Shaykh al-Albaanee
(may Allaah have mercy on him) wrote:
If someone were
to ask, “Is it permissible to greet the non-Muslims first with other than the
greeting of salaam, for example, saying: ‘How are you this morning or
how are you this evening?’ or ‘How are you?’ and the like?”
I would say:
That which is evident to me – and Allaah knows best – is that it is
permissible, because the prohibition mentioned in the hadeeth is only with
regard to the greeting of salaam; meaning, it refers to the Islamic mode
of greeting, which comprises of one of the names of Allaah as contained in the
saying of the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam): “As-Salaam is one of
the names of Allaah, may He be exalted, and Allaah has ordained it on earth, so
spread the greeting of salaam amongst yourselves.” This hadeeth was
recorded by al-Bukhaaree in Adab al-Mufrad (989).
One of the
proofs that support what I have stated is the saying of ‘Alqamah: “Abdullah
Ibn Mas‘ood greeted the Persian grandees with a gesture.” Recorded by
al-Bukhaaree in Adab al-Mufrad (1104) with the subheading: “A person greeting
a dhimmi with a gesture.” And the chain is authentic. So Ibn Mas‘ood permitted
greeting them first with a gesture because it is not a form of greeting that is
specific to the Muslims. As such, the same ruling applies to greeting them
first with the like of those wordings we have mentioned.
As regards what
has been mentioned in some books of the Hanaabilah[1]
like, ad-Daleel, that it is also prohibited to greet them first with, ‘How
are you this morning or evening?’ or ‘How are you?’ or How are you doing’?,
then I do not know of any proof from the Sunnah to support it. In fact, it was
declared in Manaar as-Sabeel, which is the commentary of Ad-Daleel
that it takes the same ruling as the greeting of salaam by analogy.
I say: It is
obvious that it is qiyaas ma’a al-faariq (analogy with a difference) due
to the merits that the greeting of salaam has, which has not been
reported concerning any of the aforementioned wordings. And Allaah knows best.
Source: Silsilah
al-Ahaadeeth as-Saheehah, vol. 2, p.320-321, no. 704
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