Chapter VI: Seclusion
(18) Greet every Muslim with salam before talk and before greeting handshake with him. The Prophet said : Don't respond to one who begins talk before salam till he begins talk with salam.
A wise man said : Once I went to the Prophet but did not great him with salam and did not seek permission. The Prophet said :
Go back and say : 'Peace be on you' and then enter. The Prophet said: When you enter your house, greet its inmates with salam, because when one of you greets, the devil does not enter his house. Hazrat Anas said : I have been serving the Prophet for the last eight years. He said to me one day : O Anas, make ablution well, your life will be prolonged. Greet with salam to any of my followers whom you meet, your rewards will increase . Greet with salam the inmates of a house when you enter it, that will be good for you. He also said : When two believers meet and handshake with each other, seventy virtues are divided among them. He who meets out of them with smiling, countenance, will get sixty nine virtue therefrom. God says : When you are greeted with greeting, greet them with a better greeting than it or similar to it. The Prophet said : By One in whose hand there is my life, you will not enter Paradise till you believe, you will not believe till you love one another. Shall I not inform you of such an action for which you will love one another if you do it ? The companions said : Yes, O Messenger of God. He said : Spread peace among you. He said : When a Muslim greets another Muslim with salam and the latter responds to it, the angels bless him seventy times, The Prophet said : The rider will salute one sitting . When one of a party salutes, it is sufficient for them.
Handshaking with salam is Sunnab A man came to the Prophet and said : Peace be on you. He said : For him, ten rewards have been written. Another man came and said : Peace be on you and God's mercy. He said : For him twenty rewards have been written. Another came and said : Peace be on you, God's mercy and His blessing. He said : For him thirty rewards have been written. Hazrat Anas saluted the boys while passing by them.
The Prophet said : Don't greet the Jews and the Christens first. If
1 26 The Book of Wordly Usages Vol-II
one of you meets any of them on the path or, lead him to the narrow corner of the path. The Prophet said : Don't handshake with the Zimmis and don't greet them first. When you meet any of them, take him to a corner of the pathway.