Adh-Dhariyat · Makki · ayah 25 of 60

Adh-Dhariyat 51:25

إِذْ دَخَلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِ فَقَالُوا۟ سَلَـٰمًا ۖ قَالَ سَلَـٰمٌ قَوْمٌ مُّنكَرُونَ

“When they entered upon him and said, "[We greet you with] peace." He answered, "[And upon you] peace; [you are] a people unknown."”

Saheeh International

Essence

Strangers greet him with peace; he answers with a fuller peace, and names his unease so gently that no guest could feel pushed away.

A reflection

Answering a greeting with more

Look closely at the two greetings. The guests say salāman. Ibrahim answers salāmun. One vowel has changed, and the commentators made much of it.

Salāman, in the accusative, stands in for a verb: we greet you with peace. A verb describes an event that happens and passes. Salāmun, in the nominative, opens a noun sentence: peace be upon you. Noun sentences in Arabic suggest something fixed and lasting. So the guests offered a moment of peace, and Ibrahim gave back a standing peace. Several commentaries say this is why his reply was the better of the two. He was following the later instruction in advance: when you are greeted, answer with something better, or at least return it (4:86).

The very first greeting in human history went the same way. Sahih al-Bukhari reports that Allah told Adam to greet a group of angels and listen to their reply. He said: peace be upon you. They answered: peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah. They added to it. That, the Prophet ﷺ said, became the greeting of Adam and his descendants.

Picture a woman who gets a two-word message from a cousin she has not seen in years. It says: 'Salaam, sis.' She could reply with the same two words. Instead she writes three lines. She says how glad she is to hear from her, asks after her children by name, and ends with a prayer. The cousin, who had nearly not sent anything, reads it twice on the bus.

Most of our greetings are traded at the same value, or slightly less. A nod for a nod. 'Fine, thanks' for 'how are you'. The ayah shows another habit. Whatever reaches you, send back a little more. It costs a few words. It may change someone's whole afternoon.

Ibrahim's reply is one letter longer than the greeting he received. That one letter is the whole lesson.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.