In the Qur’an, Allah describes a concept of faith that entails constant remembrance of Allah at every moment. Remembering Allah and the Hereafter only when one encounters an extraordinary event, while remaining thoughtless during the mundane course of life, is contrary to the morals of the Qur’an. Again, in the Qur’an Allah cites many examples of prophets and says that they were people of a superior character who turned to Allah and always kept the Hereafter in mind.
Remembering Allah and the Hereafter in some specific events, but being in heedlessness and committing errors in the events of ordinary day-to-day life is totally contrary to the morals of the Qur’an. Every moment a believer lives and every situation he experiences are opportunities to draw nearer to Allah, add to his moral excellence, and increase his rewards in the Hereafter. In the Qur’an, Allah gives many directions that guide believers to the realization of these virtues. One is to greet the members of a household when entering a home:
... And when you enter houses greet one another with a greeting from Allah, blessed and good. In this way, Allah makes the Signs clear to you so that hopefully you will use your intellect. (Surat an-Nur; 61)
Our Lord reminds believers to greet one another when they enter their homes, and that in doing so they must wish one another holy and pleasant lives and must intend to greet one another with the desire for them to live in a manner compatible with the Qur’an and the faith. That is why the intention behind greetings is also so important. Believers beg Almighty Allah for mercy and peace when they meet one another. They accept the greeting of whoever greets them and return it in an even finer manner. This attitude of the believer’s is one of the joys that Qur’anic moral values bring to the social relations between people. Greetings establish a dialogue, warmth and closeness between people who do not know one another. When people live by these values the climates of tension and disrespect found in the societies of ignorance will never arise anywhere in which there are Muslims.
If one ponders the meaning expressed in the verse, he will comply with the obligation that Allah commands. By so doing, one mentions a name of Allah, as-Salam (“The Source of Peace”). Muslims frequently convey their good will to one another and thus consolidate their love and unity. Moreover, in this way they remember Allah together, and greeting is an expression of trust and security among believers.
STATEMENTS BY MR. ADNAN OKTAR REGARDING THE IMPORTANCE OF EXTENDING GREETINGS IN THE MORAL VALUES OF THE QUR’AN
The Importance of Greeting People
“Spreading greetings increases love and respect. I go out, and nobody greets anyone else. Thanks be to Allah, though, it still goes on in villages and small towns. Of course, they greet one another because they know them. But not in the cities. That is really terrifying. Friendship, love and brotherhood must be spread. For example, you walk along a quite street and you say, “selamün aleyküm” and the other person says, “aleyküm selam.” What does that mean? It means, “I can be trusted, and you can be trusted. No harm will come from me, and none from you.” That instills peace. You don’t know who a person is. He is just a dark shadow coming down the street. A young girl will be very nervous. Even a young man will be uneasy. It could be a mugger, or a thief, or a psychopath or anything. But that will disappear if people give greetings, if there is a climate of love and warmth. That is what lies behind suicides, too.” (From Mr. Adnan Oktar’s live interview on Mavi Karadeniz and Ekintürk TV on November 17, 2009)
The Way People Are Reluctant to Extend Greetings Is a Plan of Satan’s
“Satan operates a policy longing for a society with fear and suspicion and whose members detest one another. Nobody must fall for it. Go out and you will see how nobody looks up from the ground. What kind of life is that? People cannot look up from the ground. They do not look others in the face. Do you ever see anyone looking anyone in the face? Very rarely. Does anyone ever greet anyone else? Never! If you extend a greeting to someone he will turn round in amazement and wonder what is going on. Where did that come from, he will ask. You cannot even say hello. Or a smiling face. If you walk around smiling it terrifies people. They will even think something must be going on and follow you in case you are a spy or something. There is this insane paranoia among some people. You can never compliment anyone, of course. If you tell someone what an attractive car he has, he will see it as a threat.” (From Mr. Adnan Oktar’s live interview on TV Kayseri on February 17, 2010)
