The greeting prescribed by God in the Quran
In the Quran, several verses emphasize both the importance and proper etiquette of greeting. Believers are instructed not only to greet one another, but to do so in the correct manner.
Key verses establish this principle clearly:
When you are greeted with a greeting, respond with a better greeting, or return it. God keeps count of everything.
4:86
O you who believe! Do not enter homes other than your own, until you have asked permission and greeted their occupants. That is better for you, that you may be aware.
24:27
No blame is there upon the blind, nor any blame upon the lame, nor any blame upon the sick, nor upon yourselves, that you eat of your houses, or the houses of your fathers, or the houses of your mothers, or the houses of your brothers, or the houses of your sisters, or the houses of your paternal uncles, or the houses of your paternal aunts, or the houses of your maternal uncles, or the houses of your maternal aunts, or that whereof you hold the keys, or of your friend; you do no wrong to eat together or separately. But when you enter houses, greet one another with a greeting from God, blessed and good. Thus God makes plain to you the proofs, that you might use reason.
24:61
From verse 24:61,
“a greeting from God, blessed and good (تَحِيَّةً مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ مُبَارَكَةً طَيِّبَةً)”
an essential question arises:
If the greeting must be from God, what exactly is that greeting?
To answer this, we examine the Quran itself. Across multiple passages describing greetings between believers, messengers and the inhabitants of the everlasting Garden, the Quran consistently uses the forms:
| Greeting | Verse | Arabic | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ | 6:54 | وَإِذَا جَآءَكَ ٱلَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا فَقُلْ سَلَٰمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ كَتَبَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ ٱلرَّحْمَةَ أَنَّهُۥ مَنْ عَمِلَ مِنكُمْ سُوٓءًۢا بِجَهَٰلَةٍ ثُمَّ تَابَ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِۦ وَأَصْلَحَ فَأَنَّهُۥ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ | When those who believe in Our revelations come to you, say, “Peace be upon you, your Lord has prescribed mercy for Himself. Whoever among you does wrong out of ignorance, and then repents afterwards and reforms—He is Forgiving and Merciful.” |
| سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ | 7:46 | وَبَيْنَهُمَا حِجَابٌ وَعَلَى ٱلْأَعْرَافِ رِجَالٌ يَعْرِفُونَ كُلًّۢا بِسِيمَىٰهُمْ وَنَادَوْا۟ أَصْحَٰبَ ٱلْجَنَّةِ أَن سَلَٰمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لَمْ يَدْخُلُوهَا وَهُمْ يَطْمَعُونَ | And between them is a partition, and on the Elevations are men who recognize everyone by their features. They will call to the inhabitants of the Garden, “Peace be upon you.” They have not entered it, but they are hoping. |
| سَلَامٌ ۚ | 10:10 | دَعْوَىٰهُمْ فِيهَا سُبْحَٰنَكَ ٱللَّهُمَّ وَتَحِيَّتُهُمْ فِيهَا سَلَٰمٌ وَءَاخِرُ دَعْوَىٰهُمْ أَنِ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ | Their call therein is, “Glory be to You, our God.” And their greeting therein is, “Peace.” And the last of their call is, “Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds.” |
| سَلَامًا | 11:69 | وَلَقَدْ جَآءَتْ رُسُلُنَآ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ بِٱلْبُشْرَىٰ قَالُوا۟ سَلَٰمًا قَالَ سَلَٰمٌ فَمَا لَبِثَ أَن جَآءَ بِعِجْلٍ حَنِيذٍ | Our messengers came to Ibrahim with good news. They said, “Peace.” He said, “Peace.” Soon after, he came with a roasted calf. |
| سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ | 13:24 | سَلَٰمٌ عَلَيْكُم بِمَا صَبَرْتُمْ فَنِعْمَ عُقْبَى ٱلدَّارِ | Peace be upon you, because you endured patiently. How excellent is the Final Home.” |
| سَلَامٌ | 14:23 | وَأُدْخِلَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ جَنَّٰتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَٰرُ خَٰلِدِينَ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ تَحِيَّتُهُمْ فِيهَا سَلَٰمٌ | But those who believed and did good deeds will be admitted into gardens beneath which rivers flow, to remain therein forever, by leave of their Lord. Their greeting therein will be: “Peace.” |
| سَلَامًا | 15:52 | إِذْ دَخَلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِ فَقَالُوا۟ سَلَٰمًا قَالَ إِنَّا مِنكُمْ وَجِلُونَ | When they entered upon him, and said, “Peace.” He said, “We are wary of you.” |
| سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمُ | 16:32 | ٱلَّذِينَ تَتَوَفَّىٰهُمُ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ طَيِّبِينَ يَقُولُونَ سَلَٰمٌ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱدْخُلُوا۟ ٱلْجَنَّةَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ | Those who are in a wholesome state when the Malaika take them—will say, “Peace be upon you; enter the Garden, for what you used to do.” |
| سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكَ | 19:47 | قَالَ سَلَٰمٌ عَلَيْكَ سَأَسْتَغْفِرُ لَكَ رَبِّىٓ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ بِى حَفِيًّا | He said, “Peace be upon you. I will ask my Lord to forgive you; He has been Kind to me. |
| سَلَامًا | 19:62 | لَّا يَسْمَعُونَ فِيهَا لَغْوًا إِلَّا سَلَٰمًا وَلَهُمْ رِزْقُهُمْ فِيهَا بُكْرَةً وَعَشِيًّا | They will hear no nonsense therein, but only peace. And they will have their provision therein, morning and evening. |
| سَلَامًا | 25:63 | وَعِبَادُ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ هَوْنًا وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ ٱلْجَٰهِلُونَ قَالُوا۟ سَلَٰمًا | The servants of the Merciful are those who walk the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, “Peace.” |
| سَلَامًا | 25:75 | أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ يُجْزَوْنَ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ بِمَا صَبَرُوا۟ وَيُلَقَّوْنَ فِيهَا تَحِيَّةً وَسَلَٰمًا | Those will be awarded the Chamber for their patience, and will be greeted therein with greetings and peace. |
| سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ | 28:55 | وَإِذَا سَمِعُوا۟ ٱللَّغْوَ أَعْرَضُوا۟ عَنْهُ وَقَالُوا۟ لَنَآ أَعْمَٰلُنَا وَلَكُمْ أَعْمَٰلُكُمْ سَلَٰمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لَا نَبْتَغِى ٱلْجَٰهِلِينَ | And when they hear vain talk, they avoid it, and say, “We have our deeds, and you have your deeds; peace be upon you; we do not desire the ignorant.” |
| سَلَامٌ | 33:44 | تَحِيَّتُهُمْ يَوْمَ يَلْقَوْنَهُۥ سَلَٰمٌ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا كَرِيمًا | Their greeting on the Day they meet Him is, “Peace,” and He has prepared for them a generous reward. |
| سَلَامٌ | 36:58 | سَلَٰمٌ قَوْلًا مِّن رَّبٍّ رَّحِيمٍ | Peace—a saying from a Most Merciful Lord. |
| سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ | 39:73 | وَسِيقَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّقَوْا۟ رَبَّهُمْ إِلَى ٱلْجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَآءُوهَا وَفُتِحَتْ أَبْوَٰبُهَا وَقَالَ لَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا سَلَٰمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ طِبْتُمْ فَٱدْخُلُوهَا خَٰلِدِينَ | And those who feared their Lord will be led to the Garden in throngs. Until, when they have reached it, and its gates are opened, its keepers will say to them, “Peace be upon you, you have been good, so enter it, to abide therein eternally.” |
| سَلَامٌ | 43:89 | فَٱصْفَحْ عَنْهُمْ وَقُلْ سَلَٰمٌ فَسَوْفَ يَعْلَمُونَ | Pardon them, and say, “Peace.” They will come to know. |
| سَلَامًا | 51:25 | إِذْ دَخَلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِ فَقَالُوا۟ سَلَٰمًا قَالَ سَلَٰمٌ قَوْمٌ مُّنكَرُونَ | When they entered upon him, they said, “Peace.” He said, “Peace, strangers.” |
Collectively, these verses indicate that the proper greetings in the Quran are expressions of peace, especially “Salam” and “Salamun ʿalaykum.” Significantly, the Quran preserves these greetings in grammatically exact forms, adjusting them according to the number and gender of those being addressed.
Incorrect Greeting and Its Origin
Today, the overwhelming majority of Muslims greet one another with the expression “as-salāmu ʿalaykum” (السلام عليكم, “the peace be upon you”). This form is widely assumed to be the standard "Islamic" greeting.
Some may argue that “as-salāmu ʿalaykum” and the Quranic “salāmun ʿalaykum” are essentially the same, and that the difference is insignificant. However, the Quran consistently demonstrates precise wording. If the greeting is prescribed by God, and its exact wording is preserved in the Qur’an, then why replace it with another form?
Origin in Hadith Literature
The form “as-salāmu ʿalaykum” and its expanded variants do not originate from the Quran but from later hadith literature. These texts explicitly promote and standardize the altered wording. For example:
Jami at-Tirmidhi 2689:
“A man came to the prophet (SAW) and said: “As salamu ‘alaykum”. So, the prophet said: “Ten”. Then another came and he said: “As salamu ‘alaykum Wa Rahmatullah (The Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah)”. So, the prophet (SAW) said “Twenty”. Then another came and said: “As salamu ‘alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh (The Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah, and His blessings)”. So, the prophet (SAW) said” “Thirty”.
Jami Al Tirmidhi 2721
…When a man meets his Muslim brother then he should say: “As salamu ‘alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh (The Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah, and His blessings)”…
Jami Al Tirmidhi 2875
….Then he turned to the messenger of Allah (SAW) and said “As salamu ‘alaykum O messenger of Allah!”. The messenger of Allah said: “Wa ‘alaykum Assalam”….
These hadith show that the greeting commonly used today did not come from the Quranic wording itself, but from later narrations in which the expression was changed and expanded. What is now widely assumed to be the Islamic greeting therefore reflects a development outside the Quran rather than the exact form preserved in revelation.
Follow God’s verses
The Quran repeatedly reminds believers that religious guidance is to be taken from God’s revealed verses. It asks:
These are God’s verses which we truthfully recite unto you. Therefore, in which hadith other than God and His verses do they believe in? 45:6
Once the Quran has clearly established a wording or practice, any attempt to replace it with a different formulation is a direct act of disobedience. From a Quran-only perspective, altering expressions revealed by God, such as the greeting, cannot be justified; to do so is to ignore His command and turn away from the guidance He has preserved.
Warning About Altered Greetings
The seriousness of deviating from God’s prescribed greeting becomes explicit in 58:8:
Have you noted those who were prohibited from conspiring secretly, but then reverted to what they were prohibited from? They conspire to commit sin, and aggression, and defiance of the Messenger. And when they come to you, they greet you with a greeting that God never greeted you with. And they say within themselves, “Why does God not punish us for what we say?” Hell is enough for them. They will roast in it. What a miserable destiny! 58:8
Here the Quran directly describes people who deliberately used a greeting different from the one sanctioned by God. The verse links three elements in a single pattern:
- a greeting different from God’s greeting
- conscious defiance and disobedience
- severe divine condemnation
The implication is unmistakable. Altering the divinely given greeting is not portrayed as a harmless variation in phrasing or style; it is treated as a meaningful deviation from revealed guidance.