The Book of Greetings

Umm Hani (May Allah be pleased with her), the daughter of Abu Talib reported:

I went to the Prophet (ﷺ) on the day of the conquest of Makkah. He was taking a bath and Fatimah was screening him with a cloth. I greeted him. And she mentioned the rest of the Hadith. <b>[Muslim]</b>.

Asma bint Yazid (May Allah be pleased with her) reported:

The Prophet (ﷺ) passed by us when we were with a party of women, and he greeted us with salam. <b>[Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi who classified it as Hasan]</b>. This is the wording of Abu Dawud. In At-Tirmidhi: that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) passed through the Masjid one day, and a group of women were sitting, so he motioned his hand with the salam.

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Do not greet the Jews and the Christians before they greet you; and when you meet any one of them on the road, force him to go to the narrowest part of it." <b>[Muslim]</b>.

Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When the people of the Book greet you, respond with: 'Wa 'alaikum' (And upon you)". <b>[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]</b>.

Usamah bin Zaid (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

The Prophet (ﷺ) passed by a mixed company of people which included Muslims, polytheists and Jews, and he gave them the greeting (i.e., saying As- Salamu 'Alaikum). <b>[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]</b>.

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When one of you arrives in a gathering, he should offer Salam to those who are already there, and he should also do so when he intends to depart. The first act of greeting is not more meritorious than the last.'' <b>[Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi]</b>.

Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Permission is to be sought thrice. If permission is granted, you may enter; otherwise, go back." <b>[Al- Bukhari and Muslim]</b>.

Sahl bin Sa'd (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Seeking permission to enter (somebody's house) has been prescribed in order to restrain the eyes (from looking at something we are not supposed to look at)." <b>[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]</b>.

Rib'i bin Hirash (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

A man of Banu 'Amir tribe has told us that he had asked the Prophet (ﷺ) for permission to enter when he was at home. He said: "May I enter?" the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to the servant, "Go out and instruct him about the manner of seeking permission. Tell him to say: As-Salamu 'Alaikum (may peace be upon you). May I come in?" The man heard this and said: "As-Salamu 'Alaikum (may peace be upon you). May I come in?" The Prophet (ﷺ) then granted him permission and he entered. <b>[Abu Dawud]</b>.

Kildah bin Al-Hanbal (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

I visited the Prophet (ﷺ) and I entered his house without seeking permission. So he said, "Go back and say: 'As-Salamu 'alaikum (may peace be upon you). May I come in?"' <b>[Abu Dawud and At- Tirmidhi]</b>.

Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported in the course of his famous Hadith pertaining to Al-Isra' (the Ascension) that Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Then Jibril (Gabriel) ascended along with me to the nearest heaven and requested for the gate to be opened. He was asked:

`Who is there?' He replied: `Jibril.' He was asked: `Who is with you?' He said: `Muhammad.' Then he ascended to the second heaven and requested for the opening of the gate. He was asked: `Who is there?' He said: `Jibril.' He was asked: `Who is with you?' He replied: `Muhammad.' In the same way he ascended to the third, fourth and all the heavens (i.e., until the seventh). At all of the gates he was asked: `Who is there?' He replied: Jibril.''' <b>[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]</b>.

Abu Dharr (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

I stepped out one night and saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) walking by himself. I began to walk in the moonlit night. He turned round and saw me and asked, "Who is there?" I replied: "Abu Dharr." <b>[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]</b>.

Umm Hani (May Allah be pleased with her) reported:

I went to the Prophet (ﷺ) who was taking a bath while Fatimah was screening him. He asked, "Who is there?" I replied: "I am Umm Hani." <b>[Al- Bukhari and Muslim]</b>.

Jabir (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

I went to the Prophet (ﷺ) and knocked at the door (to seek permission). He asked, "Who is there?" I said: "I". He repeated, " I, I?!" as if he disliked it. <b>[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]</b>.

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah likes sneezing and dislikes yawning. When any one of you sneezes and says `Al-hamdu lillah (praise be to Allah)', it becomes obligatory upon every Muslim who hears him to respond with `Yarhamuk-Allah (may Allah have mercy on you)'. Yawning is from the devil. When one of you feels like yawning, he should restrain it as much as possible, for the devil laughs when one of you yawns." <b>[Al-Bukhari]</b>.

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "When one of you sneezes he should say: 'Al-hamdu lillah (praise be to Allah),' and his brother or his companion should say to him: 'Yarhamuk-Allah (may Allah have mercy on you).' When he says this he should reply: 'Yahdikum-ullah wa yuslihu balakum (may Allah guide you and render sound your state of affairs)."' <b>[Al- Bukhari]</b>.

Abu Musa (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When one of you sneezes and praises Allah (i.e., says Al-hamdu lillah), you should invoke Allah's Mercy upon him (i.e., say Yarhamuk-Allah); but if he does not praise Allah, you should not respond." <b>[Muslim]</b>.

Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

When two men sneezed in the presence of the Prophet (ﷺ), he responded to one with "Yarhamuk-Allah (may Allah have mercy on you)" and did not respond to the other. The latter said to him: "You invoked a blessing on this man but did not do so in my case." The Prophet (ﷺ) replied, "He praised Allah (i.e., he said 'Al-hamdu lillah') but you did not." <b>[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]</b>.

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

Whenever the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sneezed, he would cover his mouth with his hand or a piece of cloth - thereby suppressing the sound. <b>[Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi]</b>.

Abu Musa (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

The Jews used to intentionally sneeze in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) hoping that he would say to them: 'Yarhamukum-ullah (may Allah have mercy on you),' but he would respond with: "Yahdikum-ullahu wa yuslihu balakum (may Allah guide you and render sound your state of affairs)." <b>[Abu Dawud and At- Tirmidhi]</b>.