The Virtue of Spreading the Greeting of Peace and Its Benefits

The Shaykh : We give the greeting of peace as an example. If you meet your brother, you must greet him, for it is one of his rights over you. If you say "As-salamu alaykum," how much reward do you get? You get ten good deeds. If you say "As-salamu alaykum" and he does not return it, the sin is on him, but you still get the reward. However, unfortunately, we see people now passing by in groups and individually without greeting one another, as if they are not part of the Muslim community, as if they did not know the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): Greet, my brother. If you greet, you gain benefits. Let us recount the benefits of the greeting of peace:
The first benefit: The reward. How much? Ten good deeds.
The second benefit: It is a cause for love and affection. What do you think if the people love one another, and each one loves for his brother what he loves for himself? Faith is completed by that. Yes.
Third: It is a cause for entering Paradise, which is the ultimate goal, the goal of every person, and the desire of every person is to be among the people of Paradise. I ask Allah for myself and for you that we be among the people of Paradise. Amen, amen. The evidence for this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: How many benefits are these? Three.
Fourth: The completion of faith, based on the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): Every person loves to complete his faith and increase his faith. This is one of the ways and paths that increase your faith. So why should I not greet? There are these great benefits in it, and in leaving it off is the opposite: a loss of these benefits and a sin, based on the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): Look, the better of the two is the one who starts with the greeting. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who is the most noble of creation and the most deserving of rights over creation, used to start with the greeting to whoever he met. He would greet the children when he passed by them. We pass by the elders and do not greet them. This is contrary to the guidance of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and it involves missing out on these great rewards.
Now, if a person passes by his brother and says "Marhaban" (Welcome), and the second one says "Marhaban," is this a greeting of peace or not? It is not a greeting of peace. This is not a greeting of peace; it is a salutation, not a greeting of peace. Yes.
Now, if one says "As-salamu alaykum" and the other says "Ahlan wa marhaban" (Welcome) and "Musahala" (Make it easy) to the dear, intimate, good friend, and so on, and stands up to praise him with all this praise, has he fulfilled the obligation in returning the greeting? Has he fulfilled the obligation in returning the greeting? No, because the first one said "As-salamu alaykum," and this one stood up to welcome and say "Ahlan" but did not say "Alaykum as-salam."
Some scholars said: It is obligatory. But the correct view is that it is a recommended practice (sunnah) and not obligatory. And we say what he says. If he says "Allahu Akbar," we say "Allahu Akbar." Rest, do not contradict. May Allah will it...
The student: ... .

The Shaykh : May Allah will it. Now, I say: We say what he says. If he says "Allahu Akbar," we say "Allahu Akbar." If he says "Ash-hadu an la ilaha illa Allah, Ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasool Allah" (I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah), "Hayya 'ala as-salah" (Come to prayer), we say "La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah" (There is no power and no strength except with Allah). "Hayya 'ala al-falah" (Come to success), we say "La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah." Why? Because he says "Hayya," meaning "Come, come." And you say "La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah," seeking help from Allah (Mighty and Majestic), because the meaning of this phrase is seeking help from Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Now, if he says in the Fajr adhan "As-salah khayrun min an-nawm" (Prayer is better than sleep), we say "As-salah khayrun min an-nawm." Some scholars said we should say "Saddaqta wa bararta" (You have spoken the truth and done well). But this view is weak, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): And he did not exclude from this except "Hayya 'ala as-salah" and "Hayya 'ala al-falah." So, if he says "As-salah khayrun min an-nawm," do we say "Saddaqta wa bararta"? No, that is wrong. Now, we say "As-salah khayrun min an-nawm." If someone asks: If the mu'adhdhin says "As-salah khayrun min an-nawm," is he telling the truth? Yes, he is telling the truth. And if he says "Allahu Akbar," is he telling the truth? If you say "Saddaqta wa bararta" when he says "Allahu Akbar,"