Greetings

It is related that Abu Musa was with the Prophet, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, in one of the gardens of Madina. He said, "TheProphet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had a twig in his handwith which he was striking the water and mud. A man came and asked forthe garden to be opened, and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, said, 'Open it for him and give him the good news of the Garden.'I went and it was Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him. I opened thegate for him and gave him the good news of the Garden. Then another manasked to be let in and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,said, 'Open the door and give him the good news of the Garden.' It was'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, and I let him in and gave him thegood news of the Garden. Then yet another man asked to be let in. The Prophethad been reclining, but he then sat up and said, 'Open it for him and givehim the good news of the Garden along with an affliction which will befallhim ? or which will happen.' I went and it was 'Uthman, I opened the doorand told him what the Prophet had said. He said, 'Allah is the One whois asked for help. '"

Salama ibn Wardan said, "I saw Anas ibn Malik shake hands withsome people and he asked me, 'And who are you?' I said, 'The mawla of theBanu Layth.' He stroked my head three times and said, 'May Allah blessyou.'"

Anas ibn Malik said, "When the people of Yemen came, the Prophet,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'The people of Yemen havearrived and they have gentler hearts than you. They are the first to offerthe handshake.'"

Al-Bara' ibn 'Azib said, "Part of the full greeting is to shakeyour brother's hand."

Ibrahim ibn Marzuq ath-Thaqafi related that his father (who hadbelonged to Allah ibn az-Zubayr) told him, "'Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr sentme to his mother, Asma' bint Abi Bakr and he told her how al-Hajjaj wastreating them. She made supplication for me and stroked my head. I wasa young boy at that time."

Jabir ibn 'Abdullah said, "I purchased a camel and rode it hardfor a month until I reached Syria. 'Abdullah ibn Unays was there, and Isent word to him, saying, 'Jabir is at the door.' The messenger returnedand said, 'Jabir ibn 'Abdullah?' 'Yes,' I replied. So 'Abdullah came outand embraced me. I said, 'A hadith reached me which I had not heard beforeand I feared that one of us might die.'" He went on, "I heard the Prophet,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'Allah will gather His slaves? or people ? naked, uncircumcised, without anything.' We asked, 'Whatis meant by "without anything"?' The Prophet said, 'They will have nothingwith them.' (The Prophet went on,) 'They will be called by a voice thatis heard from afar (and I think that he said, 'as if it was from closeat hand'), saying, "I am the King. None of the people of the Garden willenter the Garden while any of the people of the Fire are seeking him forsome injustice he did to him. None of the people of the Fire will enterthe Fire while any of the people of the Garden are seeking him for an injusticehe did to him."' I asked, 'How is this? We come to Allah naked and withoutany worldly goods?' He said, 'This applies to good actions and evil actions.'"

`A'isha, the Umm al-Mu'minin, said, "I did not see anyone who moreresembled the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,in manner of speaking than Fatima. When she came to him, he stood up forher, made her welcome, kissed her and had her sit in his place. When theProphet came to her, she stood up for him, took his hand, made him welcome,kissed him, and made him sit in her place. She came to him during his finalillness and he greeted her and kissed her."

Ibn 'Umar said, "We were on a raid and the people fled. We said,'How can we meet the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,when we have run away? It has been revealed, "unless he is withdrawingto rejoin the fight" (8:
16)." We said, 'We will not go to Madina andthen no one will see us.' Then we said, 'Perhaps we should go.' The Prophet,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came from the Fajr prayer andwe said, 'We fled.' He said, 'You are those rejoining the fight."' We kissedhis hand. He said, 'I am your group.*'"

'Abdu'r-Rahman ibn Razin said, "We passed by az-Zubda and weretold, 'There is Salama ibn al-Akwa'. I went to him and he greeted us. Thenhe brought out his hands and stated, 'With these two hands I offered allegianceto the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.' Heheld out his palm which was as huge as a camel's foot, and we got up andkissed it."

Anas was asked, "Did you touch the Prophet, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, with your hand?" He replied, "Yes," so they kissedit.

Al-Wazi' ibn 'Amir said, "We came and were told, 'That is the Messengerof Allah.' We took his hands and feet and kissed them."

Suhayb said, "I saw 'Ali kiss the hands and feet of al-'Abbas."

Abu Mijaz said, "Mu'awiya came while 'Abdullah ibn 'Amir and 'Abdullahibn az-Zubayr were seated. Ibn 'Amir got up while Ibn az-Zubayr remainedseated, and he was weightier of the two. Mu'awiya said, 'The Prophet, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whoever likes to have the slavesof Allah stand up out of respect for him should take his place in the Fire."'"

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, said, "Allah created Adam, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, and his height was 60 spans. He said, 'Go and greet those (agroup of angels who were sitting down) and listen to how they answer you.It is your greeting and the greeting of your descendants.' He said, 'Peacebe upon you,' and they replied, 'Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.'They added, 'and the mercy of Allah'. All who enter the Garden will havehis form, but creation has continued to decline until now.'"

Al-Bara' reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, said, "Make the greeting common practice among you and you willbe safe."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, said, "You will not enter the Garden until you believeand you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I tell you somethingthe doing of which will give you love of one another?" "Yes, Messengerof Allah," they replied. The Prophet said, "Make the greeting common practiceamong you."

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, said, "Worship the All-Merciful and feedpeople. Make the greeting common practice among you and you will enterthe Garden."

Bashir ibn Yasar said, "No one preceded ? or got ahead of ? Ibn'Umar when giving the greeting."

Jabir said, " "Someone riding should greet someone walking, andsomeone walking should greet someone sitting down. When there are two peoplewalking, the better of them is the one who gives the greeting first."

Ibn 'Umar said that al-Agharr (who was a man from Muzayna and hadbeen a Companion of the Prophet) was owed some measures of dates by a manfrom the Banu 'Amr ibn 'Awf who came to him many times. He said, "I wentto the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he sent AbuBakr as-Siddiq with me." He continues, "Everyone we met greeted us. AbuBakr said, 'Don't you know that when people give the greeting before us,they have the reward? Give the greeting before them and you will have thereward.'"

Abu Ayyub reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, said, "It is not lawful for a Muslim man to separatehimself from his brother for more than three days. When they meet, andone turns away and the other turns away, the better of them is the onewho gives the greeting first."

Abu Hurayra reported that a man passed by the Messenger of Allah,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, while hew as in an assembly andsaid, "Peace be upon you." "Ten good deeds," he said. Another man passedby and said, "Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah." The Prophet said,"Twenty good deeds." Then yet another man passed by and said, "Peace beupon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessing," and the Prophet said,"Thirty good deeds." Then a man in the gathering got up and did not givethe greeting. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, said, "How quickly your companion forgets! When one of you comesto an assembly, he should give the greeting. If he thinks he should sitdown, he sits down. When he stands up, he gives the greeting. Neither isa greater duty than the other."

'Umar said, "I was riding behind Abu Bakr and he passed by somepeople. He said, 'Peace be upon you.' They said, 'Peace be upon you andthe mercy of Allah.' He said, 'Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.'They said, 'Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.'Abu Bakr said, 'Today the people have been very much better than us.'"

'A'isha reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, said, "The Jews do not envy you for anything the waythat they envy you for the salam and the Amin."

Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, said, "As-Salam (peace) is one of the Namesof Allah Almighty which Allah has placed in the earth. Therefore give thegreeting among yourselves."

Ibn Mas'ud said, " They were doing the prayer with the Prophet,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and someone said, 'Peace be uponAllah.' When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, finishedthe prayer, he said, 'Who said "Peace be upon Allah"? Allah is Peace. Rathersay, "Greetings belong to Allah and good words and prayers. Peace be uponyou, O Prophet and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be uponus and upon all the right-acting slaves of Allah. I testify that thereis no god but Allah and I testify that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger."'"

Abu Hurayra said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, say, 'The rights a Muslim has over another Muslimare six." He was asked, "What are they?" He replied, "When he meets him,he should greet him, When he gives him an invitation, he should accept.When he asks him for advice, he should give him good counsel. When he sneezesand praises Allah, he should wish him mercy. when he is ill, he shouldvisit him. When he dies, he should accompany him."

'Abdu'r-Rahman ibn Shibl said that he heard the Prophet, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, said, "The person riding should greet theperson on foot. The person on foot should greet the person who is seated.The smaller group should greet the large. Whoever answers the greeting,that is for him. Whoever does not answer it, has nothing."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, said, "The person riding greets the person walking.The person walking greets the person sitting. The small group greets thelarge group."

Jabir said, "When two people walking meet, then the one who givesthe greeting first is the better of them."

See 993.

Fadala reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, said, "The person riding greets the person sitting and the smallgroup greets the larger."

Ash-Sha'bi said that he met a rider and gave the greeting first.I said, "Did you give the greeting first?" He said, "I saw Shurayh walkingand he gave the greeting first."

See 996.

See 996.

See 993.

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, said, "The young person greets the old person,the person walking greets the person sitting down, and the small groupgreets the large group."

(sic) Abu'z-Zinad said, "Kharija (ibn Zayd ibn Thabit) used towrite on the letter of Zayd when he said the salam, 'Peace be upon you,Amir al-Mu'minin, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings and His forgivenessand the best of His prayers."

Abu Qurra al-Khurasani said, "I saw Anas pass by us and he indicatedto us with his hand that he was giving the greeting., The gesture madethat clear. I saw al-Hasan using yellow dye while wearing a black turban.Asma' said, 'The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, wavedhis hand to indicate the greeting to women."

Sa'd reported that he went with 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar and al-Qasimibn Muhammad. They stopped at place and 'Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr commandedand made a gesture of greeting to them and it was answered.

'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah said, "They used to dislike a greeting madewith the hand," or he said, "He disliked greeting with the hand."

Thabit ibn 'Ubayd said, "I came to a group which included 'Abdullahibn 'Umar who said, 'When you greet, make it clearly audible, for it isa greeting from Allah containing great blessing.:

At-Tufayl ibn Ubayy ibn Ka'b related that he used to visit 'Abdullahibn 'Umar and would go with him to the market. He said, "When we went tothe market, 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar did not pass by any rubbish collector normerchant nor poor person nor anyone else without greeting them."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, said, "When one of you comes to a gathering, heshould give the greeting. If he leaves, he should give the greeting. Neitheris more of a duty than the other."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, said, "When a man comes to a gathering, he should givethe greeting. When he sits down and then thinks that he should leave beforethe gathering has broken up, he should give the greeting. Neither is moreof a duty than the other."

Mu'awiya ibn Qurra said, "My father told me, 'If you sit in agathering expecting good to come from, but then something occurs whichmakes you leave, say, 'Peace be upon you,' and you will share in any goodthat they obtain in that gathering. There are no people who sit in a gatheringand then split up without Allah having been mentioned, but that it is asif they were leaving the corpse of a donkey.'"

Abu Hurayra said, "Whoever meets his brother should greet him.If a tree or wall comes between them and then he meets him, he should greethim on the other side."

Anas ibn Malik reported that the Companions of the Prophet, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, used to gather and they would turntowards the tree and a group of them would go to the right and a groupto its left. When they met again, they would greet one another.

It is reported by Thabit al-Bannani that Anas used to oil hishand with scented oil in the morning for the sake of shaking hands withhis brothers.

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr reported that a man said, "Messenger of Allah,which aspect of Islam is best?" He replied, "Feeding people and greetingthose you know and those you do not know."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, forbade people to sit in courtyards and roads.The Muslims said, "We will not be able to avoid it. We cannot undertakeit." He said, "If not, then give it its due." They said, "What is it due?"He said, "Lower the eye, guide the traveller, wish for mercy on the personwho sneezes when he praises Allah and return the greeting."

Abu Hurayra said, "The most miserly of people is the person whois miserly with the greeting. The one who is cheated of good is the onewho does not return it. if a tree comes between you and your brother, andyou are able to be the first to begin the greeting before the other person,then do it."

Salim, the mawla of 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr, said, "When Ibn 'Umarwas greeted, he returned it with increase. I came upon him sitting downand said, 'Peace be upon you,' and he said, 'Peace be upon you and themercy of Allah.' Then I came another time and said, 'Peace be upon youand the mercy of Allah,; and he said, 'Peace be upon you and the mercyof Allah and His blessings.' Then I came to him another time and said,'Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings,' and he said,'Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings and the betof His prayers.'"

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'as said, "Do not greet anyone who drinkswine."

Al-Hasan said, "There should be not sense of respect between youand a deviant person."

'Ali ibn 'Abdullah was heard expressing his dislike for chessand said, "Do not greet someone who plays it. It is a kind of gambling."

'Ali ibn Abi Talib said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, walked past some people who included a man who used khaluqperfume. He looked at them and gave them the greeting, but turns away fromthat man. The man asked, 'Have you turned away from me?' He replied, 'Thereis redness between your eyes.'"

Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah reported that a man came to the Prophet,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, wearing a gold signet-ring onhis finger. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, turnedaway from him. When the man saw his dislike of the gold, he threw the ringaway. He made an iron ring and wore that. He came to the Prophet, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, who said, "This is worse. This is the ornamentof the people of the Fire." The man went away, threw it off and put ona silver ring and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,did not say anything about it."

Abu Sa'id said, "A man came from al-Bahrayn to the Prophet, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, and greeted him, but the Prophet didnot answer him. The man was wearing a gold ring and a silk robe. The manwent away in sorrow. He complained to his wife and she said, 'Perhaps theMessenger of Allah objects to your robe and your ring. Throw them awayand then go back.; he did that and then the Prophet returned his greeting.he said, 'I came to you yesterday and you turned away from me.' He said,'You had a coal of the Fire on your hand.' He said, 'I came then with anycoals.' He said, 'As for what you brought, there is no one who is freefrom dependence on these stones. But it is the enjoyment of the life ofthis world.' He said, 'What should I make a ring from?' 'From silver, brass,or iron,' he replied.

'Umar ibn 'Abdu'l-'Aziz asked Abu Bakr ibn Abi Hathama, "Why didAbu Bakr write, 'From Abu Bakr, the Khalifa (Successor) of the Messengerof Allah' and then 'Umar wrote after him, 'From 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, thekhalifa (successor) of Abu Bakr'? Who was the first to write 'the Amiral-Mu'minin'?" He replied, "My grandmother, ash-Shifa', related to me,and she was one of the first to write 'the Amir al-Mu'minin'?" He said,"My grandfather, ash-Shifa' related to me, (and she was one of the firstMuhajirun and when 'Umar ibn al-Khattab entered the market, he visitedher), saying, ''Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote to the governor of Iraq requestinghim to send him two trustworthy noble men so that he could question themabout Iraq and its people. He sent him a master of Iraq, Labid ibn Rabi'aand also 'Adi ibn Hatim, and they came to Madina. They made their camelskneel in the courtyard of the mosque, entered it and found 'Amr ibn al-'As.They said to him, ''Amr, ask permission for us to visit the Amir al-Mu'minin,'Umar.' 'Amr got up and went to 'Umar. He said, 'Peace be upon you, Amiral-Mu'minin.' 'Umar said to him, 'Ibn al-'As, what made you use this name?You have deviated from what you normally say.' He said, 'Yes, Labid ibnRabi'a and 'Adi ibn Hatim came and said to me, "Ask permission for us tovisit the Amir al-Mu'minin." I said, "You two, by Allah, have hit uponthe correct name. He is the amir and we are the believers."' The titleoriginated on that day."

'Ubaydullah ibn 'Abdullah said, "Mu'awiya went on his first hajjwhen he was the khalifa and 'Uthman ibn Hanif al-Ansari came to him andsaid, 'Peace be upon you, Amir, and the mercy of Allah.' The people ofSyria objected to that and said, 'Who is this hypocrite who shortens thegreeting of the Amir al-Mu'minin!' 'Uthman made his camel kneel and said,'Amir al-Mu'minin! These men object to something which you know betterthan them. By Allah, I used to this greeting for Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Uthman,and none of them objected to it.' Mu'awiya said to those of the peopleof Syria who had spoken, 'Take it easy! It was partly as he stated. Butwhen the civil war engaged the people of Syria, they said, "Do not shortenthe greeting of our khalifa in our presence (i.e. from Amir al-Mu'mininto Amir)." People of Madina, I will treat you as friends even though youuse 'Amir" for a zakat collector.'"

Jabir said, "I visited al-Hajjaj and did not greet him."

Tamim ibn Hadhlam said, "I will mention the first to be greetedas 'Amir' in Kufa. Al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba left by the Bab ar-Rahba and aman of Kinda came up to him. They claim that it was Abu Qurra al-Kindi.He greeted him and said, 'Peace be upon you, O Amir, and the mercy of Allah.'He disliked it. So the man said, 'Peace be upon you, O Amir, and the mercyof Allah. Peace be upon you. Am I one of you or not?'" Sammak ibn Salamaad-Dabi said, "After that it became an established practice."

Ziyad ibn 'Ubayd (ar-Ru'ayni) said, "We went to Ruwayfa', theAmir of Antabulis. A man came and greeted him, saying, 'Peace be upon theAmir.' From 'Abda, he said, 'Peace be upon the Amir.' Ruwayfa' said tohim, 'If you had greeted us, we would have returned the greeting. But yougreeted Maslama ibn Mukhallad (Maslama was in charge of Egypt). Go to himand he will return your greeting.'"

Al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, used to come at night and would give the greetingin such a way that it would not awaken anyone asleep, but the person whowas awake would hear it."

'Umar said to 'Adi ibn Hatim, "May Allah preserve you from recognition."

'A'isha said, "Fatima walked in the same manner that the Prophet,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, walked. He used to say to her,'Welcome, my daughter!' Then he would have her sit down on his right orhis left."

'Ali said, "'Ammar asked for permission to enter to visit theProphet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the Prophet recognisedhis voice and said, 'Welcome with the best and purest greeting!'"

'Uqba ibn 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr who said, "While we were sittingwith the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in the shadeof a tree while travelling between Makka and Madina, a bedouin, who wasan example of the coarsest and fiercest kind of people came up and said,'Peace be upon you,' and they said, 'And upon you.'"

Abu Jamra said, "I heard Ibn 'Abbas say when he was greeted, 'Andupon you and the mercy of Allah.'"

Qayla reported that a mans aid, "Peace be upon you, may Allahbless him and grant him peace." He said, "And peace be upon you and themercy of Allah."

Abu Dharr said, "I came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, when he had finished his prayer. I was the first personto be greeted with the greeting of Islam. He said, 'And on you and themercy of Allah. From where have you come?' I said, 'From Ghifar.'"

'A'isha reported, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless himand grant him peace, said, ''A'ish! This is Jibril who sends you greetings.'I said, 'And peace be upon him and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.You see what I do not see." By that she meant the Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace.

Mu'awiya ibn Qurra said that his father said to him, "My son,when a man passes by you and says, 'Peace be upon you (plural).' Do notsay, 'And on you (singular)' as if you were singling out that greetingout for him alone. Rather say, 'Peace be upon you (plural).'"

'Abdullah ibn as-Samit said, "I said to Abu Dharr, 'I passed by'Abdu'r-Rahman ibn Umm al-Hakam and I greeted him and he did not answerme at all. He said, 'Nephew, what harm have suffered from that? Someonebetter than him answered you ? the angel on his right."

'Abdullah said, "Peace is one of the Names of Allah which Allahhas placed on the earth. Extend it among you. When a man greets peopleand they answer him, then he has a higher degree than them because he remindsthem of peace. If no one answers him, he will be answered by one who isbetter and more excellent.'"

Al-Hasan said, "Greeting is an act of obedience while the answeris a duty."

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As said, "A liar is someone who liesin his oath. A miser is someone who is miserly with the greeting. A thiefis someone who steals the prayer."

Abu Hurayra said, "The most miserly of people is the one who ismiserly with the greeting. The most incapable of people of people is theone who is the most incapable of supplication."

Thabit al-Bannani reported that Anas ibn Malik walked by somechildren and greeted them. He said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, used to do that."

'Anbas said, "I saw Ibn 'Umar greet children in the schools."

Umm Hani', the daughter of Abu Talib, said, "I went to the Prophet,may Allah bless him and grant him peace, while he was performing a majorablution. I greeted him and he asked, 'Who is this?' 'Umm Hani',' I replied.He said, 'Welcome.'"

Al-Hasan said, "Be women who greet men."

Asma' was heard to say that the Prophet, may Allah bless him andgrant him peace, passed by a group of women sitting down in the mosque.He said to the salam with his hand and said, "Beware of the ingratitudeof those with blessings. Beware of the ingratitude of those with blessings."One of them said, "We seek refuge with Prophet, Prophet of Allah, fromingratitude for the blessings of Allah." He said, "Yes. One of you womenmight have been without a husband for a long time (and then Allah providesher with one) and she becomes angry and says, 'By Allah, I have never seena hour of good from you. That is ingratitude for the blessings of Allah.That is the ingratitude of those with blessings.'"

Asma', the daughter of Yazid al-Ansari, said, "The Prophet, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, passed by me while I was with someyoung slavegirls belonging to me. He greeted us and said, 'Beware of theingratitude of those with blessings.' I was the boldest of them in comingforward to question him and I said, 'Messenger of Allah, what is the ingratitudeof those with blessings?' He replied, 'Perhaps one of them with remainunmarried for a long time with her parents and then Allah provides herwith a husband and provides her with children from him and then she getsangry and is ungrateful and says, "I have never seen any good at all fromyou."'"

Tariq said, "We were sitting with 'Abdullah when his doorkeeper came and said, 'The iqama for the prayer has been given.' He got up and we got up as well and went to the mosque. He saw the people doing ruku' at the front of the mosque. He said the takbir, bowed, and we went and did the same thing that he had done. Then a man rushed past and said, 'Peace be upon you, Abu 'Abdu'r-Rahman.' He said, 'Allah has spoken the truth and His Messenger conveyed the Message.' When we finished the prayer, he returned and went back to is people. We remained sitting in our places, waiting for him until he came out. We said to each other, 'Which of us will ask him?' Tariq said, 'I will ask him,' and he did so. 'Abdullah said, 'From the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who said, "Before the Final Hour people will single out one individual for the greeting, commerce will increase until a woman helps her husband in business, people will sever their links with their relatives, knowledge will spread, false testimony will appear and true testimony will be concealed."'"

'Abdullah ibn 'Amr reported that a man asked the Messenger ofAllah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Which is the best of Islam?"He replied, "Feeding people and giving the greeting to those you know andthose you do not know."