And He the Exalted said: “When you enter houses, greet yourselves with a greeting from Allah, blessed and good.”

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “The Book of Greetings, the chapter on the virtue of greeting and the command to spread it. Allah the Exalted said: And He the Exalted said:

But when you enter houses, give greetings of peace upon each other - a greeting from Allah, blessed and good

فإذا دخلتم بيوتًا فسلموا على أنفسكم تحية من عند الله مباركة طيبة

[An-Nur 24:61]

And He the Exalted said:

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 ردوها

[An-Nisa 4:86]

And He the Exalted said:

⁽²⁴⁾ Has there reached you the story of the honored guests of Abraham? - ⁽²⁵⁾ When they entered upon him and said, "[We greet you with] peace." He answered, "[And upon you] peace, [you are] a people unknown.

هل أتاك حديث ضيف إبراهيم المكرمين * إذ دخلوا عليه فقالوا سلامًا قال سلام قوم منكرون

[Adh-Dhariyat 51:24-25]

”

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
This chapter was established by al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) in the book *Riyad al-Salihin*, in the Book of Greetings, its virtue and its etiquettes. He mentioned verses therein, among which is the saying of Allah the Exalted: We have previously discussed this verse. Among them is also the saying of Allah the Exalted: A phrase like “Has it reached you” is intended to create anticipation; that is, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) mentioned it in the form of a question to arouse the interest of the addressee. It is well known that a person will say, “It has not reached me, but what is it?” We have also previously discussed this verse. And His saying: means “you are strangers,” that is, I do not know you. The meaning is not that it is from *munkar* which is forbidden, but from *munkar* which is unknown, meaning I do not know you. Among them is the saying of Allah the Exalted: “Greet yourselves” means greet those inside, and He made them part of yourselves, because the believer to the believer is like a building, each part strengthening the other. It is like His saying the Exalted: The meaning is, greet those inside, because you and they are one self. And the word “self” can be applied to others, as we have mentioned. And also His saying the Exalted: means it is not obligatory for some of you to do so for others. The meaning is not that a person insults himself. The important point is that when you enter a house, greet those inside. Say: “Peace be upon you.” And they are obligated to return the greeting. It has been mentioned previously that the Sunnah when you enter your house is that the first thing you should do is use the *siwak*, then greet the people of the house. Among them is the saying of Allah the Exalted, one of the verses He mentioned, which is the saying of Allah the Exalted: That means we return the like of it. For example, if a person says to you, “Peace be upon you,” say, “And upon you peace,” and do not stop there. If he says, “Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah,” say, “And upon you peace and the mercy of Allah.” If he says, “Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings,” say, “And upon you peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings,” as an obligation, because Allah said: And if he says, “Peace be upon you,” then say, “And upon you peace and the mercy of Allah.” This is better than the first and is preferred, but it is not obligatory. The obligation is to return to them what they greeted you with. And His saying the Exalted: includes the better in type, the better in quantity, and the better in manner. Three things: the better in type, quantity, and manner. For example, if he says, “Peace be upon you,” and you say, “Welcome and welcome to Abu So-and-so, may Allah greet you and welcome you, please come in,” this is not sufficient. If you said this a thousand times, it would not benefit you, and you would be sinful, because you did not return with something better or the like. The one who says “Peace be upon you” is invoking peace for you along with the greeting. If you say “Welcome and welcome,” this is a greeting without a supplication. So it must be better than it in type, better than it in quantity, or the like of it. If he says, “Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah,” and you say, “And upon you peace” only, this is not permissible, because you did not return with something better or the like. You must say what he said. Similarly, better in manner: if he greets you with a clear, loud voice, do not return it with the tip of your nose, because some people greet you, saying “Peace be upon you,” and you return it with your nose; perhaps you can hear it, perhaps you cannot. This is not permissible, because you did not greet him with what he greeted you with, nor with something better. And from that also, if he greets you and turns his face toward you, and you greet him while turning away from him, showing him your cheek, this is also a deficiency; you did not return it, nor did you return with something better than it. The apparent meaning of this noble verse is that if a man from the disbelievers greets you and says, “Peace be upon you,” in a clear phrase, and you say, “And upon you peace,” there is no harm in it, because you returned with the like. As for the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): It means: Do not say “And upon you peace,” because he (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified in the hadith itself: What is *sam*? I am teaching you that *sam* is death.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes, they say “*Sam* upon you”; they say “*Sam* upon you,” meaning they invoke death upon you. So the Messenger said: It means: If they said “*Sam* upon you,” say “And upon you,” meaning, upon you also is the *sam*. It is understood from this hadith that if they said “Peace be upon you,” you say “And upon you peace,” and there is no harm in it, because Allah said: And Allah grants success.