My OperaThe Manner of Greeting
By غرباء stranger garibmuhacir. Saturday, March 24, 2012 11:45:10 AM
The Manner of Greeting
بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
There are many verses in the Qur’an and many Hadith too tell us about the importance of greeting Muslims when they meet or enter their homes.
According to the Prophet's(pbuh) Sunnah, greetings are given by saying " أسـلام عليــكــم As Salamu Alaikum"; the reply to this greeting is " وعليكم السلام Wa Alaikum Salam" and when the words " ورحمــة الله وبــركــاتــه Wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu" are added to the greeting, the reward is increased, as described in the hadith:
Imran bin Husain reported: A man came to the Prophet (pbuh) one day and bestowed the greetings of ALLAH on him. " أسـلام عليــكــم As Salamu Alaikum." After the Prophet(pbuh) had replied, the man sat down. Then the Prophet(pbuh) turned to him and said: "You have earned ten rewards" Then another man came and said: " أسـلام عليــكــم ورحمــة الله As Salumu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah," and the Prophet(pbuh) responded by replying to his greeting, and the man sat down. The Prophet (pbuh) turned to him and said: "You have earned twenty rewards" Then another man came and said: " أسـلام عليــكــم ورحمــة الله وبــركــاتــه As Salamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu," and sat down after the Prophet had responded to his greetings. The Prophet (pbuh) turned to him and said: "You have earned thirty rewards." (Abu Dawud)
Musafaha means shaking hands; this too is an act of salutation. Bestowing the greetings of ALLAH, embracing one another, the shaking of hands between men, and the shaking of hands between women are all actions that the Prophet(pbuh) encouraged Muslims to perform as the most excellent manners of greeting others. Salutations and shaking hands are a form of charity and also a means of obtaining rewards. Greeting others and shaking hands is a duty that is not difficult to execute, but it is an action whose reward is great. In one of the hadiths, the Prophet explained the virtue of shaking hands:
"When two Muslims meet and shake hands, ALLAH forgives the sins of both before they depart."(Abu Dawud)
Abu Dhar explained: "There was never a time that any of us met with the Prophet and did not shake hands; he would greet us and shake hands with us every time we met. One day the Prophet sent for me, but I was not at home. When I reached home, they informed me that the Prophet had called, so I immediately went to him. The Prophet was sitting on a cushion, and when I entered the Prophet stood up and embraced me; for me this was one of the most emotional moments of my life."(Musnad)
