The ruling on returning the salam to a child
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
His final question in this episode is that some people, when a child greets them, do not return the salam to him, out of disdain for the child. What is your guidance?
Answer:
This is abandoning an obligation upon him; because returning the salam is obligatory, whether from a child or an adult. So if someone greets you, you must return it. Initiating the salam is a recommended practice (sunnah), and returning it is obligatory. Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:86] Therefore, it is not permissible for anyone who is greeted, whether by a child or an adult, whether known or unknown, not to return the greeting. Even if the People of the Book (Ahl al-Kitab) greet, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: if Sunan Ibn Majah 3699Hasan (Darussalam). So we do not initiate the salam to them, but if they greet us, we return it and say "and to you." It is not permissible to leave returning the salam, neither from a child nor from an adult. Yes.
His final question in this episode is that some people, when a child greets them, do not return the salam to him, out of disdain for the child. What is your guidance?
Answer:
This is abandoning an obligation upon him; because returning the salam is obligatory, whether from a child or an adult. So if someone greets you, you must return it. Initiating the salam is a recommended practice (sunnah), and returning it is obligatory. Allah the Exalted said:
And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet [in return] with one better than it or [at least] return it
وَإِذَا حُيِّيتُم بِتَحِيَّةٍ فَحَيُّوا بِأَحْسَنَ مِنْهَا أَوْ رُدُّوهَاif they greet you, then say: Wa 'alaikum (and also upon you)
سلموا عليكم فقولوا وعليكم
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/161 — archive.org (4:07)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.