Ayah
Word by Word
وَإِذَا
And when
حُيِّيتُم
you are greeted
بِتَحِيَّةٖ
with a greeting
فَحَيُّواْ
then greet
بِأَحۡسَنَ
with better
مِنۡهَآ
than it
أَوۡ
or
رُدُّوهَآۗ
return it
إِنَّ
Indeed
ٱللَّهَ
Allah
كَانَ
is
عَلَىٰ
of
كُلِّ
every
شَيۡءٍ
thing
حَسِيبًا
an Accountant
وَإِذَا
And when
حُيِّيتُم
you are greeted
بِتَحِيَّةٖ
with a greeting
فَحَيُّواْ
then greet
بِأَحۡسَنَ
with better
مِنۡهَآ
than it
أَوۡ
or
رُدُّوهَآۗ
return it
إِنَّ
Indeed
ٱللَّهَ
Allah
كَانَ
is
عَلَىٰ
of
كُلِّ
every
شَيۡءٍ
thing
حَسِيبًا
an Accountant
Translation
When a (courteous) greeting is offered you, meet it with a greeting still more courteous, or (at least) of equal courtesy. Allah takes careful account of all things.
Tafsir
And when you are greeted with a greeting, as when it is said to you, 'Peace be upon you', greet, the one that greeted you, with better than it, by responding to him with, 'Peace be upon you, and God's mercy and blessings', or return it, by saying back to him what he said; in other words, it is a duty to greet in one of these two ways, the former being the preferred one. Surely God keeps count of, He holds [you] accountable for, all things, and requites accordingly, including things such as returning a greeting. The Sunna specifies that one should not return the greeting of an disbeliever, an innovator, a wicked person, and of the one that greets a person who is in the act of relieving himself, or one in the bath, or one eating - indeed it is actually disapproved with the exception of the last. To the disbeliever [who says 'peace be upon you'] one should simply say, 'And upon you'.
"Interceding for a Good or an Evil Cause
Allah said
مَّن يَشۡفَعۡ شَفَاعَةً حَسَنَةً يَكُن لَّهُ نَصِيبٌ مِّنۡهَا
Whosoever intercedes for a good cause, will have the reward thereof;
meaning, whoever intercedes in a matter that produces good results, will acquire a share in that good.
وَمَن يَشۡفَعۡ شَفَاعَةً سَيِّيَةً يَكُن لَّهُ كِفۡلٌ مِّنۡهَا
And whosoever intercedes for an evil cause, will have a share in its burden.
meaning, he will carry a burden due to what resulted from his intercession and intention.
For instance, it is recorded in the Sahih that the Prophet said,
اشۡفَعُوا تُوۡجَرُوا وَيَقۡضِي اللهُ عَلى لِسَانِ نَبِيِّهِ مَا شَاء
Intercede and you will gain a reward of it. Yet, Allah shall decide whatever He wills by the words of His Prophet.
Mujahid bin Jabr said,
""This Ayah was revealed about the intercession of people on behalf of each other.""
Allah then said,
وَكَانَ اللّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيۡءٍ مُّقِيتًا
And Allah is Ever Muqit over everything.
Ibn Abbas, Ata, Atiyah, Qatadah and Matar Al-Warraq said that,
مُّقِيتًا
(Muqit) means, ""Watcher.""
Mujahid said that;
Muqit means, `Witness', and in another narration, `Able to do.'
Returning the Salam, With a Better Salam
Allah said
وَإِذَا حُيِّيۡتُم بِتَحِيَّةٍ فَحَيُّواۡ بِأَحۡسَنَ مِنۡهَا أَوۡ رُدُّوهَا
When you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with what is better than it, or (at least) return it equally.
meaning, if the Muslim greets you with the Salam, then return the greeting with a better Salam, or at least equal to the Salam that was given. Therefore, the better Salam is recommended, while returning it equally is an obligation.
Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Raja Al-Utaridi said that;
Imran bin Husayn said that a man came to the Messenger of Allah and said, ""As-Salamu Alaykum"".
The Prophet returned the greeting, and after the man sat down he said, ""Ten.""
Another man came and said, ""As-Salamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullah, O Allah's Messenger.""
The Prophet returned the greeting, and after the man sat down he said, ""Twenty.""
Then another man came and said, ""As-Salamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuh.""
The Prophet returned the greeting, and after the man sat down he said, ""Thirty.""
This is the narration recorded by Abu Dawud. At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i and Al-Bazzar also recorded it.
At-Tirmidhi said, ""Hasan Gharib"".
There are several other Hadiths on this subject from Abu Sa`id, Ali, and Sahl bin Hanif. When the Muslim is greeted with the full form of Salam, he is obliged to return the greeting equally.
As for Ahl Adh-Dhimmah the Salam should not be initiated nor should the greeting be added to when returning their greeting. Rather, as recorded in the Two Sahihs their greeting is returned to them equally.
Ibn Umar narrated that the Messenger of Allah said,
إِذَا سَلَّمَ عَلَيۡكُمُ الۡيَهُودُ فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ أَحَدُهُمۡ السَّامُ عَلَيۡكَ فَقُلۡ وَعَلَيۡك
When the Jews greet you, one of them would say, `As-Samu `Alayka (death be unto you).'
Therefore, say, `Wa `Alayka (and the same to you).')
In his Sahih, Muslim recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,
لَاا تَبۡدَأُوا الۡيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَى بِالسَّلَامِ وَإِذَا لَقِيتُمُوهُمۡ فِي طَرِيقٍ فَاضۡطَرُّوهُمۡ إِلى أَضۡيَقِه
Do not initiate greeting the Jews and Christians with the Salam, and when you pass by them on a road, force them to its narrowest path.
Abu Dawud recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,
وَالَّذِي نَفۡسِي بِيَدِهِ لَاا تَدۡخُلُوا الۡجَنَّـةَ حَتَّى تُوۡمِنُوا وَلَاا تُوۡمِنُوا حَتَّى تَحَابُّوا أَفَلَا أَدُلُّكُمۡ عَلَى أَمۡرٍ إِذَا فَعَلۡتُمُوهُ تَحَابَبۡتُمۡ أَفۡشُوا السَّلَامَ بَيۡنَكُم
By He in Whose Hand is my soul! You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love each other. Should I direct you to an action that would direct you to love each other! Spread the Salam among yourselves.
إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيۡءٍ حَسِيبًا
Certainly, Allah is Ever a Careful Account Taker of all things.
Allah said
اللّهُ لا إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ
Allah! none has the right to be worshipped but He.
informing that He is singled out as the sole God of all creation.
Allah then said,
لَيَجۡمَعَنَّكُمۡ إِلَى يَوۡمِ الۡقِيَامَةِ لَا رَيۡبَ فِيهِ
Surely, He will gather you together on the Day of Resurrection about which there is no doubt.
swearing that He will gather the earlier and latter generations in one area, rewarding or punishing each person according to his or her actions.
Allah said,
وَمَنۡ أَصۡدَقُ مِنَ اللّهِ حَدِيثًا
And who is truer in statement than Allah.
meaning, no one utters more truthful statements than Allah, in His promise, warning, stories of the past and information of what is to come; there is no deity worthy of worship nor Lord except Him."
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