“When the People of the Book greet you; So they said: And upon you.
How can one return greetings to an infidel if he greets him?
«When the People of the Book greet you; So they said: And upon you»
It was reported on the authority of Ibn Abbas, may God be pleased with them, that he said: Return greetings to whoever is a Jew, a Christian, or a Magian. This is because God says: “« And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet it with a better one, or return it.»
That is: if they greet you with a clear and clear greeting; Let your response be the same or better than it. This is what is understood from the words of Ibn Abbas, may God be pleased with them, and because it is the basis of the verse that he, may God be pleased with him, cited as evidence.
But if they greeted them with an unclear greeting, the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, commanded us to say to them: (And upon you).
The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “(If the Jews greet you, one of them only says: (May peace be upon you, so say: And upon you))»
The corrector said: The correct thing is to take the apparent meaning of the words of the Holy Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace.(When the People of the Book greet you, say: And upon you.)» Whether their greeting is clear or unclear
It was reported on the authority of Aisha, may God be pleased with her, that she said: A group of Jews entered the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, and said: May peace be upon you. So I understood her and said: May peace and curse be upon you. So the Messenger of God said: «(Wait, Aisha? God loves kindness in all matters.) So I said: O Messenger of God, did you not hear what they said? The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: (I said: And upon you)»
The Prophet forbade us from greeting them. He said: «(Do not initiate the greeting of the Jews or the Christians, and if you meet one of them on a road, force him to the narrowest road.)» In Jarir’s hadith: (When you meet them) he did not name any of the polytheists
His saying: (They forced them) means: They forced them to seek refuge