Is it sufficient to reply to the salam with "Ahlan wa Sahlan"?

The questioner : We praise Allah and send peace and blessings upon our master Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah bless you. You mentioned that among the things that establish love and affection is replying to the salam. In our communities, it is common for people to reply by saying "Ahlan wa Marhaban" (Welcome). Some of the brothers who know the correct way to reply to the salam hear them say "Ahlan wa Marhaban," yet they do not remind them of the proper reply to the salam. Is there a sin on them for that, or not?

The Shaykh : The salam is in the form of "As-salamu alayk" if it is to one person, and "As-salamu alaykum" if it is to a group. It means supplicating for the safety of the person or people addressed. The reply must be the same as it or better than it. "With better than it," then He said, "or return it." But the return of it must be equal to it. For example, if he says "As-salamu alayk," I say "Alayka as-salam."
As for "Ahlan wa Sahlan" and "Marhaban," these are not sufficient, and they do not absolve the Muslim of his duty. Rather, he must reply with "Alayka as-salam." If he welcomes him afterwards, there is no harm. For this reason, it came in the hadith of the Mi'raj that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would greet the prophets he passed by, saying "As-salamu alayk," and they would reply to him with the salam and say "Marhaban." After that, "Marhaban bi-nabiyyin salih" (Welcome to a righteous prophet) and "al-akh al-salih" (the righteous brother), except for Adam and Ibrahim, for whom it was "wa al-ibn al-salih" (and the righteous son). So "Ahlan wa Sahlan" is not sufficient. This is what has become widespread among people now in replying to the salam with "Ahlan wa Sahlan."
It is obligatory for the one who understands that it is not sufficient to guide people to that. But how does he guide them? He guides them by saying "As-salamu alayk." If he says "Ahlan wa Sahlan," he says "As-salamu alayk." If he says "Ahlan wa Sahlan," he says "As-salamu alayk." If he says "Ahlan wa Sahlan," he says "As-salamu alayk." If he says "Ahlan wa Sahlan," he says "As-salamu alayk," until that person realizes it and says "Alayka as-salam." He placed three.
Yes, the three, and he says "Alayka as-salam." But in the context of teaching, perhaps we teach him until he is certain. Perhaps this is better than saying that "Ahlan wa Sahlan" is not sufficient, because he will understand that matter. And we have tried that. If a person replies to me with "Ahlan wa Sahlan," we say "As-salamu alayk." But we feel that some people get annoyed. I say "As-salamu alaykum" and he says "Ahlan wa Sahlan" several times, and he believes that he has replied to the salam. So when we know that the man has not noticed by the indication, we remind him with the phrase. We say, "This is not sufficient."
Yes, there must be peace, because this hadith allows for some of the answer to be mentioned. I will give you a useful rule: if general texts regarding the ruling on a matter are found, and a specific case occurs that contradicts this text, then this case is considered ambiguous (mutashabih), and the way to deal with the ambiguous is to interpret it according to the clear (muhkam). So, if Allah said , it is known that mere welcoming and congratulating a person is not equivalent to making a supplication. Praise be to Allah, and may blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah.