#3 :RETURNING THE TASLIM OF THE ONE WHO IS OBSERVING SALAAT
“I have a question
When you say taslim after salah, can someone beside you answer the salam”
ANSWER
Alhamdulillaah!
With regard to answering the Taslim of the one who is observing the Salaat, there are two possibilities: either the one beside the one who observed the Salaat is also observing the Salaat or is just sitting by his side.
As for the first, if they both observed the Salaat together, then the taslim of the one by his side suffices as an answer.
If they were not together in Salaat, then it is not necessary that he answers or responds to his Taslim. But if he does answer his Taslim after he finishes his own Salaat, then there is nothing wrong in that.
This is due to the generality of the Hadith that was transmitted and recorded by Imaam Abu Daawud – rahimahullaah – in the Sun an from the Companion Samurah that he said:
((ﺃﻣﺮﻧﺎ
ﺭﺳﻮﻝ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ ﺃﻥ ﻧﺮﺩ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻹﻣﺎﻡ، ﻭﺃﻥ ﻧﺘﺤﺎﺏ، ﻭﺃﻥ ﻳﺴﻠﻢ ﺑﻌﻀﻨﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺑﻌﺾ .))
“The Messenger of Allaah – salallaahu alayhi wasallam – commanded us to respond to the (salaam) of the Imaam, that we should love one another and that we should say the Salaams between ourselves.”
The Hadith is graded as Hasan.
But if he were not to be in Salaat and was just sitting by his side, it is not also necessary to respond to the Salaam. The Ulamaa said the reason for this is that the one who observed his Salaat and made the Salaam did not do it with the intention of saying it to the one who is seated beside him.
But the Ulamaa hold that, even at that, it isn’t haraam that he responds to him.
Al-Abaadi in his Haashiya on Tuhfatu Al-Muhtaaj quoted Imaam Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalaani to have said:
“If the one who is by his right side hears his taslim, it is not necessary that he responds to him because it was done as a way of terminating his Salaat and not for the purpose of declaring the safety (of the one seated by saying the Salaam to him), it is like he didn’t say the salaam to other than himself.”
It should be known however that responding to the Taslim of the one who just finished his Salaat is not found in the Sun ah of the Rasul – salallaahu alayhi wasallam – nor in any of the practices of the Salafu As-Saalih who we were asked to emulate.
Therefore, despite what done of the Fuqahaa have said, it is sun ah not to do it.
Allaahu A’alam
Baarakallaahu feekum
Jazaakumullaahu khayran
