ayatullāh al-Marʿashī al-Najafī, 1388-1391 AH.
  • Ḥillī, al-Ḥasan b. Yūsuf al-. Tadhkirat al-fuqahāʾ. Qom: Muʾassisat Āl al-Bayt, 1414 AH.
  • Ḥillī, Ibn Idrīs al-. Kitāb al-sarāʾir al-ḥāwī li taḥrīr al-fatāwī. Qom: Daftar-i Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 1410 AH.
  • Ḥillī, Jaʿfar b. al-Ḥasan al-. Mukhtalaf al-Shīʿa fī aḥkām al-sharīʿa. Qom: Jāmiʿat al-Mudarrisīn, 1412 AH.
  • Ḥillī, Jaʿfar b. al-Ḥasan al-. Al-Muʿtabar fī sharḥ al-mūkhtaṣar. Qom: 1364 Sh.
  • Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-. Tafṣīl wasāʾil al-Shīʿa ilā taḥṣīl masā'il al-sharī'a. 1st Edition. Qom: Muʾassisat Āl al-Bayt, 1414 AH.
  • Kafʿamī, Ibrāhīm b. ʿAlī al-. Al-Miṣbāḥ fī al-adʿiya wa al-ṣalawāt wa al-ziyārāt. Qom: Dār al-Raḍī, 1405 AH.
  • Khomeini, Sayyid Rūḥ Allāh. Taḥrīr al-wasīla. [n.p]. Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, Ismāʿīlīyān, 1408 AH.
  • Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Uṣūl al-kāfī. translated by Sayyid Jawād Muṣṭafawī. Tehran: Intishārāt-i Wafā, 1382 SH.
  • Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1407 AH.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Wafāʾ, 1403 AH.
  • Muḥaqqiq Sabziwārī, Muḥammad Bāqir b. Muḥammad. Dhakhīrat al-maʿād fī sharḥ al-Irshād. Qom: Muʾassisat Āl al-Bayt li-Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth(Lithography).
  • Muqaddas Ardibīlī, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad. Majmaʿ al-fāʾida wa al-burhān fī sharḥ irshād al-adhhān. Qom: Muʾassisat al-Nashr al-Islāmī Tābiʿat li Jamāʿat al-Mudarrisīn, 1403 1416 AH.
  • Muṣṭafawī, Sayyid Jawād. Uṣūl al-kāfī. translated by Muṣṭafawī. First edition. Tehran: 1369 Sh.
  • Najafī, Muḥammad al-Ḥasan al-. Jawāhir al-kalām fī sharḥ sharāʾiʿ al-Islām. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1362 1369 SH.
  • Narāqī, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad Mahdī. Mustanad al-Shīʿa fī aḥkām al-sharīʿa. Qom: Muʾassisat Āl al-Bayt li-Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth, 1408 1409 AH.
  • Qummī, Abu l-Qāsim. Ghanāyim al-ʾayyām fī masāʾil al-ḥalāl wa l-ḥarām. Maktab al-Aʿlām al-Islāmī, 1417 1420 AH.
  • Raḍī Bihābādī, Bibi sādāt. "ʿAwāmil-i salām wa laʿn dar Qurʾan-i karīm." Taḥqīqāt-i Qurʾān wa Ḥadīth (1393 SH).
  • Rūḥānī, Maḥmūd. Al-Muʿjam al-Iḥsāʾī. 2nd edition. Mashhad: Intishārāt-i Āstān-i Quds Raḍawī, [n.d].
  • Sabziwārī, Sayyid Abd al-ʿAlī. Muhadhdhab al-aḥkām fī bayān al-ḥalāl wa al-ḥarām. 4th edition. Qom: Muʾassisa al-Manār, 1413 AH.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Al-Tawḥīd. Qom: Jāmiʿa Mudarrisīn, 1389 AH.
  • Samʿānī, Aḥmad b. Manṣūr. Rawḥ al-arwāḥ fī sharḥ asmāʾ malik al-fattāḥ. Tehran: Shirkat-i intishārāt-i ʿimī wa farhangī, 1384 SH.
  • Shāhrūdī, Sayyid Maḥmūd. Farhang-i fiqh muṭābiq bā madhhab-i Ahl al-Bayt. Qom: Muʾassisat Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif al-Fiqh al-Islāmī, 1382 Sh.
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī Yazdī, Muḥammad Kāẓim al-. Al-ʿUrwat al-wuthqā fīmā taʿummu bih al-balwā. . Qom: Jāmiʿat al-Mudarrisīn, 1417-1420 AH.