Sharh Riyad as-Saliheen by Ibn Uthaymeen — Volume 3 (شرح رياض الصالحين) — Page 333

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

بَابُ كَيْفِيَّةِ السَّلَامِ.

(from previous page) ⟵ If they are a group, say: Peace be upon you (plural), and if he is alone, say: Peace be upon you (singular).

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ، وَإِنْ زِدْتَ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ، فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ، وَإِنْ زِدْتَ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ، فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ؛ لِأَنَّ كُلَّ كَلِمَةٍ فِيهَا عَشْرُ حَسَنَاتٍ، وَإِنِ اقْتَصَرْتَ عَلَى: «السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ»، فَهُوَ كَافٍ بِهَذِهِ الْكَيْفِيَّةِ.

Say, "Peace be upon you." Adding "and the mercy of Allah" is better, and adding "and His blessings" is better still, as every word brings ten good deeds. Limiting yourself to "Peace be upon you" is sufficient.

وَيَقُولُ الرَّادُّ: وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامُ، ثُمَّ إِنْ كَانَ الْمُسَلِّمُ لَمْ يَزِدْ عَلَى قَوْلِ: السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ، كَفَى، وَإِنْ كَانَ الْمُسَلِّمُ قَدْ قَالَ السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ، فَعَلَى الرَّادِّ أَنْ يَقُولَ: عَلَيْكَ السَّلَامُ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ؛ لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿ وَإِذَا حُيِّيتُم بِتَحِيَّةٍ فَحَيُّوا بِأَحْسَنَ مِنْهَا أَوْ رُدُّوهَا ﴾، يَعْنِي: رُدُّوا مِثْلَهَا، وَقَالَ: يُسْتَحَبُّ أَنْ يَقُولَ: «وَعَلَيْكُمْ» بِزِيَادَةِ الْوَاوِ، وَهَذَا حَسَنٌ؛ لِأَنَّهُ إِذَا قَالَ: «وَعَلَيْكُمْ» صَارَ وَاضِحًا أَنَّهُ مَعْطُوفٌ عَلَى الْجُمْلَةِ الَّتِي سَلَّمَ بِهَا الْمُسَلِّمُ، وَإِنْ حَذَفَهَا فَلَا بَأْسَ؛ لِأَنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ لَمْ يَأْتِ بِالْوَاوِ فِي رَدِّهِ السَّلَامَ عَلَى الْمَلَائِكَةِ فَقَالُوا سَلَامًا قَالَ سَلَامٌ، وَلَمْ يَأْتِ بِالْوَاوِ، فَإِنْ أَتَى بِالْوَاوِ فَحَسَنٌ، وَإِنْ تَرَكَهَا فَلَا بَأْسَ.

The responder says, "And upon you be peace." If the greeter only said, "Peace be upon you," this is enough. If they added, "and the mercy of Allah," the responder must say, "And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah," in accordance with the Almighty's command: "When you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with one better than it or at least return it," meaning return the equivalent. It is recommended to include the "and" (wa) in "And upon you," as this clearly links the response to the initial greeting. Omitting the "and" is acceptable; when the angels greeted Abraham, peace be upon him, they said "Peace," and he replied "Peace," without using the conjunction. Either way is fine.

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Vocabulary · المفردات (20 verbs · 32 nouns)

• زَادَ — to add
• اقْتَصَرَ — to limit
• قَالَ — to say
• بَاب — chapter
• كَيْفِيَّة — manner
• سَلَام — greeting