Is it obligatory to return a parrot's greeting if it offers one?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
The parrot is a well-known bird. If it learns to utter the greeting of "peace" (salaam), it is not prescribed to return the greeting to it, because salaam is an act of worship that requires intention from its utterer, and that animal has no intention. Its ruling is like that of a recorded tape. Therefore, the words spoken by a parrot are merely repetitions of what it learns, and it does not intend the salaam due to its lack of intellect. Some scholars have explicitly stated that prostration (sujood) is not prescribed if a verse of prostration is heard from a parrot or a recording.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 24032
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy