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:

Is it permissible to say may allahs blessings and mercy be on you instead of assalamualaikum?

i mean meaning of assalamualaikum in english? 

(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:

Say salaam in English

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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

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

86 When a (courteous) greeting is offered you meet it with a greeting still more courteous, or (at least) of equal courtesy. Allah takes careful account of all things.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.27 Narrated by Abdullah bin Amr

A person asked Allah's Messenger (saws) "What (sort of) deeds in or (what qualities of) Islam are good?" He (saws) replied, "To feed (the poor), and greet (with Salaam) those whom you know and those whom you don't know."

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 849 Narrated by Abu Yusuf Abdullah ibn Salam

Abdullah heard the Prophet (saws) say: ‘O people! Spread the Salaams (greetings), feed (the poor and needy), behave kindly to your blood relations, offer prayer when others are asleep, and (thus) enter Paradise in peace.

When greeting a believing brethren, or replying a believing brethren, it would be best to offer the greetings of peace in the Arabic language by declaring ‘As Salaam o Alaykum’; the wisdom being that two believing brethren from different countries and languages were to meet someone, each would immediately know and recognize the Islamic greeting. If one were to translate the greetings in their own language, the other perchance would not even know what the person is saying!

There is absolutely no harm if one translates the greeting in another language after declaring the greetings in the Arabic language to make the other person understand what is being said, but to make it a habit to greet one’s believing brethren only with the translated greeting would not be appropriate.

Another example would be the declaration of the ‘adhaan’! If each nation or people start declaring the ‘adhaan’ translated to their own language, one who does not understand that language would not know what is going on……but regardless of where a believer goes on earth, because the ‘adhaan’ is always declared in the Arabic language, the believers would immediately recognize the call and know that a believing society and a place to offer prayers is in the vicinity.

We reiterate again that there is absolutely no harm and no particular restriction in Shariah if one wishes to translate the salutation of greetings in a language the addressees understand, but to make it a habit to always declare the Islamic form of greeting in another language at all times would not be appropriate. And Allah Knows Best.

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