He Sneezed, and He Was Taught Our Greeting

When the soul entered into the body of Ādam, the first thing that happened is he sneezed. When the soul entered into his body, Ādam sneezed. Lammā khalaqa Allāhu Ādama wa nafakha fīhi al-rūḥa ʿaṭas. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says: when Allah (swt) created Ādam, and He blew the soul into him, Ādam sneezed. Fa-qāla: al-ḥamdu lillāh. Ādam said: al-ḥamdu lillāh, praise be to Allah. Allah (swt) told him: yarḥamuka Allāh, the mercy of Allah be upon you.

The first thing that happened to Ādam was the deliverance of mercy unto him from Allah (swt). When he was created, Allah (swt) Himself told Ādam: yarḥamuka Allāh, the mercy of Allah be upon you. That was the first thing that was told to Sayyidunā Ādam (peace be upon him). He had the mercy of Allah (swt) from the beginning.

Allah (swt) told him: idhhab ilā ulāʾika al-malāʾikati, ilā nafarin minhum julūs. Allah (swt) told Ādam: go to those angels who are sitting over there. Allah (swt) told Ādam to go to those angels, and to deliver salām to them. Idhhab ilā ulāʾika al-malāʾikati ilā nafarin minhum julūs, fa-qul: al-salāmu ʿalaykum: go to those angels who are sitting over there, and tell them al-salāmu ʿalaykum. Allah (swt) is teaching Ādam: go to those angels and tell them al-salāmu ʿalaykum.

Ādam went up to the angels, and he said: al-salāmu ʿalaykum. Qālū: wa ʿalayka al-salāmu wa raḥmatu Allāh. He went to the angels; he told them al-salāmu ʿalaykum. They said: ʿalayka al-salām, ʿalayka al-salāmu wa raḥmatu Allāhi wa barakātuh — may the peace of Allah (swt) be upon you, and His mercy be upon you, and His blessings be upon you.

So Ādam came back to Allah (swt). Allah told him: inna hādhihi taḥiyyatuka wa taḥiyyatu banīka baynahum. This is your greeting, and this is the greeting of your descendants.

So Allah (swt) has taught us our greeting from the beginning, and it was taught to Ādam (peace be upon him). And this is the greeting that Allah (swt) wanted for the children of Ādam. It is al-salāmu ʿalaykum: peace be upon you. Not hi, hello, good morning, or good night, or what's up. Al-salāmu ʿalaykum, peace be upon you, first — and then after that, after you deliver the peace.

Subḥān Allāh, look at the beauty of Islam. We are spreading peace. Afshū al-salāma baynakum: the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says, spread peace among you. Spread peace. Whenever you see somebody: al-salāmu ʿalaykum, peace be upon you. Al-ḥamdu lillāh: the niʿmah of being Muslim.

After you say al-salāmu ʿalaykum, and you receive the blessing of your brother telling you wa ʿalaykumu al-salāmu wa raḥmatu Allāhi wa barakātuh, then you are free to use any greeting you want — whether it is hi, or hello, or good morning, or good afternoon, or cómo estás, or whatever, whatever you want: ṣabāḥ al-khayr. In the beginning al-salāmu ʿalaykum, and then after that you could use any greeting you want. Because we know that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to tell the ṣaḥābah, for example, kayfa aṣbaḥt; kayfa aṣbaḥt is like saying good morning. But in the beginning, it needs to be al-salāmu ʿalaykum.