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Is there a contradiction between the condition of using the prescribed wording for returning the salutation in Fatwa No. 51602, and what the Fiqh Encyclopedia states regarding the permissibility of returning the salutation in a language other than Arabic?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Responding to a greeting (Salam) must be with its like or better, as Allah says: "And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with one better than it, or (at least) return it in a like manner." As for initiating the greeting with a wording other than the prescribed one, it is permissible, and there is no contradiction between returning the Salam with its prescribed wording and initiating it with a different one. Initiating the Salam with the prescribed wording is better for earning reward and fulfilling the religious command, for in the Hadith, "Spread Salam among yourselves," and the reward increases with the addition to the wording of the Salam. Neglecting to initiate the Salam is contrary to what is preferable.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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