The Virtue of the Reward for the One Who Initiates the Greeting
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The Shaykh! : If you greet some people and say, "As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh," you receive thirty good deeds for this. And for every person who returns the greeting to you, you receive a reward like that of the one who gave the greeting, because you are the one who directed them to the good. Is this statement correct?
What appears to me is that the greeting and the response are a single act of worship, and each person who performs it receives his reward. So if you initiate the greeting, you receive the reward of the one who initiates the greeting, and you receive ten good deeds for every phrase of it. And if he responds, he likewise receives the reward. There is no doubt that the one who initiates the greeting is better than the one who responds.By the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): (The better of the two is the one who initiates the greeting). As for asserting that the reward for the response is obtained by the one who initiates the greeting, that is a matter requiring consideration.
What appears to me is that the greeting and the response are a single act of worship, and each person who performs it receives his reward. So if you initiate the greeting, you receive the reward of the one who initiates the greeting, and you receive ten good deeds for every phrase of it. And if he responds, he likewise receives the reward. There is no doubt that the one who initiates the greeting is better than the one who responds.By the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): (The better of the two is the one who initiates the greeting). As for asserting that the reward for the response is obtained by the one who initiates the greeting, that is a matter requiring consideration.