It is your first day of college. You were already early to UCWR and Bio so the butterflies, that
have been so rudely occupying since last night, are slowly leaving your stomach. It's time for
dhuhr. Where did she say the musallah was again? Ah yes, second floor of Damen. As you make
your way up the stairs you see a bright smiling face coming right at you. Oh no, is she looking at
me?? Did we meet before and did I already forget her name? You've met so many squealing,
hugging sisters this morning, it's hard to keep track. At last your paths meet. “Assalaamu
alaikum!!!” she exclaims as she extends her hand for a handshake and then pulls you in for a tight, warm hug. “My name is Fatima! What's yours? Are you a freshman?!! OMG you're going to love it here!” She continues telling you all about herself and asking you everything about yourself before she bids you farewell with yet another hug and salaam and rushes off to class. Whoah. You feel a little overwhelmed. You've never met such a friendly stranger before.
You brace yourself before entering the musallah. As you open the door the first thing you see is a girl vacuuming. She stops the vacuum and welcomes you with a bright smile and a little too excited salaam. Then there follows a chorus of assalaamu alaikums from every corner. Right in the middle is a circle of five girls eating from one bowl of taco salad. Immediately one stands up and insists you join the circle and dig in. Nervously you sit down and before you know it you find yourself laughing hysterically, telling them all about your first day, feeding and being fed by everyone. Everyone has joined the circle now and the musallah door opens every five minutes with another flood of smiling sisters coming in. It's time for your next class and now it's you initiating the farewell hugs and salaams. You walk out at ease, trying to associate every face you met with its corresponding name in your head. Maybe college isn't so scary after all.
SubhanAllah, the power of a salaam! No wonder it is given so much importance. When asked what the best thing in Islam is, the Prophet (pbuh) said, “Feeding others and giving the greeting of salaam to those whom you know and those who you do not know” (Bukhaari 12).
“The best Islamic attitude is to love one another and greet one another, and this is achieved by words and deeds. The Prophet (pbuh) urged the Muslims to foster love between one another by
exchanging gifts and food, and by spreading salaam, and he forbade the opposite, namely
forsaking one another, turning away from one another, spying on one another, seeking out
information about one another, stirring up trouble and being two faced.”
The Prophet (pbuh) said, “You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you not believe until you love one another. Shall I not tell you about something which, if you do it, you will love one another? Spread salaam amongst yourself” (Muslim 96).
When we say salaam to our fellow brothers and sisters we are literally wishing safety upon them. What a beautiful greeting! It's not hard on our part. All we have to do when we see someone we know is Muslim is smile and say assalaamu alaikum! To us it may not seem like much, but that one salaam could brighten up someone else's day that otherwise wasn't going so great! It's so important to build community on our campus and make everyone feel welcome and the first step toward that direction is saying salaam to one another. InshaAllah let's be proactive and initiate the greeting with every Muslim we see, regardless of whether or not we know them. And if someone says salaam to you, be sure to respond because that is your obligation!
The Prophet (pbuh) said, “The Muslim has five rights over his fellow Muslim: he should return his salaams, visit him when he is sick, attend his funeral, accept his invitation, and pray for mercy for him [say “Yarhamuk Allah”] when he sneezes” (Bukhaari 1240).
have been so rudely occupying since last night, are slowly leaving your stomach. It's time for
dhuhr. Where did she say the musallah was again? Ah yes, second floor of Damen. As you make
your way up the stairs you see a bright smiling face coming right at you. Oh no, is she looking at
me?? Did we meet before and did I already forget her name? You've met so many squealing,
hugging sisters this morning, it's hard to keep track. At last your paths meet. “Assalaamu
alaikum!!!” she exclaims as she extends her hand for a handshake and then pulls you in for a tight, warm hug. “My name is Fatima! What's yours? Are you a freshman?!! OMG you're going to love it here!” She continues telling you all about herself and asking you everything about yourself before she bids you farewell with yet another hug and salaam and rushes off to class. Whoah. You feel a little overwhelmed. You've never met such a friendly stranger before.
You brace yourself before entering the musallah. As you open the door the first thing you see is a girl vacuuming. She stops the vacuum and welcomes you with a bright smile and a little too excited salaam. Then there follows a chorus of assalaamu alaikums from every corner. Right in the middle is a circle of five girls eating from one bowl of taco salad. Immediately one stands up and insists you join the circle and dig in. Nervously you sit down and before you know it you find yourself laughing hysterically, telling them all about your first day, feeding and being fed by everyone. Everyone has joined the circle now and the musallah door opens every five minutes with another flood of smiling sisters coming in. It's time for your next class and now it's you initiating the farewell hugs and salaams. You walk out at ease, trying to associate every face you met with its corresponding name in your head. Maybe college isn't so scary after all.
SubhanAllah, the power of a salaam! No wonder it is given so much importance. When asked what the best thing in Islam is, the Prophet (pbuh) said, “Feeding others and giving the greeting of salaam to those whom you know and those who you do not know” (Bukhaari 12).
“The best Islamic attitude is to love one another and greet one another, and this is achieved by words and deeds. The Prophet (pbuh) urged the Muslims to foster love between one another by
exchanging gifts and food, and by spreading salaam, and he forbade the opposite, namely
forsaking one another, turning away from one another, spying on one another, seeking out
information about one another, stirring up trouble and being two faced.”
The Prophet (pbuh) said, “You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you not believe until you love one another. Shall I not tell you about something which, if you do it, you will love one another? Spread salaam amongst yourself” (Muslim 96).
When we say salaam to our fellow brothers and sisters we are literally wishing safety upon them. What a beautiful greeting! It's not hard on our part. All we have to do when we see someone we know is Muslim is smile and say assalaamu alaikum! To us it may not seem like much, but that one salaam could brighten up someone else's day that otherwise wasn't going so great! It's so important to build community on our campus and make everyone feel welcome and the first step toward that direction is saying salaam to one another. InshaAllah let's be proactive and initiate the greeting with every Muslim we see, regardless of whether or not we know them. And if someone says salaam to you, be sure to respond because that is your obligation!
The Prophet (pbuh) said, “The Muslim has five rights over his fellow Muslim: he should return his salaams, visit him when he is sick, attend his funeral, accept his invitation, and pray for mercy for him [say “Yarhamuk Allah”] when he sneezes” (Bukhaari 1240).