Posted on 08/01/2007 6:33:48 PM PDT by 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.
Blah Blah!...who gives a rats ass?....
Did you read the imam’s answer to the question? They know EXACTLY what not greeting someone means.. that’s the entire point of having it be a rule for their religion.
They want you to get mad.. they want you upset... that’s their intention.
Another intelligent, classy, eloquent response. It's always nice to hear from the intellectually depraved.
I love these intellectual giants who think that if I dont put some snarky comment in the title that I actually support this stuff.
How do these people function in life being so obtuse?
Exactly. But I am sure they don’t understand the accurate infomation that behavior portrays to a westerner. They know it would piss us off, but they only see it at one level.
Compared to pacelvi, you’re a noob to FR so I think you should just keep your comments to yourself. Pacelvi have no need to prove his conservative bona fides to you!
And if the Comedian shall greet you by saying, “Your Momma wears Army Boots!” You shall reply to him by saying, “Nu-uh, your Momma!” And if the Comedian replies with, “I said it first!” You shall say, “well, your Momma wears Big Green Army Boots!” And the Comedian might say, “That’s what I said!” And you will say, “Nu-auh!” Then he will say, “Uh-huh!” And you say again, “Nu-auh!” Then you will say both together , “Uh-huh!” You will then both say, “Jinks!”, and sound very foolish in the sight of Allah.
That is a wild story.
Thanks.. you rock!.
All the dummy has to do is look at my tag line to see where I stand.
Cheonmaneyo!
What’s your problem?
What’s Pacelvi done to convince you that that he/she supports the jihadis? I assumed the article was posted to highlight the despicable and rude nature of islime, but apparently you think otherwise.
“Is it permissible for a Muslim to great a non-Muslim first?”
Okay, smart guy!
His headline say’s to “great” a non-muslim.
Is that in “great to meet you”
Maybe he should look over the title of his postings before he posts. I think the word he looks for is GREET!
Why are you posting about posting? Thanks for sharing your interests with us though.
I believe I covered their bathroom and toilet etiquette a few months back.
All Your Toilets Are Belong To Us
"So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will win hundred times in hundred battles. If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you win one and lose the next. If you do not know yourself or your enemy, you will always lose." ~ Sun Tzu - The Art of War
Congratulations on making 9422WMR a new friend. She seems like a really fun girl.
Great deadpan delivery. I love dry humor:^)
Cordially,
Cordially,
Cordially,
Unfortunately, there was nothing dry in the bathroom.
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