Explaining the ruling on greeting a disbeliever and explaining how to respond to him if he greets you.
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The Shaykh : And among what relates to the greeting is: do we greet the people of disbelief, such as one who does not pray, for example? The one who does not pray is a disbeliever, and he has none of the rights of the Muslims until he prays. So do we greet him or not?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : I did not ask you for the evidence, answer?
The student: We do not greet him.
The Shaykh : We do not greet him. May Allah reward you. We do not greet him, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 2167a
That is to say: a Christian man meets you, and the Christian is what people today call what? A Christian, and he is the farthest of people from Christ, because Christ disowns them, for Allah says to him on the Day of Resurrection:[Al-Ma'idah 5:116] So what does he say? [Al-Ma'idah 5:116-117].
These people did not believe in Isa, because they rejected his good news and denied his good news, for Isa (peace be upon him) gave them good news of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), so Allah the Exalted said about him:[As-Saf 61:6] Did they accept the good news? Why did he give them good news? He gave them good news to encourage and incite them to follow him and believe in him, because good news is not given except for what is beloved and pleasing, but they did not accept this good news [As-Saf 61:6].
The important point is, if a disbeliever meets us, we do not greet him, whoever he is, even if he is your father or your son or your brother or your uncle, you do not greet him while he is a disbeliever, but if he initiates the greeting to you,
If he initiates the greeting to you, respond to him, by the saying of Allah the Exalted:[An-Nisa 4:86] So if the Jew or the Christian or the Buddhist or the polytheist or the apostate or others meet you, respond to him, but with what do you respond? Just as he said.
If he says "Marhaban by Abu So-and-so," what do you say? "Marhaban by Abu So-and-so." If he says "As-salamu alaykum," say "Wa alaykum," and be wiser than him, say "Wa alaykum" and do not use the word "sam" explicitly, but say "Wa alaykum."
If he says "As-salamu alaykum," what do you say? You say "Alaykum as-salam." If he invokes peace for you, respond to him, say "Alaykum as-salam," because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If they greet you with what? With "sam," say "Wa alaykum." So if they greet us and say "as-salam" with the explicit wording, we say "Wa alaykum as-salam."
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : I did not ask you for the evidence, answer?
The student: We do not greet him.
The Shaykh : We do not greet him. May Allah reward you. We do not greet him, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Do not greet the Jews and the Christians before they greet you
لا تبدؤوا اليهود ولا النصارى بالسلامThat is to say: a Christian man meets you, and the Christian is what people today call what? A Christian, and he is the farthest of people from Christ, because Christ disowns them, for Allah says to him on the Day of Resurrection:
O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah?'
يَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ أَأَنْتَ قُلْتَ لِلنَّاسِ اتَّخِذُونِي وَأُمِّيَ إِلَهَيْنِ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهHe will say, "Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen. (117) I said not to them except what You commanded me - to worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them; but when You took me up, You were the Observer over them
قَالَ سُبْحَانَكَ مَا يَكُونُ لِي أَنْ أَقُولَ مَا لَيْسَ لِي بِحَقٍّ إِنْ كُنْتُ قُلْتُهُ فَقَدْ عَلِمْتَهُ تَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِي وَلَا أَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِكَ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ * مَا قُلْتُ لَهُمْ إِلَّا مَا أَمَرْتَنِي بِهِ أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ رَبِّي وَرَبَّكُمْ وَكُنْتُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيدًا مَا دُمْتُ فِيهِمْ فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّيْتَنِي كُنْتَ أَنْتَ الرَّقِيبَ عَلَيْهِمْThese people did not believe in Isa, because they rejected his good news and denied his good news, for Isa (peace be upon him) gave them good news of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), so Allah the Exalted said about him:
And [mention] when Jesus, the son of Mary, said, "O children of Israel, indeed I am the messenger of Allah to you confirming what came before me of the Torah and bringing good tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmad."
وإذ قال عيسى بن مريم يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَمُبَشِّرًا بِرَسُولٍ يَأْتِي مِنْ بَعْدِي اسْمُهُ أَحْمَدُBut when he came to them with clear evidences, they said, "This is obvious magic."
فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ - ايش قالوا ؟ - قَالُوا هَذَا سِحْرٌ مُبِينٌThe important point is, if a disbeliever meets us, we do not greet him, whoever he is, even if he is your father or your son or your brother or your uncle, you do not greet him while he is a disbeliever, but if he initiates the greeting to you,
If he initiates the greeting to you, respond to him, by the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet [in return] with one better than it or [at least] return it
وإذا حييتم بتحية فحيوا بأحسن منها أو ردوهاIf he says "Marhaban by Abu So-and-so," what do you say? "Marhaban by Abu So-and-so." If he says "As-salamu alaykum," say "Wa alaykum," and be wiser than him, say "Wa alaykum" and do not use the word "sam" explicitly, but say "Wa alaykum."
If he says "As-salamu alaykum," what do you say? You say "Alaykum as-salam." If he invokes peace for you, respond to him, say "Alaykum as-salam," because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: