Is it permissible to restrict oneself to the word "salam" or "al-salam" only?

Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: Is it permissible to restrict oneself to the word "salam" or "al-salam" only?

Answer:
This has been mentioned previously in the text of Imam Ahmad, that whether one says "salamun 'alaykum" or "al-salamu 'alaykum." As for "salam," there is an implied meaning here; they say there is an implied meaning, an implied "upon you," because it is a subject whose predicate is implied, the implied meaning being "salamun 'alaykum." Yes.