Is returning the greeting obligatory?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : ... ؟
The Shaykh : This means that initiating it is a recommended practice (sunnah). So, if you greet someone, it is obligatory for the person you greeted to return it to you.
The questioner : ... If he leaves it, does he sin?
The Shaykh : If he leaves it, he does not sin, unless it amounts to boycotting a person, or unless harm is feared from it. Sometimes, if I were to leave off greeting a certain person, it would result in enmity, hatred, and resentment from that man. In such a case, we might say that it is obligatory.
The Shaykh : This means that initiating it is a recommended practice (sunnah). So, if you greet someone, it is obligatory for the person you greeted to return it to you.
The questioner : ... If he leaves it, does he sin?
The Shaykh : If he leaves it, he does not sin, unless it amounts to boycotting a person, or unless harm is feared from it. Sometimes, if I were to leave off greeting a certain person, it would result in enmity, hatred, and resentment from that man. In such a case, we might say that it is obligatory.