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Now let us
view the meanings and importance of Greetings (salaam).
Asalam-o-Alaikum means God bless you and a reply with better
words is a compulsory according to qur’an. In our society every
body is busy so no one has the time to exchange greetings, and
that's it. Whereas God orders us to greet nicely and inquire
about each other if you have time. The emphasis on this is so
much that even on entering empty mosques you should loudly say
salaam.
There is
wisdom in this divine order as Jinns, Angels and sacred spirits
are beyond our visibility and knowledge. I also witnessed such
an incident. A man went to offer his Maghrib prayers in a mosque
in darkness; he came out yelling as someone had hit him on his
hips. Later the mosque keeper revealed that it happens here
commonly if some one do some thing wrong.
The reason
behind the orders to say salaams at graves and graveyards is
only known to Allah or his holy Prophet (peace be upon him). As
Islam is a religion of wisdom so we are ordered to say salaam,
similarly others are ordered to reply us back as there is
nothing irrelevant and meaningless in this religion. For example
we say salaam –o- alaykum to holy prophet (peace be upon him)
when we visit his grave and we are replied back. There is a
strong possibility in that and we cannot deny its bounties and
blessings.
It is a
lengthy discussion so we will discuss it later. In reality,
salaam first of all teaches us the difference between a friend
and foe, and between Muslims and non Muslim too .The biggest
advantage of all this is totally psychological, which depicts
mood, the present state of your attitude. You have seen in this
society the custom of saying hello or hi. They have learnt this
from Islam. In Islam to see your brother with a smile is a
charity. People in this way silently enquire about whether to
continue the conversation or not. If they do not get a positive
response both go on their own way, but as a Muslim it is our
responsibility to enquire if our Muslim brother is in need of
any kind of help.
In my trips
to Bengal, I saw a custom of introducing one another nicely
after the exchange of greetings. When you say salaam and
exchange views, it establishes the difference between a friend
and foe, Muslim and non Muslim. There is a possibility of
forgiveness from Allah in this as good prayers are heard by
Almighty. Your prayers might have been heard because of your
piety and his for you because of his piety, as he might be more
pious than you.
Now the
question arises how to differentiate between a Muslim and a
non-Muslim? Let me narrate an incident. In one war Hazrat
Usama(ra) was a commander. A man came and said salaam to him
and with his animals stood aside because he was muslim . Hazrat
Usama(ra) thought that he is doing all this just to have
friendship with him though he had secretly embraced Islam.
Hazrat Usama(ra) killed him and took away his assets and
animals. Holy prophet (peace be upon him) came to know about
this incident and showed his grievance and unhappiness over this
as in his opinion Hazrat Usama(ra) should not have killed this
person if he had said salaam to him. So in some situations
exchange of greetings is considered enough proof of being a
Muslim. Third benefit is the distinction of a friend or a foe,
if you are replied warmly you come to know how much that person
is welcoming you.
In our
prayers From Fajar till the last one of Isha, we begin and end
our day by saying salaam to each other. Unfortunately it has
become a part of our lives not to exchange salaams, which as a
result begins and ends our day with tensions instead of smiles
and blessings. Think for a moment what impact it will have on
our children. For God’s sake think about it for a moment and
try to change your ways of living and attitudes. Begin and end
your day with the exchange of greetings and smiles and see the
results of blessings. You can make your home a paradise. |
