Can non-Muslims say "As-salamu alaykum"?
Question 1248
Question
Is it allowed for a non-Muslim to greet Muslims with "As-salamu alaykum", and how should a Muslim reply?
Summary of answer
Non-Muslims may greet Muslims with as-salamu alaykum, and a Muslim should answer warmly and in full: wa ʿalaykum al-salām. Al-Salām is a name of Allah, the Prophet ﷺ told his followers to spread peace to those they know and those they do not, and the Quran commands believers to return every greeting with one as good or better (4:86). The Prophet ﷺ himself greeted a gathering of Muslims, idol-worshippers, and Jews.
Answer
الحمد لله Praise be to Allah.
A coworker, a neighbor at Eid, a friend visiting a Muslim home: many people wonder whether they may say “as-salamu alaykum” (السلام عليكم), “peace be upon you.” The answer is warm and clear. Non-Muslims may say as-salamu alaykum, and the Muslim who hears it should answer in full: “wa ʿalaykum al-salām,” “and upon you be peace.” The greeting is a prayer for peace, and the Quran commands every believer to return a greeting with one as good or better.
Can non-Muslims say “As-salamu alaykum”?
Yes. Peace is a gift any person may offer. Al-Salām, Peace, is one of the names of Allah: “the Sovereign, the Most Holy, the Source of Peace” (ٱلۡمَلِكُ ٱلۡقُدُّوسُ ٱلسَّلَٰمُ, Quran 59:23). When a person of any faith wishes peace upon a Muslim, they are speaking a word that belongs to Allah and praying for something He loves.
The greeting also predates Islam and reaches beyond it. Arabic-speaking Christians use it every day, older Christian communities in northern India greet one another with salām, and the Hebrew shalom aleichem is its close cousin from the age of the prophets of Israel. A non-Muslim who says it to a Muslim is speaking the shared language of Abraham’s family.
The Prophet ﷺ wanted this greeting to travel far. He made spreading it a path to love and to Paradise:
«لاَ تَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ حَتَّى تُؤْمِنُوا وَلاَ تُؤْمِنُوا حَتَّى تَحَابُّوا أَوَلاَ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَى شَىْءٍ إِذَا فَعَلْتُمُوهُ تَحَابَبْتُمْ أَفْشُوا السَّلاَمَ بَيْنَكُمْ»
“You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I tell you of something that will make you love one another when you do it? Spread peace among yourselves.”
When a man asked him which deeds of Islam are best, he answered: “Feeding people, and greeting with peace those you know and those you do not know” (Sahih al-Bukhari 12). A greeting that reaches strangers will reach people of every faith.
How should a Muslim reply when a non-Muslim says salam?
The Quran sets the rule for every greeting, from anyone:
وَإِذَا حُيِّيتُم بِتَحِيَّةٖ فَحَيُّواْ بِأَحۡسَنَ مِنۡهَآ أَوۡ رُدُّوهَآۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيۡءٍ حَسِيبًا
“When you are greeted with a greeting, answer with a better one, or at least return it. Allah keeps account of all things.”
Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him), the great early interpreter of the Quran, is reported to have read the verse this way: “Return the greeting to whoever gives it, whether Jew, Christian, or Magian, because Allah says: when you are greeted with a greeting, answer with a better one or return it” (al-Adab al-Mufrad 1110). So the fitting reply is the full one: “wa ʿalaykum al-salām,” and a Muslim may add “wa raḥmatu Allāh,” “and the mercy of Allah,” to give back more than was given.
What about the hadith “Reply only with wa alaykum”?
Some Muslims have heard that a non-Muslim’s salam should be answered with a bare “wa ʿalaykum,” “and upon you.” That instruction is authentic (Sahih al-Bukhari 6258), and its setting explains it. A group of men once came to the Prophet ﷺ and twisted the greeting into “al-sām ʿalaykum,” “death be upon you.” Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) heard it and shot back a curse. The Prophet ﷺ calmed her: “Gently, Aisha. Allah loves gentleness in every matter,” and he had answered them only with “and upon you” (Sahih al-Bukhari 6024).
The short reply, then, was a gentle and just answer to a greeting turned into an insult. It returns to the speaker exactly what he said, without adding harm. When someone says “peace be upon you” sincerely and clearly, justice and the command of 4:86 call for “and upon you be peace.”
A second report tells Muslims not to greet Jews and Christians first (Sahih Muslim 2167a). The scholars differed (ikhtalafa al-ʿulamāʾ) on how far it reaches. Some took it as a general rule. Read beside the practice of the Prophet ﷺ himself and the command to greet strangers, the stronger view (al-rājiḥ) is that it answered a particular time of hostility, and that a Muslim may greet anyone first, as the next section shows.
Did the Prophet ﷺ greet non-Muslims?
He did. Usāma ibn Zayd reported that the Prophet ﷺ, riding to visit a sick Companion, passed a gathering of Muslims, idol-worshippers, and Jews. He greeted them with peace, dismounted, and spoke to them about Allah (Sahih al-Bukhari 6254).
The prophets before him did the same. When Abraham (peace be upon him) parted from his father, who worshipped idols and had threatened to stone him, his last words to him were a greeting and a prayer:
سَلَٰمٌ عَلَيۡكَۖ سَأَسۡتَغۡفِرُ لَكَ رَبِّيٓ
“Peace be upon you. I will ask my Lord to forgive you.”
Allah also told the Prophet ﷺ, when people rejected his message, “Bear with them, and say: Peace” (43:89).
Is it disrespectful for a non-Muslim to say salam?
Muslims hear it as a courtesy and a sign of friendship. A few pointers make it easy:
- Say it sincerely. “As-salamu alaykum” (peace be upon you) is the usual form. In reply you will hear “wa alaykum as-salam.”
- Use it anywhere. At the mosque door, at an iftar, at work, at the shop. Visitors to a mosque are welcome to greet the people they meet (Can non-Muslims enter a mosque?).
- Other blessings are welcome too. “Ramadan Mubarak,” “Eid Mubarak,” “inshallah,” and “alhamdulillah” are kind words in any mouth, and Muslims use English blessings with their neighbors in return (Can Muslims say “Amen,” “Hallelujah,” or “Oh my God”?).
Muslims, for their part, may greet their neighbors, colleagues, and friends with peace first. Friendship across faiths is part of the life the Quran describes (Can Muslims be friends with non-Muslims?), and the Quran speaks with respect of the People of the Book (What does the Quran say about Christians and Jews?).
The greeting of Paradise
Salām is the first word and the lasting word of the life to come. The Quran says of the people of Paradise:
وَتَحِيَّتُهُمۡ فِيهَا سَلَٰمٞ
“And their greeting there is: Peace.”
Every time two people wish each other peace on this earth, whatever their faith, they speak a word of that garden. May Allah make our greetings sincere, our homes open, and our neighborhoods places where peace is spoken and lived.
And Allah knows best. والله أعلم
Frequently asked questions
Can a Christian or Jew say As-salamu alaykum to a Muslim?
Yes. It is a prayer for peace, it is common among Arabic speakers of every faith, and its Hebrew cousin shalom aleichem is older still. A Muslim receives it as a kindness and returns it.
How should a Muslim reply when a non-Muslim says salam?
Answer in full: wa ʿalaykum al-salām, and upon you be peace, adding wa raḥmatu Allāh if you wish. The Quran asks for a reply as good as the greeting or better (4:86).
Can a Muslim say salam first to a non-Muslim?
Yes. The Prophet ﷺ greeted a mixed gathering that included idol-worshippers and Jews, and he taught that greeting strangers as well as friends is among the best deeds in Islam.
Can non-Muslims say Ramadan Mubarak, Eid Mubarak, or inshallah?
Yes. These are kind words of blessing, and Muslims are glad to hear them from neighbors and colleagues of every faith.
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Sources
Image: Lazhar Neftien, Inside the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, 2009. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.. Image credits
