Letters and greetings

Ibn 'Abbas said, "I think that answering a letter is a duty, justlike returning the greeting."

'A'isha bint Talha said, "I spoke to 'A'isha when I was underher protection. people used to visit her from all places. Shaykhs usedvisit me because of my place with her. Young men used to treat me as asister and give me presents and write to me from their cities. I said to'A'isha, 'Aunt, this is a letter from so-and-so and his gift.' 'A'ishatold me, 'My girl, answer him and reward him. If you do not have anythingto give, I will give you something.' She told her to give it to her."

'Abdullah ibn 'Umar wrote to 'Abdu'l-Malik ibn Marwan in orderto pledge him his allegiance. He wrote to him, "In the Name of Allah, theAll-Merciful, Most Merciful. To 'Abdu'l-Malik, the Amir al-Mu'minin, from'Abdullah ibn 'Umar. Peace be upon you. I praise Allah to you. There isno god but Him. I offer you obedience according to the sunna of Allah andthe sunna of His Messenger as much as I can."

Zayd ibn Aslam said, "My father sent me to Ibn 'Umar and I sawhim write, 'In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, Most Merciful. Followingon from that'"

Hisham ibn 'Urwa said, "I saw some of the letters of the Prophet,may Allah bless him and grant him peace. After the introduction he said,'Following on from that'"

It is reported that Zayd ibn Thabit wrote this letter:
"In theName of Allah, the All-Merciful, Most Merciful. To the slave of Allah,Mu'awiya, the Amir al-Mu'minin, from Zayd ibn Thabit. Peace be upon you,Amir al-Mu'minin, and the mercy of Allah. I praise Allah to you. Thereis no god but Him. Following on from that'"

Abu Mas'ud al-Jurayri related to him that a man asked al-Hasanabout reading, "In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, Most Merciful."He said, "That should be put at the beginning of letters."

Nafi' said, "Ibn 'Umar needed something from Mu'awiya and he wantedto write to him. People said, 'Begin with his name.' They kept on at himuntil he wrote, 'In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, Most Merciful,to Mu'awiya.'"

Anas ibn Sirin said, "I wrote for Ibn 'Umar and he said, 'Write:
"In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, Most Merciful. Following on fromthat: To so-and-so."'"

Anas ibn Sirin said, "A man wrote in the presence of Ibn 'Umar,'In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, Most Merciful, to so-and-so.'Ibn 'Umar forbade him and said, 'Say:
'In the Name of Allah. It is forHim.'"

See 1122.

Abu Hurayra said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, said, 'A man from the tribe of Israel - and he mentionedthe entire hadith - had his friend write to him, 'From so-and-so toso-and-so.'"

Mahmud ibn Labid said, "When Sa'd's eye was gravely wounded inthe Battle of the Ditch, they moved him to the house of a woman calledRufayda who used to treat the wounded. When the Prophet, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, passed by him, he would inquire, 'How are youthis evening?' and in the morning, 'How are you this morning?' and he wouldtell him."

It is related from Ka'b ibn Malik, who was one of the three towhom Allah turned that Ibn 'Abbas informed him that 'Ali ibn Abi Talibemerged from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, in his illness from which he died and the people said, "O Abu'l-Hasan!How is the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,this morning?" He said, "Praise be to Allah, he is well this morning."'Abbas ibn 'Abdu'l-Muttalib took him by the hand and said to him, "By Allah,in three days time you will be a subject. By Allah, I think that the Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, will die of this illness.I recognise death in the faces of the Banu Abdu'l-Muttalib when they aredying. Let us go to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, and ask him who will have this authority. If it is for us, thenwe will know that, and if it is for other than us, we will know it andhe can advise him to look after us." 'Ali replied, "By Allah, if we askhim for it and he refuses us, then the people would never give it to usafterwards. By Allah, I will not ask it from the Messenger of Allah."

Ibn Abi-Zinad related from his father that he tool this letterfrom Kharija ibn Zayd and from the great members of the family of Zayd:
"In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, Most Merciful. To the slave ofProphet, Mu'awiya, the Amir al-Mu'minin, from Zayd ibn Thabit. Peace beupon you, Amir al-Mu'minin, and the mercy of Allah. I praise Allah to you.There is no god but Him. Following on from that, you asked me about theinheritance of the grandfather and brothers (and he mentioned the letter).We ask Allah for guidance, preservation and firmness in all our affairs.We seek refuge with Allah from being misguided or ignorant or taking onwhat we have no knowledge of. Peace be upon you, Amir al-Mu'minin, andthe mercy of Allah and His blessings and His forgiveness. Wuhayb has writtenit on Thursday, the 20th Ramadan, 42 (AH)."

Anas ibn Malik reported that he heard 'Umar ibn al-Khattab beinggreeted by a man and he returned the greeting. Then 'Umar asked the man,"How are you?" The man replied, "I praise Allah to you." 'Umar said, :
Thisis what I wanted to hear from you."

Jabir ibn 'Abdullah reported that the Prophet, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, was asked, "How are you this morning?" He replied,"Well. Away from people who do not attend funerals or visit sick people."

Muhajir (who is as-Sa'igh) said, "I was sitting with one of theCompanions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, called Dakhm, from al-Hadramaym. When someone asked him, 'How areyou this morning?' Dakhm replied, 'We do not associate anything with Allah.'"

Sayf ibn Wahb reported that Abu't-Tufayl asked him, "How old areyou?" "Thirty-three years old," he replied. He said, "Shall I tell youa hadith which I heard from Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman? A man from Muharib ibnKhasafa called 'Amr ibn Sulay', a Companion, was my age on that day andI was your age. Hudhayfa came to us in the mosque and sat at the edge ofthe people. 'Amr went over until he was standing in front of him and asked,'How are you this morning (or evening), slave of Allah?' Hudhayfa said,'I praise Allah.' 'Amr said, 'What are these hadiths which have come tous from you?' Hudhayfa said, 'What have you heard from me, 'Amr?' He said,'Hadiths which I have not heard from anywhere else.' Hudhayfa said, 'ByAllah, if I were to relate to you all that I have heard, you would be herewith me until the middle of the night. 'Amr ibn Sulay', if you see Qaystaking control of Syria, then beware and again beware. By Allah, Qays willnot leave a believing slave of Allah without causing him to be in a stateof fear or killing him. By Allah, a time will come to you in which theflood will not be stopped.' He said, 'Then what will help you against yourpeople, may Allah have mercy on you?' He said, 'That is my business.' Thenhe sat down."