A Note on the Issue of Greeting When Entering and Leaving a Gathering
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The Shaykh : Did the brother not greet us when he entered, or did we not hear your greeting? Ah, a correction.
The student: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The student: ..
The Shaykh : The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) — may Allah bless you — I think you know this hadith, which is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):. The truth is that there are many duties and regular recitations that the majority of Muslims have neglected for many reasons, the most important of which today is ignorance of the established Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). We have a saying in Syria: if they want to describe a person as being keen, either on material things or on good, they say, "So-and-so is like a saw, going up and down." Going up and down... You have this too, don't you?
The student: We do.
The Shaykh : Very good. The point is: do you know that some of the Sufi order followers who engage in much dhikr of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), but contrary to the Sunnah, are found holding their prayer beads even on Friday while the imam is delivering the khutbah? This is observed. But this is not remembering Allah, nor is it fulfilling the obligation of listening to the imam; so he has wasted both. They do this believing that they are not letting their time go to waste, always occupied with the dhikr of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). As for me personally, I see that if a Muslim first knew all the dhikr and regular recitations that have come to us, and then tried to apply them, he would not be able to do so because of the abundance of these phrases and recitations. For example, on this side, you enter the gathering and say "As-salamu alaykum," you leave... new, you say "As-salamu alaykum,"... up and down like a saw. And it is not hidden from you his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 1039. Spread it among yourselves. As is not hidden from everyone, offering the greeting is one thing, and spreading the greeting is another. In response to a man who, if he was not the most keen of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for the Sunnah and for worship, was certainly among the most keen, namely Abdullah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab. His mawla, Nafi', said: Abdullah used to say to me, "Let us go to the market." He said: And I knew that he had no need in the market, but he wanted that if he met a man, he would say to him, "As-salamu alaykum, As-salamu alaykum." This is a dhikr instead of the person saying "Allah, Allah, Allah," and this is a phrase that is not prescribed, neither linguistically nor religiously. By saying "As-salamu alaykum, As-salamu alaykum, As-salamu alaykum."
The student : With the definite article or the indefinite?
The Shaykh : No, the well-known form is with the definite article, and the indefinite is also permissible. The point is: among the occasions that came in our Shari'ah for increasing the hereafter's profit is spreading the greeting. This is clear in a hadith in Sunan Abu Dawud:. So why does not one of us seize this opportunity? If he enters the gathering, he says "As-salamu alaykum," and if he leaves the gathering, he says "As-salamu alaykum."
The student : We are negligent...
The Shaykh : Allah teaches us and reminds us. Give me your question.
The student: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The student: ..
The Shaykh : The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) — may Allah bless you — I think you know this hadith, which is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):
If one of you enters a gathering, let him offer the greeting, and if he leaves, let him offer the greeting; the first is not more deserving than the second.
إذا دخل أحدكم المجلس فليسلم وإذا خرج فليسلم فليست الأولى بأحق من الأخرىThe student: We do.
The Shaykh : Very good. The point is: do you know that some of the Sufi order followers who engage in much dhikr of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), but contrary to the Sunnah, are found holding their prayer beads even on Friday while the imam is delivering the khutbah? This is observed. But this is not remembering Allah, nor is it fulfilling the obligation of listening to the imam; so he has wasted both. They do this believing that they are not letting their time go to waste, always occupied with the dhikr of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). As for me personally, I see that if a Muslim first knew all the dhikr and regular recitations that have come to us, and then tried to apply them, he would not be able to do so because of the abundance of these phrases and recitations. For example, on this side, you enter the gathering and say "As-salamu alaykum," you leave... new, you say "As-salamu alaykum,"... up and down like a saw. And it is not hidden from you his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):
Peace is one of the Names of Allah which Allah has placed on the earth. Extend it among you.
السلام اسم من أسماء الله وضعه في الأرض فأفشوه بينكمThe student : With the definite article or the indefinite?
The Shaykh : No, the well-known form is with the definite article, and the indefinite is also permissible. The point is: among the occasions that came in our Shari'ah for increasing the hereafter's profit is spreading the greeting. This is clear in a hadith in Sunan Abu Dawud:
That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was in a gathering when a man entered and said: "As-salamu alaykum." He said: "Ten." A second entered and said: "As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah." He said: "Twenty." A third entered and said: "As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh." He said: "Thirty." A questioner there said: I said, "O Messenger of Allah, ten, then twenty, then thirty?" He said: "When so-and-so entered and said 'As-salamu alaykum,' he had ten good deeds. When the second entered and said 'As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah,' he had twenty good deeds. When the third entered and said 'As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,' he had thirty good deeds."
أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كان في مجلس لما دخل رجل قال: السلام عليكم قال عشر ، دخل ثاني فقال: السلام عليكم ورحمة الله قال: عشرون ، دخل ثالث فقال: السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته قال ثلاثون ؛ قال سائل هناك قلت يا رسول الله عشر ثم عشرون ثم ثلاثون ؟ قال لما دخل فلان قال السلام عليكم فله عشر حسنات ، لما دخل الثاني السلام عليكم ورحمة الله له عشرون حسنة ، دخل الثالث قال السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته ثلاثون حسنةThe student : We are negligent...
The Shaykh : Allah teaches us and reminds us. Give me your question.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.