🕌 Islamic education

Greetings and smiles

📖 In short

The Muslim greeting is “As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh” (peace, God's mercy and His blessings be upon you), a beautiful prayer for safety, mercy and blessing. We say it to people we know and people we don't, answer it with an even better greeting, and give it with a smile that makes hearts happy.

وَإِذَا حُيِّيتُم بِتَحِيَّةٍ فَحَيُّوا بِأَحْسَنَ مِنْهَا أَوْ رُدُّوهَا
Surat an-Nisa' (The Women), verse 86

🤩 Did you know?

  • “As-Salam” (Peace) is one of the beautiful names of God.
  • The full greeting holds 3 prayers: peace, mercy and blessing.
  • The greeting of the people of Paradise is “Peace”, as the Qur'an says.
  • When we enter a house with nobody in it, we say: “Peace be upon us and upon God's righteous servants.”

🔎 Find out more

🌟 Who greets first?

The Prophet ﷺ taught us that the young greet the old, the one walking greets the one sitting, the few greet the many, and the rider greets the one on foot. And the best person is the one who greets first.

🔍 How do we reply?

If someone says “As-salamu alaykum” to us, we say “Wa alaykum as-salam”, and if they add “wa rahmatullah”, we add “wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh”. We answer in a clear voice with a smiling face.

💡 Greetings spread love

The Prophet ﷺ said: “Shall I tell you something that, if you do it, will make you love one another? Spread the greeting of peace among you.” Greeting people turns strangers into friends.

🎯 A smile is charity

The Prophet ﷺ said: “Your smile to your brother is charity.” A little smile costs nothing, but it brings joy to other people's hearts.

📚 Key words

Greeting
The words we say when we meet someone
Spread
Share it widely and often
Blessing
Much good that grows and lasts

🌱 Put it into practice today

Today, try to be the first to greet everyone you meet: your family, neighbors, classmates and the caretaker. And count how many smiles you get back!

🧩 Test yourself

1 Who greets first: the young or the old?

2 Your friend says: “As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah”. How do you reply?

3 What did the Prophet ﷺ say about smiling?

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🎮 Try it yourself