Tafsir Ibn Abbas: An-Nisaa, Ayah 86
Common Words
Other Scholars on This Ayah
Tafsir
And when you are greeted with a greeting as when it is said to you ‘Peace be upon you’ greet the one that greeted you with better than it by responding to him with ‘Peace be upon you and God’s mercy and blessings’ or return it by saying back to him what he said; in other words it is a duty to greet in one of these two ways the former being the preferred one. Surely God keeps count of He holds you accountable for all things and requites accordingly including things such as returning a greeting. The Sunna specifies that one should not return the greeting of an disbeliever an innovator a wicked person and of the one that greets a person who is in the act of relieving himself or one in the bath or one eating — indeed it is actually disapproved with the exception of the last. To the disbeliever who says ‘peace be upon you’ one should simply say ‘And upon you’.
Related Hadiths
"When any of the People of the Book greets you with Salam (peace), then say, Wa 'alaikum(and also upon you)."
the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "If the people of the Scripture greet you, then you should say (in reply), 'Wa'alaikum (And on you).' "
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If any one of you greets me, Allah returns my soul to me and I respond to the greeting.
When the People of the Book offer you salutations, you should say: The same to you.
We used to say the greeting, name and greet each other in the prayer. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) heard it and said:--"Say, 'at-tahiyyatu lil-lahi was-salawatu wat-taiyibatu . Assalamu 'Alaika aiyuha-n-Nab...
"The best of you is the one who is best in repaying."
A man asked the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him): When aspect of Islam is best? He replied: that you should provide food and greet both those you know and those you do not know.
A Jew came to the Prophet of Allah and his Companions and said: “As-Samu Alaikum (Death be upon you).” So the people replied to him. The Prophet of Allah said: “Do you know what this person said?” The...
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "The younger person should greet the older one, and the walking person should greet the sitting one, and the small number of persons should greet the large numb...
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "The riding one should greet the walking one, and the walking one should greet the sitting one, and the small number of persons should greet the large number of persons."
Ibn Abbas Commentary
(When ye are greeted with a greeting) when someone greets you with a greeting, (greet ye with a better than it) this is for those of your Religion and belief by adding to the formula of greeting (or return it) or return the exact greeting, if the one who greets you happens to be of another religion. (Lo! Allah taketh count of all things) of greeting and the return of greetings, just as He is a witness and will reward all. This verse was revealed about a group of people who refrained from returning greetings.