and openly manifests it, that very act becomes a means to enter Paradise, as in the ḥadith of Abū Hurayrah: “You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not truly believe until you love one another. Shall I tell you something which, if you do it, you will love one another? Spread the greeting of peace among yourselves.” Moreover, when someone greets his brother by saying al-salāmu ʿalaykum (peace be upon you)—or al-salāmu ʿalayka (peace be upon you) when addressing a single person—ten good deeds are written for him; if he greets ten people, one hundred good deeds are recorded for him. That is better than any buying and selling. For this reason ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar would go to the marketplace solely to greet its people, for at home almost no one came to him, and those who did were far fewer than the crowds in the market; there he could pass by many and greet them all.

This shows that a person should not grow weary of giving frequent salutations. If, for instance, you meet one hundred people on your way to the mosque, greet them; by greeting a hundred people you gain one thousand good deeds—an immense blessing. It also demonstrates how eager the righteous predecessors were to accumulate good deeds and how they refused to squander them, unlike many in our own times who neglect numerous opportunities for reward. Ibn ʿUmar—may Allāh be pleased with him—was among the keenest of people to hasten toward good. When Abū Hurayrah—may Allāh be pleased with him—narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said whoever follows a funeral procession until the prayer is offered for it will have recorded for him