Assalamulaikum

[lotus]

I have two Muslim friends who say two different things about a non Muslim saying Assalamulaikum to a Muslim. One says don't give salam to a Muslim and the other says you can give. Please can you clarify this for me as I have many Muslim friends and don't want to offend anyone.
Many thanks.

[Imam]

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

All Praise be to Allah who is the Lord of the Worlds, and may Endless Blessings be showered upon the Most Beloved, and Final Messenger of Islam, Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam



Jazak'allah for your question. Both of your friends seem to say the correct thing, although their meanings are different.


The friend that says that you should not reply to a salaam with a non-Muslim, has the basic rule and concept in mind. the rule and concept which is in mind is that salaam means peace, blessings,or submission towards Allah the Almighty be upon you. How is it ever possible, that a person who has never believed in the kalimah-e-shahadah, let alone recited it, can ever submit to Him, or have His Blessings over him, or have His peace over Him, when he or she has no faith in Him, or ever believed in Him?


The second friend who says that you can reply to him/her suggests to me that, either she/he does not know what I have quoted above, or that he/she will not respond with the full salaam. That is .... Wa'alaykum 'Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu, but will just say 'Wa'alaykum', which means 'and upon you'. This is the response Muslims normally give for the Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu, instead of saying the whole thing, they will merely say 'Wa'laykum'.


How can there then be salutations of a Muslim, upon a non Muslim, or even if there is, they are genuinely interested in the religion of Islam, at which stage you may tell them a little about your religion, for example, the issue that I have quoted above.


May Allah the Almighty help us to send the correct message across to all those who require it, and may He make us a shining example for the rest of mankind. (Amin)



Wallahu A'lamu Biththawaab



M. Waseem Ashrafi