Allah the Exalted said: O you who believe! If any of you turns back from his religion, Allah will bring a people whom He loves and who love Him, humble toward the believers, severe toward the disbelievers

The Shaykh : Allah the Exalted said: They have superiority over the disbelievers. This means the Muslim sees that he is more noble than the disbeliever and that he has superiority over him. For this reason, when Christian employment became widespread among us today, the sense of religious zeal disappeared; the zeal disappeared from the hearts, and it is as if the Christian, or the Jew, or the Buddhist, or the idolater, differs from us only as the Hanbali differs from the Maliki, the Shafi'i, and the like. Some people think that disbelief, in our difference with them, is like the difference between the four schools of jurisprudence in Islam. We ask Allah for safety. This is undoubtedly a sign of the death of the hearts, and it is never permissible for a person to honor a disbeliever. It is prescribed that we do everything that causes them anger, but it is obligatory for us to fulfill the covenant between us and them if there is a covenant between us and them. For example, regarding workers, even if they are Christians, we say: Do not bring Christian workers to the Arabian Peninsula, because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: and he commanded: and he said, while in his death sickness: So do not bring a disbeliever when you are able to bring a Muslim. As for what the one whose heart Allah has killed, refuge with Allah, or perhaps we say whose heart Allah has turned away, believes, he says: I will bring disbeliever workers so that they do not pray; if they pray, the work decreases. So that they do not fast; if they fast, the work decreases. So that they do not go for 'Umrah or Hajj; if they go, the work decreases. This, refuge with Allah, is from those who chose the worldly life over the Hereafter. We ask Allah for safety. So the result is that it is not permissible for us to initiate the greeting of peace to any disbeliever, whether Jew, Christian, Buddhist, or idolater; any person who is not upon Islam, it is not permissible to initiate the greeting of peace to him. He said: This means do not give them space. If a group of Muslims and a group of disbelievers meet on a road, do not make room for them; let the narrowness be upon them, even if they are separated on the road. Because if you make room for them, that is honoring them. If you move close to the wall, for example, or the like, that is honoring them. Do not make room for them. This is if you meet them on a road, drive them to the narrowest part of it. Why do we treat them this way? Because they are enemies of Allah above all else, and enemies to us. They are enemies of Allah first and above all else, and secondly, enemies to us. And their actions toward Muslims, past and present, up to today, indicate this, indicating the intensity of their enmity toward Muslims. So it is not permissible for us to greet them with peace. But if they greet us, what do we say? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: But do not add to this. Say: "And to you" Why? Because in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), they would come to greet the Muslims, but it was a malicious greeting; they would say: "The poison upon you" "The poison" means death; this is the poison. So those who hear them pronounce the word with assimilation think they are saying "Peace be upon you," but they are saying "The poison upon you," meaning death. Look at the enmity; even in the greeting, they include the harmful thing: "The poison upon you." He said: Say "And to you." But if they said "Peace be upon us," then upon them is what? Peace. We say "And to you." Upon those who said it to us is what they said. If they said "Peace," then upon them is peace. If they said "Poison," then upon them is poison. And this is justice, because Allah said: This is justice. For this reason, some scholars said: If the disbeliever says "Peace be upon you" with the clear lam, say "Upon you is peace," because the matter upon which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) based his saying: as in the hadith of Ibn 'Umar in al-Bukhari This is a clear cause; the reason we say "And to you" is because they say "The poison upon you." But if they say "Peace" openly, we say "Upon you is peace," because the most just of people in justice are the Muslims, and praise be to Allah. If they say "Peace be upon you," we say "Upon you is peace." If they say "Welcome," we say "Welcome." If they say "Greetings," we say "Greetings." We give them what they give us. But it is difficult for some people now that we are afflicted with a people of disbelievers who are heads in some companies. A Muslim enters the office of the president, the head of the company, and he is a Christian. He enters the head of the company who is a Christian, so what does he say? We say: He greets and says "Peace" only, and intends by it that the peace is upon him, the Muslim. Because if you omit the object, it is not known to whom this peace is. "Peace" only, to whom? Yes, it is not known who the speech is for now, whether it is for so-and-so or so-and-so. But you intend it for yourself. This is if you fear his evil, that he says: How does he enter my office without greeting me? But if you do not fear his evil, and he is a man who does not care whether you greet him or not, then if you enter and you have a transaction, say: Take this transaction. How do I work, for example, without a greeting? Because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So I do not initiate the greeting. But if you fear his evil, I say "Peace" only. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed on whether it is permissible to initiate with something other than the greeting of peace, such as saying "Greetings," "Welcome," or "Easy." Some said there is no harm in it for the sake of reconciliation, especially if one fears his evil. And some said no, because this involves honoring him. And the person in this state, meaning in "Welcome" and "Greetings" and the like, looks at what the need or public benefit requires. Then the author mentioned the hadith: If a person passes by a gathering in which there are Muslims and disbelievers, does he leave the greeting because there are disbelievers, or does he greet because there are Muslims? Now two causes have gathered: a permissive and a prohibitive. What is the permissive? The Muslims; if you pass by Muslims, you greet. The prohibitive, the preventer, is the disbelievers. But here, the ruling can be divided, otherwise the legal principle is that if a permissive and a prohibitive gather and it is difficult to separate one from the other, then the side of prohibition, i.e., prevention, prevails. But here, separation is possible: you greet and intend it for the Muslims. Meaning, you passed by a group in which there are disbelievers and Muslims, you say "Peace be upon you" and intend in your heart, meaning, for the Muslims. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) passed by a gathering in which there was a mix of polytheists and Jews, and in it were Muslims, so he greeted them. And Allah grants success.

The questioner : ....

The Shaykh : It is like it, like it, like it. "Welcome" has disagreement regarding it.

The questioner : How are you?

The Shaykh : How are you? Perhaps if you say "How are you," you mean you want him to become sick.

The questioner : ...

The Shaykh : Say "Peace" only. If you fear his evil, say "Peace" and only, and intend that it is upon you.