The Shaykh’s explanation of the ruling on greeting a disbeliever.

The Shaykh : It is not obligatory for a Muslim to offer the greeting to a Muslim, or in other words, the Islamic greeting. It is not obligatory for him to offer it to a non-Muslim; rather, this is implied by the restriction in the hadith: or ... the attribute. However, there is an explicit hadith that confirms this ruling derived from the description in this hadith. It is the authentic hadith in which he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This hadith is in the two Sahihs. There is also another hadith in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said, meaning: The point is that this ruling is a right of the Muslim upon the Muslim to initiate the greeting, and this is not part of the Muslim's etiquette with the disbeliever. Therefore, many people err when they meet a man who is not of their group, who is not a Muslim, and they offer him the Islamic greeting, thereby contradicting the two aforementioned hadiths.