because of the general import of the hadith: “My servant does not draw nearer to Me …” Thus, the riddle is invalidated at its root.

Second: even if we concede that initiating the greeting of peace is better than returning it, that is because returning it is contingent upon its initiation. Thus, the one who initiates the greeting attains two virtues: first, initiating the greeting; and second, being the cause of the obligatory act.

In sum, a voluntary act can never be better than an obligatory one, on account of the hadith we have cited and sound reasoning: had Allah not loved this act of worship, He would not have made it obligatory, but would have left it to a person’s choice.