I wonder, when we utter in the prayer, “Peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of Allah,” do we actually call to mind what those words entail? Do we realise that we are greeting ourselves—“peace be upon us”—and greeting every righteous servant in the heavens and on earth? That means we are extending peace to the prophets, to the Companions, to the generation that followed them in excellence, and to the companions of the earlier prophets: to the disciples of Jesus, to the seventy men Moses chose, and the like. Do we remember that we are greeting Gabriel, Michael, Israfil, Malik the keeper of Hell, the keeper of Paradise, and all the angels? I do not know whether we truly bring this to mind or not. If we do not, then we must, for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “When you say those words, you have offered the greeting to every righteous servant in heaven and on earth.”

The greeting of peace is prescribed between Muslims and we have been commanded to spread it widely. The Prophet ﷺ said, “By Allah, you will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I direct you to something which, if you do it, you will grow to love one another? Spread the greeting of peace among you.” In other words, make it evident and public. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ spoke the truth: spreading salam among people is one of the surest causes of mutual love. For this reason, when someone meets you and fails to greet you, you find yourself disliking him, whereas if he