Is it permissible for a Muslim to great a non-Muslim first?.

http://www.islamqa.com/index.php?ref=48966&ln=eng ^ | Islam QA

[pacelvi]

Question: Is it permissible for a Muslim to great a non-Muslim first?.

Answer: Praise be to Allaah.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about the ruling on greeting non-Muslims. He replied as follows:

Greeting a non-Muslim first is haraam and is not permitted, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:“Do not initiate the greeting with the Jews and Christians, and if you meet them in the street push them towards the narrowest part of it.” But if they greet us we have to respond to them, because of the general meaning of the verse in which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“When you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with what is better than it, or (at least) return it equally”

[al-Nisa’ 4:86]

The Jews used to greet the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) by saying,“Al-saam ‘alaykum ya Muhammad (Death be upon you, O Muhammad),” praying that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would die. So the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:“The Jews say ‘al-saam ‘alaykum (death be upon you),’ so if they greet you, then say,‘Wa ‘alaykum (and also upon you).’”

If a non-Muslim greets a Muslim by saying “al-saamu ‘alaykum,” then we should respond by saying “wa ‘alaykum (and also upon you).” The fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said “wa ‘alaykum” indicates that if they were saying “al-salaamu ‘alaykum (peace be upon you),” then peace will also be upon them, i.e., whatever they say to us, we say to them. Hence some of the scholars said that if a Jew, Christian or other non-Muslim clearly says “al-salaamu ‘alaykum,” it is permissible for us to say “‘alaykum al-salaam (upon you be peace).”

Similarly it is not permissible to initiate a greeting such as Ahlan wa sahlan (welcome) and the like, because that is a kind of honouring them. But if they say something like that to us, then we should say something similar to them, because the greeting should be returned in like manner and each person should be given his due. It is well known that the Muslims are higher in status before Allaah, so they should not humiliate themselves in front of non-Muslims by greeting them first.

So, in conclusion, it is not permissible for us to greet non-Muslims first, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade that, and because this is a humiliation for the Muslim when he starts to honour a non-Muslim. The Muslim is higher in status before Allaah, so he should not humiliate himself in this manner. But if we are greeted then we should return the greeting in similar terms.

Similarly it is not permissible for us to greet them first with words such as Ahlan wa sahlan (welcome), Marhaban (hello) and so on, because that is a kind of honouring them, so it is like initiating the greeting of salaams with them. Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 3/33.

If there is a need to greet a kaafir first, there is no sin in that, but it should be something other than the greeting of salaam, such as saying Ahlan wa sahlan or How are you, etc. In that case the greeting is for a reason, not to honour him.

See al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 25/168.

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Zaad al-Ma’aad (2/424), concerning greeting a kaafir first:

A group of scholars said: It is permissible to greet him first if that serves a purpose, or for fear of his harm, or because of blood ties, or for a reason that requires that.

[weegee]

And remember to extend the pinky when cutting the heads off of kufir when waging holy jihad. < /S >

[rlmorel]

Good Lord.

Going to the bathroom in that religion is a real test of faith.

You have to say a prayer going in.

You have to decide which way to face.

You have to decide whether to piss squatting down or standing up. That means you gotta examine the soil, make a determination of the moisture content in the soil, and so on.

You have to hold your coffee in your right hand so you can hold with your left.

You have to utter another prayer.

You have to continue hanging onto your coffee with your right hand. Basically...you touch anything at all with that right hand except your styrofoam coffee cup, you are going to hell.

You have to utter another prayer as you leave.

No wonder these people live in the Seventh Century. How the hell can you invent the cotton gin when it takes you all that time and energy just to piss.

I guess living in a constantly dehydrated state in the Middle East where you piss once a day is the only way you could do it without going stark raving mad.

And, what if you REALLY have to go? Those times when you get through the bathroom door, and are fumbing madly with the zipper to your pants, hopping like a lunatic from foot to foot, hoping desperately to get it out and aimed in the generally right direction before you piss yourself?

You gotta say the prayer fast, take the compass reading and turn as you do, shift the cup, unzip with the left hand, look at the soil, figure it out, squat or stand, get it back in and say a prayer all while jumping from foot to foot as if you were standing on hot coals.

MAKES ME GLAD TO BE AN AMERICAN! WE DON’T HAVE TO PISS LIKE EUROSITZPINKLERS OR MULLAHS!

[weegee]

Wear a nice bright yellow shirt with a smiley face on it that says “Have a nice day even if you are an intolerant Islamic supremacist. Jesus died for YOUR sins too.”

[weegee]

And if you fart it can invalidate your prayers and you have to start the cleansing ritual all over again.

[freedomson]

Should that be “grate”?

Hilarious!

[weegee]

And, what if you REALLY have to go? Those times when you get through the bathroom door, and are fumbing madly with the zipper to your pants, hopping like a lunatic from foot to foot, hoping desperately to get it out and aimed in the generally right direction before you piss yourself?

It can be enough to drive you mad enough to hijack a plane and kill thousands of people.

It is institutionalized Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

[Finny]

[Muhammed the wicked said:] “Do not initiate the greeting with the Jews and Christians, and if you meet them in the street push them towards the narrowest part of it.

Just wow. Mystery explained. One day I, as a fairly attractive female in her mid 30s, was walking across a freeway bridge overpass on a very busy city street. Two Middle Eastern men were walking toward me in the opposite direction. The sidewalk was a squeeze narrow for three people abreast.

As any female in middle class civilized America would, I assumed the two "gentlemen" would perhaps or perhaps not acknowledge me, so deep in conversation were they, but certainly one of them would pause a split second out of his gait and let me pass. Is there an American-raised male reading this who would for an instant consider any other scenario?

I'm pretty sure I was walking on the right, but I know for sure that when we finally came abreast, I found myself forced out toward the left, busy traffic right off the curb; neither of them acknowleded me or made eye contact, and if I'd have had to step off the curb to accommodate them, they'd not have noticed. My intense dislike for those kinds of jerks began in earnest then. If I was in their country, I'd have no problem. But they're in MY country. Do it the way we do things, or go home, asswipes. Grrrr. I hope chivalry makes an appearance and American men start kicking their asses when they treat women with disrespect.

Just wow.

[weegee]

Paging Senator Obama Hussein Obama...

He’ll have to learn these rules of “engagement” so he doesn’t irritate our muslim masters when he meets at the table with Islamic terrorists to negotiate the peace.

[Finny]

As a rule of thumb, never offer a Muslim anything except brutality. Before doing business with them, take away something near and dear to them; and never, ever return it, no matter what they say. Then, make the an offer, in exchange for which you will NOT take away something else near and dear to them.

Worth resposting. Very illustrative.

[rlmorel]

"...It can be enough to drive you mad enough to hijack a plane and kill thousands of people..."

(I know I shouldn't laugh...but I just cannot help it...)

[9422WMR]

I just checked out your link.
It just torques me off to see these “sandy” apologists. Maybe that was not your intent.
Perhaps if you had qualified you posting as to not represent the filth of islam in such a positive manner, I would not have slammed you so. Maybe you represent the “against islam” side.
If so, you have my support. If not, then we know.

[Brad from Tennessee]

Mohammed was a bandit, a gigolo, a murderer, a pedophile and history’s greatest flimflam artist. He took advantage of a group of people who were spiritually isolated and pulled a con game on them called Islam. He got rich and they went mad.

[Finny]

Wear a nice bright yellow shirt with a smiley face on it that says “Have a nice day even if you are an intolerant Islamic supremacist. Jesus died for YOUR sins too.”

Ow! :^) Bullseye.

[353FMG]

Then you have committed a hate crime and you’ll pay for it.

[rlmorel]

If I encounter that, I have no doubt how I will respond.

I am going to line up my shoulder squarely with his shouder. And I guarantee my path is not going to deviate an inch. After the collision, I will turn around, and in a voice with a gesture like John Belushi gave after he smashed the guy’s guitar in the movie “Animal House”, I will shrug my shoulders and say: “Sorry.”

I used to be a hockey player so I know how to do that.

[MindBender26]

How does the Koran (Allah be pissed and pieces of pig shit upon it) deal with Jews and Christians splitting atoms?

[Incorrigible]

Interesting. I’ve been following many of those rules for most of my life and never knew it was proscribed in the Koran. Maybe I’m not as Catholic as I thought!

[domenad]

Imam, is my middle finger considered a greeting? Because that’s how I’ll likely greet you if you push me towards the narrowest part of the street.

[pacelvi]

You thought someone would post this as a POSITIVE show for Islam?

Since your apologizing to me, i guess i wont insult you but.. cmon.. isn’t the point of this self-evident?

[manic4organic]

Thanks for the great idea. I now know how to handle these satan worshippers in public.