and His kindness, for He is Munificent and Generous.

Therefore, whenever any of your Muslim brothers meets you, you should offer him salām. As for the non-Muslim, do not initiate the greeting, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Do not begin the Jews or Christians with salām; and when you encounter them on the road, steer them toward its narrowest part.”

Accordingly, the Jew, the Christian, the idol-worshipper, the atheist, the apostate—such as the one who abandons prayer—and the innovator whose innovation entails unbelief: it is impermissible to start any of them with salām, even if he is among your closest relatives. If, however, they greet you first, then return their greeting exactly as they gave it. Should they say, “Ahlan wa marḥaban” (welcome), reply, “Ahlan wa marḥaban.” If they say, “as-salāmu ʿalaykum,” reply, “wa ʿalaykum as-salām.” And if you are uncertain whether he said “as-salāmu ʿalaykum” or “as-sām ʿalaykum,” then simply answer, “wa ʿalaykum.”

Indeed, whenever you are not sure that he clearly pronounced the lām in “salām,” say only “wa ʿalaykum.” This is because the Jews used to pass by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions and greet him hastily with “as-sām ʿalaykum”—sām meaning death. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) therefore said, “When the Jews meet you they say, ‘as-sām ʿalaykum’; so say, ‘wa ʿalaykum.’” That is, if they are invoking peace for us, then peace be upon them; and if they are invoking death against us, then death be upon them. Such is justice. Allah, Exalted is He, says: “When you are greeted with a greeting, greet with one better than it, or return it; surely Allah takes full account of everything” (al-Nisāʾ 4:86).

For this reason Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, mentioned in his book Aḥkām Ahl al-Dhimmā