The Ruling on Greeting Those Who Do Not Return the Greeting
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The questioner : Your Eminence! What is the ruling on greeting a person who does not return the greeting, knowing that he is a Muslim?
The Shaykh : Greet those you know and those you do not know, and those who return the greeting and those who do not. If you greet and he does not return it, you receive the reward and he incurs the sin. However, do not offer a hidden greeting; for some people offer a greeting that is not heard. Greet in a way that the one being greeted can hear it, and if it happens that he cannot hear, gesture with your hand along with the greeting.
The Shaykh : Some ignorant people think that if a man is known for not returning the greeting, one should not greet him, thereby causing him to fall into sin. This is a mistake.The hadith: (Offer the greeting to those you know and those you do not know) If he does not return it, he returns with the sin. I am the one who performs the cause of good for myself and for him, and if he leaves off the good, it is upon him.
The Shaykh : Greet those you know and those you do not know, and those who return the greeting and those who do not. If you greet and he does not return it, you receive the reward and he incurs the sin. However, do not offer a hidden greeting; for some people offer a greeting that is not heard. Greet in a way that the one being greeted can hear it, and if it happens that he cannot hear, gesture with your hand along with the greeting.
The Shaykh : Some ignorant people think that if a man is known for not returning the greeting, one should not greet him, thereby causing him to fall into sin. This is a mistake.The hadith: (Offer the greeting to those you know and those you do not know) If he does not return it, he returns with the sin. I am the one who performs the cause of good for myself and for him, and if he leaves off the good, it is upon him.