In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
As-Salaam Alaikum Wa Rahamat Allah W Barakatu,
(May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be with you)
I am going to discuss the Importance of the greeting of Salaam ( Peace ). We often forget it's importance, and many times we forget to greet one another with Peace, sometimes we don't even greet one another at all. When we do, it's a simple, "hey" with a frown. Maybe you were having a bad day, you were tired and you just didn't have the energy to simply greet someone with a smile and a salaam. It happens. However, we must remember and think back at how Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessing be upon him) lived. How he greeted his family, companions, strangers, and even non-Muslims. We must ponder on, how will we greet one another in Jannah (Paradise)? Will it be a " Hey" with a frown? Or will it be the lovely greeting of Peace.
In Surat Al Waqia, the beauty of Jannah is described in many of the verses, but here is what Allah tells us about the beautiful greeting of Salaam:
"No Laghw (dirty, false, evil vain talk) will they hear therein, nor any sinful speech (like backbiting, etc.)." 56:25
"But only the saying of: Salam!, Salam! (greetings with peace)!" 56:26
If we are not greeting one another with Salaam in this dunya (this world) will we in the afterlife? If we do not make this a habit in our daily life, will we even make it to Jannah to be able to greet one another with Salaam? A simple Salaam and a simple smile can change someone's life. After all, "A smile is charity"
The Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon him) said: "The best of the two persons is the one who begins with salaam." (Related by an-Nawawi)
Once a man asked the Prophet (Peace and Blessing be upon him) about which aspect of Islam was best. The Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon him) replied: "Feeding the hungry, and saying salaam to those you know and those you don't know." (Bukhaari and Muslim)
As Islam was being spread, the importance of "Salaam" was stressed numerous times. It is common sense to believe that to greet one another with Salaam is very important and we should try our best to implement it in our daily lives. We are not perfect and we sin each day of our lives, at times we even sin without knowing. We need to gain those extra good deeds as much we can, a simple Salaam can be your key entrance to Paradise. After all, Allah (swt) is Al-Ghaffar, Al-Raheem. (The Forgiving, Most Compassionate) Also, the Prophet Muhammad said:
"You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I not tell you about something which, if you do it, you will love one another? Spread salaam (the greeting of peace) among you." (Muslim)
The Prophet (May Peace and Blessing be upon him) also said, "When two Muslims meet (give salaam), and shake hands, they are forgiven their sins before they part (with each other)." (Abu Dawud)
Have we forgotten that we are all in dire need of every good deed we can gain before our lives are over, possibly sooner than we think? Many of us, doesn't matter if we admit it or not, but many of us feel that we will die of old age, we are "too young" to die in the next hour or the next day, we forget that there is an end to this life we are living. Many people wake up in the morning, and spend their entire day, doing nothing. Literally, nothing. We have forgotten that we are only travelers in this life and that time is flying right by us. You know the feeling when planning a last minute trip to your favorite vacation destination with your loved ones? You are running around here and there making sure you've packed all the things you need. Whats the first thing you grab? your toothbrush, clothes of course, your ipod for some good music on the plane and so on. Now, your suitcase is full and you're all packed up to leave, feeling great about this exciting journey you are about to embark on with your favorite people in the world! I have question for myself, and for you, is our suitcase full of good deeds? Are we ready to leave right now, at this very moment? Have you packed your memorization of some sura's from the Quran, your hajj pilgrimage, your 5 daily prayers, the zakat you've given your entire life, your Ramadan fasts, etc...Have you packed all those things? Are you ready? I doubt we will ever feel prepared, and that is the reason why we ALL need that extra deed, we all need a couple "Salaam greetings" in that suitcase of ours.
Allah has told us through His verses and through the Hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad(May Peace and Blessings be upon him), how important the greeting of Salaam is, how an individuals sins will be forgiven if they greet their fellow Muslim brother or sister by Salaam. Have we forgotten how Allah is Al-Wadud (The Loving ) and how the Quran was sent as a Mercy to Mankind? Everything we need to know to be good Muslims are in the Quran and the Hadiths, yet we are becoming ignorant forgetting how one little greeting, a simple greeting means so much more than we ever thought. It is important to remember, a Muslims duty in this world is to spread the message. Allah has sent the Quran, with all the answers we need to all the questions we can possibly ask. Then again, it is what we do with this beautiful message sent from Allah that will determine our place in the afterlife.
Allah says in the Quran,
"Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom (hikmah) and beautiful preaching and argue with them in ways that are best." (Surah An-Nahl 16:125)
Also, non-Muslims can gain much knowledge from the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, and Muslims should convey that important message to them. It is the duty of a Muslim to spread this message.
Allah also says in the Quran, "Allah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with those who fought not against you on account of religion and drove you not from your homes. Verily, Allah loves those who deal with equity" [al-Mumtahinah (60):7].
It is important to understand that there are no limits when spreading this greeting of Peace. Just because your friend is not a Muslim doesn't not mean you cant great them with a Salaam. Allah even told us that we should treat one another equally no matter what. At the end of the day, if you think about it, we all would love to live in Peace. We all want to see Peace in this world.
My advice to myself and to you is to make the beautiful greeting of Salaam a habit, and you will notice the tranquility you will feel in your heart after uttering that wonderful greeting. I pray that Allah guides us and increases our success and knowledge in order to better spread this message of Peace and I pray that Allah forgives our sins.
I hope you enjoyed reading this,
And Allah Knows Best,
Peace be with you All.
The Holy Quran
Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (Hadiths)