Ibn 'Abd al-Barr cited the consensus that greeting is not obligatory, as it is a recommended practice, and Ibn Kathir stated that this is the opinion of all scholars; is this correct?
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The questioner: His EminenceThe Shaykh- May Allah preserve you - , Ibn 'Abd al-Barr cited the consensus that greeting is not obligatory, as it is a recommended practice, and Ibn Kathir stated: "It is the opinion of all scholars"; is this correct? And what is the response to the command to greet found in many Prophetic hadiths, and may Allah reward you with good?
The Shaykh: If the texts of the Shari'ah in the Book and the Sunnah indicate the obligation of a matter, and there is no evidence diverting it, then claiming consensus and considering it a diversion of the matter from obligation to recommendation is something that a Muslim should not fall into; because transmitting consensus in such theoretical issues is impossible, as Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) indicated in his statement narrated by his son 'Abdullah in "Masail" from his father, where he said: "Whoever claims consensus is a liar, and how does he know? Perhaps they differed?!" Therefore, one should not rely on such transmissions that mention consensus; because it has been established for us through tracking and induction that many of such claims of consensus in certain issues have established disagreement in them with certainty; therefore, it is not permissible to nullify the text of the Book and the Sunnah with a transmission that we do not know if it is correct or not? Rather, we know that it cannot be correct, based on what you know of Imam Ahmad's statement: "Whoever claims consensus is a liar, and how does he know? Perhaps they differed?!" Therefore, we say that greeting is a right that is obligatory for a Muslim upon his Muslim brother, if it is one person. As for if they are a group and one of them greets, then it is said that greeting from each of them is not an individual obligation, but the obligation is upon one of them, and it is recommended for the others to greet along with the one who greeted. As for one person with one person, it is necessary to say that greeting and responding to it is obligatory, due to the previous verse and the hadiths of which we mentioned some, and he indicatedThe questioner : to some of them.
Yes.
The Shaykh: If the texts of the Shari'ah in the Book and the Sunnah indicate the obligation of a matter, and there is no evidence diverting it, then claiming consensus and considering it a diversion of the matter from obligation to recommendation is something that a Muslim should not fall into; because transmitting consensus in such theoretical issues is impossible, as Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) indicated in his statement narrated by his son 'Abdullah in "Masail" from his father, where he said: "Whoever claims consensus is a liar, and how does he know? Perhaps they differed?!" Therefore, one should not rely on such transmissions that mention consensus; because it has been established for us through tracking and induction that many of such claims of consensus in certain issues have established disagreement in them with certainty; therefore, it is not permissible to nullify the text of the Book and the Sunnah with a transmission that we do not know if it is correct or not? Rather, we know that it cannot be correct, based on what you know of Imam Ahmad's statement: "Whoever claims consensus is a liar, and how does he know? Perhaps they differed?!" Therefore, we say that greeting is a right that is obligatory for a Muslim upon his Muslim brother, if it is one person. As for if they are a group and one of them greets, then it is said that greeting from each of them is not an individual obligation, but the obligation is upon one of them, and it is recommended for the others to greet along with the one who greeted. As for one person with one person, it is necessary to say that greeting and responding to it is obligatory, due to the previous verse and the hadiths of which we mentioned some, and he indicatedThe questioner : to some of them.
Yes.
Source
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