Brother, Return the Greeting!
Oh brother, return the greeting!
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.
Brothers, one of the widespread phenomena in our societies is that you may pass by a gas station and say to the gas station worker, "Peace be upon you," and he will only nod his head. You enter a store and say, "Peace be upon you," and he will respond with only a nod of the head. This is indeed one of the manifestations that have made us purely materialistic societies, robots. As if we are only robots who want to give money, take money, perform the task, and peace be upon you, and we go to our homes.
Peace is an act of worship and a key to love
Oh people, peace and returning peace is an act of worship, an act of worship through which we draw closer to Allah, the Almighty. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I not direct you to something if you do it you will love one another? Spread peace among yourselves." Spread peace among yourselves, meaning you go to any place and say, "Peace be upon you" to those you know and those you do not know, and he will return your peace to you.
Now, this act of worship we must ask ourselves: when we return peace, have we achieved its purpose? What is the purpose of worship? I ask you by Allah: when I greet you and say, "Peace be upon you," and you return it to me, will I love you more or will I feel that you are not interested and have ignored me? Therefore, when you say, "And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah," I actually feel the love.
The correct way to return peace
So when you return peace, return it in a way that spreads love for you. "Peace be upon you." The least you can say is, "And upon you be peace," in the same manner, with the same joy, with the same openness. And it is better to say, "And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings" with a smile. Imagine how much love, affection, brotherhood, and intimacy this will spread in the Muslim community.
Therefore, our Prophet, peace be upon him, said in the authentic hadith: "The Jews have not envied you for anything as they have envied you for peace and security." What have the Jews not envied you for? They have not envied you, meaning like they have envied you for peace and security. Peace because it spreads brotherhood, love, and unity among the Muslims, and also security because all the worshippers behind the imam are secured with one voice.
Warnings about common mistakes in returning peace
Oh people, let us remember that this is an act of worship, and we must strive to perfect this act of worship, so that we may love one another and enter Paradise through it by the permission of Allah, the Most High. A quick note: some brothers say, "Peace be upon you," and he responds, "Sabrakateh." "Sabrakateh" is not a return of peace and is not an act of worship. Also, when he says, "And upon you be Muslim," yes, "And upon you be Muslim" is muttered within himself, this does not spread love nor does it make us enter Paradise through this great ritual.
Conclusion: Invoking worship at all times
May we invoke these meanings so that we may break the rigidity of this materialistic life, and worship Allah, the Most High, in every moment and time while we are in our work, in our jobs, in our travels, performing this great act of worship that has been legislated for us by the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.