53. Greetings

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,"The one riding greets the one walking, and when one of a group ofpeople gives a greeting, it is enough for all of them." Yahya related to me from Malik from Wahb ibn Kaysan that Muhammadibn Amr ibn Ata said, "I was sitting with Abdullah ibn Abbas when aYemeni man came in. He said, 'Peace be upon you, and the mercy ofAllah and His blessing' (as-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wabarakatuhu), and then he added something more to that. Ibn Abbas said(and at that time his eyesight had gone), 'Who is this?' People said,'This is a Yemeni who has come to see you,' and they introduced him.Ibn Abbas said, 'The greeting ends with the word blessing.' " Yahya said that Malik was asked, "Does one greet a woman?" He said,"As for an old woman, I do not disapprove of it. As for a young woman,I do not like it." Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Dinar thatAbdullah ibn Umar said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, said, "When a jew greets you, and says 'Deathto you' (as-samu alaykum) say, 'And to you.' " Yahya said,"Malik was asked whether a person who greeted a jew or christian,should apologise for it. He said, 'No'." Yahya related to me from Malik from Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn AbiTalha from Abu Murra, the mawla of Aqil ibn Abi Talib from Abu Waqidal-Laythi that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, was sitting in the mosque with some people when threepeople came in. Two came toward the Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, and one went away. When the two stoppedat the assembly of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, they gave the greeting. One of them saw a gap in thecircle and sat in it. The other sat down behind the circle. The thirdturned away and left. When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, finished, he said, "Shall I tell you about threepeople? One of them sought shelter with Allah, so Allah gave himshelter. The other was shy, so Allah was shy to him. The other turnedaway, so Allah turned away from him." Yahya related to me from Malik from Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn AbiTalha that Anas ibn Malik heard Umar ibn al-Khattab return thegreeting of a man who greeted him. Then Umar asked the man, "How areyou?" He said, "I praise Allah to you." (Ahmadu ilayka Allah) Umarsaid, "That is what I wanted from you." Yahya related to me from Malik from Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn AbiTalha that at-Tufayl ibn Ubayy ibn Kab told him that he visitedAbdullah ibn Umar one morning and went out with him to the market, andwhen they were out, Abdullah ibn Umar did not pass by anyone sellingpoor merchandise or selling commodities or a needy person or anyonebut that he greeted them. At-Tufayl said, "I came to Abdullahibn Umar one day and he asked me to follow him to the market. I saidto him, 'What will you do in the market if you will not stop to sellnor seek any goods or barter with them or sit in any of the assembliesor market?' Abdullah ibn Umar said that we should sit down and talk,and then he explained, 'Abu Batni, (lit. father of the belly, at-Tufayl had a prominent stomach), we go out in the morning only for thesake of the greeting. We greet whomever we meet.' " Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that a mangreeted Abdullah ibn Umar. He said, "Peace be upon you and the mercyof Allah and his barakat, on and on." Abdullah ibn Umar said to him,"And on you, a thousand times," as if he disliked that. Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard that when oneentered an unoccupied house, one should say, "Peace be upon us and onthe slaves of Allah, who are salih." (As-salamu alayna wa alaibadillahi's-saliheen).O