Salam Greeting
Whenever a Muslim meets another Muslim, we say “Salam alaikum” which means “peace be unto you.” We also make this pronunciation when we enter any building even if unoccupied. Greeting the visible and invisible.
The salama can also be the extended form which goes, “salam alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh” which means “Peace be upon you and God’s mercy and blessings.” Muslims strive to greet with a better greeting than the one given.
And the response to this greeiting is “Wa alaykum salam” or the extended, “Wa alaykum salam warahmatullah wabarakatuh.” Which has a prefix that indicates, “and unto you too.”
The salam can be found in earlier Abrahamic faiths with the Jewish “shalom” version and the Christian Biblical recommendation as follows,
And as they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.” – (Luke 24:36)
https://peacethought.com/salaam.htm
And the house peace greeting recommended here:
“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ – (Luke 10:5)
Islam discourages physical contact between unrelated opposite sexes. An unrelated Muslim male does not shake hands with or otherwise hug an unrelated female. Greetings can be done with an exchange of words.
Parting Greeting
It is said that when Muslims are about to part, they recite the second shortest chapter of the Quran, Surah Wal-asr. This reminds Muslims of the critical message of Islam.
Hafs from Aasim ibn Abi al-Najud
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
Bismi l-lāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm(i)
وَٱلْعَصْرِ
1 Wal‘aṣr(i)
By Time
إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ
2 ’inna l-’insāna lafī khusr(in)
Verily man is in in loss
إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ
3 ’illa l-lzīna ’āmanū wa‘amilu ṣ-ṣāliḥāti watawāṣaw bilḥaqqi watawāṣaw biṣṣabr(i)
Except those who believe (in Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth (i.e. order one another to perform all kinds of good deeds (Al-Ma’ruf) which Allah has ordained, and abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds (Al-Munkar) which Allah has forbidden), and recommend one another to patience (for the sufferings, harms, and injuries which one may encounter in Allah’s Cause during preaching His religion of Islamic Monotheism or Jihad, etc.).
