Question: We pray congregational prayer in some Masaajid. Every time a person enters to pray he says: Assalamu Alaykum. Every praying person turns to him, three times or four like this?
Answer: “What is best is not do so. However, whoever enters intending a specific person and he finds him praying, then he gives him greetings if he wills and if he wills he does not. As for everyone who enters, then this was not known from Companions, May Allah pleased with them, that everyone who entered gave greetings. It is a mistake from the people because it confuses the people. So sometimes it makes someone hasty and he says: Wa Alaykum Salam. So like that, it is prohibited for a person to give greetings every time he enters the masjid. As for if he intends a specific person in the masjid and he comes and gives him greetings and he is praying, then their is no harm for him to signal with his hand in response”.
Questioner: some praying people point with their hands like this. Is this not play?
Answer: “No, it is an origin not reported. So a Muslim is not entitled to respond at all, not by signalling above, or below, or to the right, or to the left. He is not entitled to respond”
[Taken from: https://shamela.ws/browse.php/book-7687/page-2311#page-2950]
Translated by
Faisal Ibn Abdul Qaadir Ibn Hassan
Abu Sulaymaan
