The author—may Allah have mercy on him—closes the “Book of Greetings and Their Etiquette” with the ḥadīth of Abu Hurayrah concerning a man who arrives at a gathering and then rises to leave it.

It is already established that when a person enters upon a group he gives the salām, as mentioned earlier. Extending the greeting is a confirmed sunnah, while returning it is an individual obligation upon the one who has been greeted. If several people are present, the reply becomes a collective obligation: once one of them has responded, the duty is lifted from the rest.

However, when the group contains someone whom the greeter obviously intends first and foremost, that particular individual is required to return the greeting. Suppose, for example, the gathering consists of students with their teacher and the one who enters plainly means to greet the teacher before anyone else; in that case, the teacher himself must reply, and the students’ response does not suffice. The same applies if an emir is seated with his attendants and security detail: should someone enter and give salām, it is clear that the emir is the primary addressee, and he must answer in person.

If, on the other hand, the people present are equal in status and there is no indication that any one of them is singled out, the greeting may be returned by any member of the group, for answering the salām in such circumstances is a communal duty (farḍ kifāyah).