It was reported from Abu Hurayrah that he said, "It is part of the Sunnah to shorten the closing salam." What is its authenticity and what is its meaning?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : ... And in the meaning of this report, there is a hadith in Sunan al-Tirmidhi from Abu Hurayrah: This is an error that many mosque imams commit by going against it, where the imam says, "Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy", and that becomes the second salam, making that the second salam, and then the imam draws out the word "Allah" with a long vowel. This is due to the ignorance of the imam and the ignorance of the one praying behind him, because the imam is ignorant of this Sunnah. The Sunnah in the salam is to shorten it; it is part of the Sunnah to shorten the salam, meaning to abbreviate it and not to draw it out. "Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy," "Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy." And it comes from the followers who do not know, saying, peace be upon him: Sahih al-Bukhari 1236 But by Allah, I do not blame them, because "If the master of the house is beating the drum, then the residents have no choice but to dance". If the imam goes against the Sunnah, what do the followers behind him do? And it is supposed that he is more knowledgeable than they are. So when we say that this follower, when he sees the ignorant imam drawing out the salam, what can he do? He protects himself by extending his attention a little to the imam until the imam finishes, and then he says the salam. But if he says "Peace be upon you" and starts immediately, it means he is going to precede the imam in the result, and even if the imam is the one responsible. The point is that the takbir is a "juzm" (cutting off), meaning a "khatf" (snapping), so it is not drawn out. It is not said, "Allah is the Greatest" with a long vowel, but rather "Allah is the Greatest" with a short vowel. So some people, in the past and present, have thought that the takbir is a "juzm" meaning without movement. You do not say "Allah is the Greatest" with a long vowel, "Allah is the Greatest" with a long vowel, but rather you say "Allah is the Greatest," "Allah is the Greatest" with short vowels. This is an error, an error in the Sunnah and an error in the language. Because from the perspective of language, it is not permissible to stop on a moving letter. If you are on a static letter and you want to stop and not connect it, and if it is a moving letter, you do not make it static, but rather you move it and connect it to what follows. And many reciters connect a verse; the verse ends with a moving letter, but considering it as a verse, it is static, so they connect it to what follows and pronounce it as static, even though it is moving. This is an error, two errors: the first error is that one stops at every verse, and the second error is that if you connect it, you must connect it as moving in the verse, not as static. Is that not so?
The questioner : Yes, if the hadith is authentic, as you mentioned, and you said the takbir is with "juzm," meaning "juzm" is stillness, so if you say the takbir, you become still. If you stop, then it is obligatory for the reciter or the speaker, when he stops, not to move?
The Shaykh : You made a mistake.
The questioner : If the speech is merged into what follows, you connect it, meaning the movement in the word that...
The Shaykh : I agree with you in the last sentence, and this is what you asked me about. But you made a mistake in the beginning of the speech. I say this is not a hadith, and this is a matter of reminder.[Adh-Dhariyat 51:55] First, it is not a hadith, and second, the meaning you referred to is a technical term, and the hadith is Arabic before it is technical. "Juzm" means "khatf" (snapping), and it is not "juzm" meaning "juzm" by stillness.
The questioner : I think so.
The Shaykh : Ah, it is so, and you are not the first to be deceived by the full moon... It is to make the group who applied the grammatical terminology to this Arabic sentence, and this is the problem. The point is that the takbir is a "juzm" in the language of the Arabs, and with it Ibrahim ibn Yazid al-Nakha'i pronounced it, meaning "khatf" (snapping), not meaning "taskeen" (stillness) as is the grammatical terminology.
The questioner : It is as you mentioned. The first point is "The salam is shortened". "Shortening" means understanding the meaning of "juzm," which is "khatf" (snapping).
The Shaykh : Yes, yes, otherwise why did we bring the hadith of the Sunnah? The point is that the takbir is a "juzm" meaning "khatf" (snapping), and it is not a hadith, but rather a report from Ibrahim ibn Yazid al-Nakha'i. Good.
It is part of the Sunnah to shorten the closing salam
من السنة حذف السلامThe Imam is to be followed
إنما جعل الإمام ليؤتم بهThe questioner : Yes, if the hadith is authentic, as you mentioned, and you said the takbir is with "juzm," meaning "juzm" is stillness, so if you say the takbir, you become still. If you stop, then it is obligatory for the reciter or the speaker, when he stops, not to move?
The Shaykh : You made a mistake.
The questioner : If the speech is merged into what follows, you connect it, meaning the movement in the word that...
The Shaykh : I agree with you in the last sentence, and this is what you asked me about. But you made a mistake in the beginning of the speech. I say this is not a hadith, and this is a matter of reminder.
And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers.
وذكر فإن الذكرى تنفع المؤمنينThe questioner : I think so.
The Shaykh : Ah, it is so, and you are not the first to be deceived by the full moon... It is to make the group who applied the grammatical terminology to this Arabic sentence, and this is the problem. The point is that the takbir is a "juzm" in the language of the Arabs, and with it Ibrahim ibn Yazid al-Nakha'i pronounced it, meaning "khatf" (snapping), not meaning "taskeen" (stillness) as is the grammatical terminology.
The questioner : It is as you mentioned. The first point is "The salam is shortened". "Shortening" means understanding the meaning of "juzm," which is "khatf" (snapping).
The Shaykh : Yes, yes, otherwise why did we bring the hadith of the Sunnah? The point is that the takbir is a "juzm" meaning "khatf" (snapping), and it is not a hadith, but rather a report from Ibrahim ibn Yazid al-Nakha'i. Good.