The Meaning of the Saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “And the best of the two is the one who initiates the salam”

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Question:
In the hadith, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

It is not permissible for a Muslim to have estranged relations with his brother beyond three nights, the one turning one way and the other turning the other way when they meet; the better of the two is one who is the first to give a greeting.

صلى الله عليه وسلم لا يحق لمسلم أن يهجر أخاه فوق ثلاث ليال يلتقيان فيعرض هذا ويعرض هذا، وخيرهما الذي يبدأ بالسلام،

Sahih Muslim 2560a

The questioner asks: Your Eminence the Shaykh, does the word “salam” in the hadith mean only saying “As-salamu alaykum,” or does it mean making peace between the two?

Answer:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

(peace and blessings be upon him) It is not permissible for a Muslim to boycott his brother for more than three nights; they meet, and this one turns away and that one turns away, and the best of the two is the one who initiates the salam.

صلى الله عليه وسلم لا يحل لمسلم أن يهجر أخاه فوق ثبات، يلتقيان فيجر هذا ويجر هذا، وخيرهما الذي يبدأ بالسلام،

It means saying “As-salamu alaykum,” and this is initiating the salam. “As-salamu alaykum,” and if one adds “wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,” it is more complete. Then the other must respond and say, “Wa alaykum as-salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.” The perfection of it is that he returns to his original state, such as affection and inquiring about his condition and his family, as it was originally, until the boycott ends. This is what is prescribed for the believer: to return to his brother as he was before, and not to boycott him. Yes. May Allah reward you.

Source قناة «فضيلة الشيخ ابن باز Alsheikh Binbaz»، 10578 - معنى قوله صلى الله عليه وسلم (وخيرهما الذي يبدأ بالسلام) - نور على الدرب — youtube.com

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

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