Nothing & Everything

As-salaamu 'alaykum, below is an email that I have sent to a Straits Times (Singapore) reporter regarding an article he put up in the papers:

Hello,

If you would kindly refer to the article mentioned in the subject header, in paragraph 25, you have made an error. Below is an excerpt of the paragraph that I have mentioned.

Muslims greet each other with "Assamualaikum", which means "May peace be with you"...
("Be Close to God" pg S4 para 25 The Straits Times (23.12.2006)

I, as a Muslim, must point out to you that the spelling in the above quote (in bold and underlined), is wrong. If the word is spelt in such a way and pronounced as such, it would carry a different meaning. To be exact, it would mean to be something very evil. "Assamualaikum" means "May death be upon you".

The above word/greeting was used by the enemies of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to mock him, his Companions and, in whole, the religion of Islaam. Below is a hadeeth of what happened during the time of the Prophet :

`Aisha (RA) said: Some Jews entered upon the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: As-Sãmu alaykum (may death be upon you)
I thus understood it and said: And may death, and the curse be upon you. So the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: Gently `Aisha, Allah loves gentleness in all matters, so I said: O Messenger of Allah did you not hear what they said? The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: I have replied with `Alaykum (upon you)

(Al-`Adawee said it was sound, and that it was reported by Al-Bukhãri, page 41 of volume 11 of Fath Al-Bãree.)

Please note that some Jewish tribes at that time were against the Prophet (pbuh) and Islam. The above hadeeth is not meant to reflect any present situation. The hadeeth serves to teach us to be aware of what people, who have evil intentions against another, are capable of and how Islam teaches its followers to be tactful in handling these situations.

The correct way to spell it would be "As-salaamu'alaikum". If we read and pronounce it, we will find the word "salaam", which means "peace". Below, I have included for you just for your own knowledge and benefit a hadeeth about this wonderful greeting :

`Imran bin Husayn said: A man came to the Prophet (pbuh) and said: 'As-salãmu `alaykum (May peace be upon you),
so he (pbuh) replied then he sat down, and then the Prophet (pbuh) said "Ten." then another came along and said 'As-salãmu `alaykum wa rahmatullãh (May peace be upon you and Allah's Mercy),
so he (pbuh) replied, then he sat down, and then he (pbuh) said: "Twenty." Then another came along and said: 'As-salãmu `alaykum wa rahmatullãh wa barakãtuhu (May peace be upon you and Allah's Mercy and His Blessing),
, so he (pbuh) replied, then he sat down, and then he (pbuh) said: "Thirty."

(At-Tirmithi said it was comely. Al-Albãni agreed, and said that so did Al-Bayhaqi, and Al-Hãfith Ibn Hajar. Al-Albãni included this hadeeth in The Authentic of Good Sayings as #156.)

The "ten", "twenty" and "thirty" that the Prophet (pbuh) was reported to have said, in the hadeeth above, is the number of times that the reward is multiplied.

Praise be to Allah, your article is useful in helping others understand Islaam better. We all make mistakes one time or another. What makes us learn is when someone points it out to us. That is the reason Allah made it an individual obligation for all Muslims to point out the wrong and call others to the correct way. I say this to remind myself before anyone else.

Thank you and may you have a better understanding of this beautiful religion of Islaam.