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Initiating the greeting of peace to a living person is Sunnah, while replying to it is a collective obligation.1
Pronouncing “yarḥamuk Allah” (may Allah have mercy on you) to the one who sneezes—provided he has said “al-ḥamdu lillāh” (praise be to Allah)2—is likewise a collective obligation, and the sneezer’s reply is an individual duty.
The deceased recognizes his visitor on Friday before sunrise.3
He is distressed by any wrongdoing committed at his graveside and benefits from acts of goodness.
(1) In Nayl al-Maram, 1/236: Returning the greeting (radd al-salam) is an individual duty (fard ayn) for a single Muslim who is greeted, and a collective duty (fard kifaya) for a group; once one of them replies, the obligation is lifted from the rest.
(2) Manuscript “A” adds the phrase al-hamdu lillah (“praise be to Allah”).
(3) Ibn al-Qayyim writes in Zad al-Maad, 1/415: The hadiths and early reports indicate that, whenever a visitor comes, the person visited becomes aware of him, hears his salam, and feels at ease with it. This holds true for martyrs and others alike, and there is no prescribed time limit for such visits.
وابتداء السلام على الحي سنة ورده فرض كفاية.١
وتشميت العاطس - إذا حمد٢ - فرض كفاية. ورده: فرض عين.
ويعرف الميت زائره يوم الجمعة قبل طلوع الشمس٣.
ويتأذى بالمنكر عنده وينتفع بالخير.
١ قال في نيل المرام "١/٢٣٦":"ورده" فرض عين على المسلم عيه المنفرد, و "فرض كفاية" على الجماعة المسلم عليهم, فيسقط برد واحد منهم".
٢ في "أ" زيادة لفظ الجلالة "حمد لله".
٣ قال ابن القيم في زاد المعاد "١/٤١٥": الأحاديث والآثار تدل على أن الزائر متى جاء علم به المزور, وسمع سلامة, وأنس به, وهذا عام في حق الشهداء وغيرهم, وأنه لا توقيت في ذلك.