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Fatwa CenterBeing greeted while reading Qur'an
Question
When I am reading Holy Qur'an and I am greeted must I return this greeting?
Answer
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the World; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
Greeting by saying "As-Salaam Alaikum" is confirmed Sunnah, whereas responding to the greeting is an obligation on an individual. If there is a group and anyone of the group responds to the greeting then the whole group will be exempted from sin. If no one of the group responds to the greeting then all of them commit sin. No doubt, it is better and more excellent if all members of the group respond to the greeting.
The same rulings apply to the person/persons reciting the Qur'an. Imam al-Nawawi wrote in al-Majmu'a: 'if a reciter of the Qur'an passes by someone and greets him, it is better for him to recite al-Tawwudh (seeking refuge of Allah) to continue the recitation. However, it is desirable to greet the one who is reciting the Qur'an but it is compulsory for the reciter to respond to the greeting person. al-Wahidi said: 'Some of the Shafi'e scholars believe that one should not greet the one who recites the Qur'an; if he is greeted he should respond by making gesture only. This opinion is weak' .
In short, according to the correct opinion, the ruling of responding to the greeting does not change whether the person is reciting the Qur'an or not. So the reciting person should respond to the greeting in words, not by gesture. However, it is better to recite al-Tawwadh to continue the recitation, but it is not compulsory since the interval is not so long.
Allah knows best.
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