Is saying "hello and welcome" to disbelievers like the salam?
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Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: There are disbelievers in the company where I work. When I enter the office, I say to them "hello and welcome." Is this considered like the salam?
Answer:
It is like the salam, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: No. Who do you start with? Who? Welcome, this is a salam. Yes.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: There are disbelievers in the company where I work. When I enter the office, I say to them "hello and welcome." Is this considered like the salam?
Answer:
It is like the salam, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: No.
Do not initiate the salam to the Jews and the Christians, and if they greet you, say, "And to you."
تبدأوا اليهود والنصارى بالسلام، وإذا سلموا عليك فقولوا وعليكم.
Source
شرح كتاب المنتقى من أخبار المصطفى صلى الله عليه وسلم، بداية من أبواب صلاة التطوع — islamhouse.com (1:09:53)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.