Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear brother Burhan,

Would you please change the wording of your first two lines to read as?

"May Allah's peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of us"? Do not miss yourself - there must be hundred people reading your emails. Everyone needs His Mercy and Blessings.

Allah Hafiz

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Salaam upon us

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Dear and beloved sister in Islam, may Allah Subhanah reward you with the best of this world and the Hereafter for your genuine concern for your humble brothers and sisters who serve on this humble forum; for Allah is our witness sister, each and every one of us without exception are in absolutely desperate need of every ounce of the Mercy and Grace of our Lord Most Gracious, Most Merciful that He may Will and Please to bestow upon His fearful and repentant slaves.

My beloved Sister in Islam, as much as we appreciate the spirit behind your message, and we desperately seek and beg the Lord to bestow His Mercy and His Grace on you and us and all the believers, the correct etiquette in Islam when meeting or corresponding with believing brethren in Islam is that the one who enters a gathering or initiates a correspondence with their believing brethren declares the ‘Salaams’ or Peace and Blessings of the Lord on them; and the believing brethren in return respond to their greetings. This is the way taught to the believers by Allah and His Messenger (saws) and the wisdom behind this beautiful format is that each party of believers has the opportunity to greet and invoke blessings on one another.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 24 Surah Noor verse 61 (part aayah):

When you enter the houses, you should invoke ‘salaam’ amongst each other, for this prayer of greetings (salaams) prescribed by Allah is blessed and pure. Thus does Allah make his Revelations clear to you, so that you may understand.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 86:

And when anyone greets you in a respectful manner, greet him with a better salutation than his, or at least return the same. Indeed Allah takes count of everything.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said, “It is the right of a muslim brother that when he invokes the salutation of peace (salaams), you must return the salutation to him.”

Even in the letters of correspondence between the Messenger of Allah (saws) and his companions or the letters between the companions themselves, the one who initiated the letter invoked the ‘salaams’ upon those who were addressed….and it would be upon the people who received the correspondence to respond to the greetings of peace they received.

Narrated Mu'adh ibn Jabal that when a son of his died, Mu'adh received a letter from the Prophet (saws) offering him condolences. The Prophet (saws) wrote to him: "In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. From Muhammad (saws) the Messenger of Allah, to Mu'adh bin Jabal. Peace be upon you. I praise Allah, there is no god but He. May Allah increase your reward, grant you patience, and give us and you the power to offer our thanks, for verily, our lives, our wealth, and our families are gifts of Allah entrusted to us only for awhile. May Allah grant you joy and bless you with a large reward, mercy, and guidance. If you are content with Him, you should be patient. Do not let your grief destroy your reward, so that you may regret it later on. Remember grieving over the deceased will not restore him to life, nor remove grief. Whatever is destined to happen, it is as if it has already occurred. Peace be on you'.''

Related by At-Tabarani, Al-Hakim, and Ibn Mardawayh

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 5130 Narrated by Mu'awiyah

Mu'awiyah wrote to Aisha asking her to write him a letter giving him advice but not to make it lengthy. She wrote: ‘Peace be upon you! To proceed: I heard Allah's Messenger (saws) say, "If anyone seeks Allah's good pleasure at the cost of men's displeasure Allah will keep from him the trouble caused by men; but if anyone seeks men's good pleasure at the cost of Allah's displeasure Allah will leave him in men's hands."

Your Statement: Do not miss yourself - there must be hundred people reading your emails. Everyone needs His Mercy and Blessings.

Allah is our witness sister, not even in our wildest imaginations would we even dream of missing the opportunity of being able to receive the Mercies and Blessings of our Lord Most Gracious. Our only hope and prayer is that our beloved and respected brothers and sisters who receive our messages every week respond to our salutations we make to them.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan