The Salām
The greeting of Paradise
«You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I tell you what will make you love one another? Spread the salam among you.»
Muslim
The complete salam
«As-salāmu ʿalaykum» earns ten rewards; adding «wa raḥmatullāh» earns twenty; the full «wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh» earns thirty.
Abū Dāwūd, Tirmidhī
Who greets first?
«The rider greets the walker, the walker the sitting, the few the many, and the younger the older.»
Bukhārī & Muslim
Responding is obligatory
«When you are greeted with a greeting, respond with better or at least equal.»
4:86
Greet those you know and don't know
Spreading salam to strangers is a sign of humility and the foundation of brotherhood.
Bukhārī & Muslim
To the People of the Book
If they greet you, respond with «wa ʿalaykum» (and upon you) — do not initiate the salam to them.
Bukhārī
Shaking hands
«No two Muslims meet and shake hands except that Allah forgives them before they separate.»
Abū Dāwūd, Tirmidhī
Standing for the salam
The Prophet ﷺ would sit and let others come to him; rising to greet is permitted but not an obligation.
Bukhārī & Muslim
Repeating if separated
If two Muslims meet, greet, then are separated by a tree or wall and meet again, they should greet again.
Abū Dāwūd
Do not greet those fighting
A person in prayer should not be greeted with words (it interrupts his prayer); those fighting should not be greeted (it implies peace with their action).
Bukhārī & Muslim
Occasions for Greeting
Returning home
«When a man enters his house, let him greet his family with salam» — a Sunnah of entering that brings blessings.
Tirmidhī
Before speaking
Begin every gathering with salam; it secures the gathering from backbiting and reminds all of their brotherhood.
Abū Dāwūd, Tirmidhī
After sneezing
When a Muslim sneezes and says «al-ḥamdulillāh», his brother says: «Yarḥamukallāh» (may Allah have mercy on you). The sneezer then says: «Yahdīkumullāh wa yuṣliḥu bālakum.»
Bukhārī
Writing letters
Begin written correspondence with the salam, as the Prophet ﷺ did with his letters to kings.
Abū Dāwūd
When leaving a gathering
«No gathering ends with backbiting. When you leave, say: Subḥānaka Allāhumma wa biḥamdik, ashhadu an lā ilāha illā anta, astaghfiruka wa atūbu ilayk» — Allah forgives what occurred in it.
Tirmidhī
Duʿās
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ
After the salam response
After greeting, you may send ṣalawāt upon the Prophet ﷺ — a Sunnah that honors the Messenger.
General Sunnah
السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ
At the end of prayer
The salam closes the prayer — peace and mercy to the right, then to the left.
Bukhārī & Muslim