What is the ruling on returning the salam to someone whose status is unknown, whether they are Muslim or not?
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Question:
One of the workers greeted us, and we do not know if he is Muslim or not. Should we say, "And upon you be peace, and Allah's mercy and blessings," or how should we respond to him?
Answer:
Yes, if someone greets you and his appearance is that of a Muslim,[An-Nisa 4:94] if he greets you, return the greeting to him, unless you know that he is not a Muslim, in which case return it by saying, "O Messenger of Allah, and upon you be peace." Yes.
One of the workers greeted us, and we do not know if he is Muslim or not. Should we say, "And upon you be peace, and Allah's mercy and blessings," or how should we respond to him?
Answer:
Yes, if someone greets you and his appearance is that of a Muslim,
and do not say to one who gives you [a greeting of] peace "You are not a believer,"
وَلَا تَقُولُوا لِمَنْ أَلْقَىٰ إِلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامَ لَسْتَ مُؤْمِنًا
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما حكم رد السلام على من يُجهل إذا كان مسلماً أم لا؟ للشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.