Is it obligatory to return the salam to a disbeliever, just as it is obligatory to return it to a Muslim?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, is it obligatory to return the salam to a disbeliever, just as it is obligatory to return it to a Muslim?
Answer:
This is the apparent meaning of the hadith, yes. Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:86] And “return it” and “take it” — this is a general statement. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1602Sahih (Darussalam), As-Sunan al-Kubra lil-Nasa'i 64:851, so they return it to them if they greet them, and the apparent ruling is that it is obligatory. Yes.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, is it obligatory to return the salam to a disbeliever, just as it is obligatory to return it to a Muslim?
Answer:
This is the apparent meaning of the hadith, yes. Allah the Exalted said:
And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet [in return] with one better than it
وَإِذَا حُيِّيتُم بِتَحِيَّةٍ فَحَيُّوا بِأَحْسَنَ مِنْهَاDo not precede the Jews and the Christians with the Salam
لا تبدؤوا اليهود والنصارى بالسلامIf they greet you, then say, “And upon you”
فإن سلموا عليكم فقولوا وعليكم
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [44 /1350] هل يجب رد السلام على الكافر، كما هو واجب رده على المسلم؟ الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.