al-salām. However, Islam abrogated that usage, and the prescribed greeting to the one you initiate is now al-salām ʿalayka (peace be upon you). Even with the dead, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace, together with his family—would go out to the cemetery, greet them, and say, “Peace be upon you, abode of a believing people,” never “ʿalaykum al-salām.”

The Prophet’s instruction, “Say: al-salām ʿalayka,” is proof that when a Muslim greets a single person he should say al-salām ʿalayka. The same wording appears in the report of the man known as “the one who prayed poorly”: he approached and greeted the Prophet ﷺ with the singular form al-salām ʿalayka, and that is the preferable wording.

Some scholars have argued that one may say al-salām ʿalaykum, intending thereby to greet the person and the angels who accompany him, yet what is clearly established in the Sunnah is more fitting and better: say al-salām ʿalayka—unless you are addressing a group, in which case you greet them with al-salām ʿalaykum.

The Prophet ﷺ then clarified to him that he is the Messenger of the Lord of all worlds, the One who removes harm and brings benefit. Thus, if your camel goes astray in a barren wilderness and you supplicate Allah, He will return it to you. Likewise, if a lean year—meaning drought and the absence of vegetation—strikes and you call upon Allah, He will lift it from you and cause the earth to sprout. And if any affliction befalls you and you beseech Allah, He will remove it.