Salām ʿalayka (Arabic: سَلَام عَلَيْك) is a greeting in Arabic that means "Peace be upon you". The salam (سَلَام) (meaning “Peace”) is a religious salutation among Muslims[1] when greeting, though it is also used by Arabic speakers of other religions, such as Arab Christians,[2] as well as by Muslims generally.
The expression commonly uses the second person plural masculine, even when used to address one person. It may be modified by choosing the appropriate enclitic pronoun to address a person in the masculine and feminine singular form, the dual form, or the feminine plural form. The conjugations are as follows (note: according to the standard pronunciation rules of Classical Arabic, the last short vowel in each word is not pronounced in pausa):
| Gender | Greeting | Response |
|---|---|---|
| Singular Masculine |
ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ | وَعَلَيْكَ ٱلسَّلَامُ |
| [as.sa.laː.mu ʕa.laj.ka] | [wa.ʕa.laj.ka‿s.sa.laː.mu] | |
| as-salāmu ʿalayka | wa ʿalayka s-salāmu | |
| Singular Feminine |
ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكِ | وَعَلَيْكِ ٱلسَّلَامُ |
| [as.sa.laː.mu ʕa.laj.ki] | [wa.ʕa.laj.ki‿s.sa.laː.mu] | |
| as-salāmu ʿalayki | wa ʿalayki s-salāmu | |
| Dual Unisex |
ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمَا | وَعَلَيْكُمَا ٱلسَّلَامُ |
| [as.sa.laː.mu ʕa.laj.ku.maː] | [wa.ʕa.laj.ku.maː‿s.sa.laː.mu] | |
| as-salāmu ʿalaykumā | wa ʿalaykumā s-salāmu | |
| Plural Masculine |
ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ | وَعَلَيْكُمُ ٱلسَّلَامُ |
| [as.sa.laː.mu ʕa.laj.kum] | [wa.ʕa.laj.ku.mu‿s.sa.laː.mu] | |
| as-salāmu ʿalaykum | wa ʿalaykumu s-salāmu | |
| Plural Feminine |
ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُنَّ | وَعَلَيْكُنَّ ٱلسَّلَامُ |
| [as.sa.laː.mu ʕa.laj.kun.na] | [wa.ʕa.laj.kun.na‿s.sa.laː.mu] | |
| as-salāmu ʿalaykunna | wa ʿalaykunna s-salāmu |
A third-person variant, ʿalayhi as-salām, "peace be upon him", is often used by Muslims for prophets other than Muhammad and other holy personalities, such as angels.
According to Islamic tradition, the origin of the greeting "Peace be upon you" dates back to the first human, Adam:
Abu Huraira reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "Allah said: Go and greet with peace these groups of assembled angels and listen to how they greet you, for this will be the greeting among your progeny. Adam said: Peace be upon you. The angels said: Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah. Thus, they added the mercy of Allah" [3]
The final Prophet said, "None of you will enter paradise until you believe and you will 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 yourselves."[4]
It is also stated that one should give the Salam greeting upon entering a house. This is based upon a verse of the Quran:『However, when you enter houses, greet one another with a greeting ˹of peace˺ from Allah, blessed and good. This is how Allah makes His revelations clear to you, so perhaps you will understand.』(An-Nur 24:61).[5]
The phrase appears a total of 7 times in the Quran, each time as salamun ʿalaykum (Arabic: سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ). In Classical Arabic, used in the Qur'an and early Hadith manuscripts, the phrase is spelled as "ٱلسَّلَٰمُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُ ٱللَّٰهِ وَبَرَكَٰتُهُ". In Rasm, it is written as "السلم علىکم ورحمٮ الله وٮرکٮه".
وَإِذَا جَاءَكَ الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِآيَاتِنَا فَقُلْ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ كَتَبَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ أَنَّهُ مَنْ عَمِلَ مِنكُمْ سُوءًا بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ تَابَ مِن بَعْدِهِ .وَأَصْلَحَ فَأَنَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ (54)
"When those who have faith in Our signs come to you, say, 'Peace to you! Your Lord has made mercy incumbent upon Himself: whoever of you commits an evil [deed] out of ignorance and then repents after that and reforms, then He is indeed All-Forgiving, All-Merciful (54).'"
وَبَيْنَهُمَا حِجَابٌ وَعَلَى الْأَعْرَافِ رِجَالٌ يَعْرِفُونَ كُلًّا بِسِيمَاهُمْ وَنَادَوْا أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ أَن سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لَمْ يَدْخُلُوهَا وَهُمْ يَطْمَعُونَ.(46)
"And there will be a veil between them. And on the Elevations will be certain men who recognize each of them by their mark. They will call out to the inhabitants of paradise, 'Peace be to you!' They will not have entered it, though they would be eager to do so (46)."
سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُم بِمَا صَبَرْتُمْ ۚ فَنِعْمَ عُقْبَى ٱلدَّارِ
"'Peace be to you, for your patience.' How excellent is the reward of the [ultimate] abode!"
الَّذِينَ تَتَوَفَّاهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ طَيِّبِينَ ۙ يَقُولُونَ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمُ ادْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ (32)
"Those whom the angels take away while they are pure. They say [to them], 'Peace be to you! Enter paradise because of what you used to do (32).'"
قَالَ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكَ سَأَسْتَغْفِرُ لَكَ رَبِّي إِنَّهُ كَانَ بِي حَفِيًّا (47)
"He said, 'Peace be to you! I shall plead with my Lord to forgive you. Indeed He is gracious to me(47).'"
وَإِذَا سَمِعُوا اللَّغْوَ أَعْرَضُوا عَنْهُ وَقَالُوا لَنَا أَعْمَالُنَا وَلَكُمْ أَعْمَالُكُمْ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لَا نَبْتَغِي الْجَاهِلِينَ (55)
"And when they hear vain talk, they avoid it and say, 'Our deeds belong to us, and your deeds belong to you. Peace be to you. We do not court the ignorant (55).'"
وَسِيقَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّقَوْا۟ رَبَّهُمْ إِلَى ٱلْجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا ۖ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَآءُوهَا وَفُتِحَتْ أَبْوَابُهَا وَقَالَ لَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ طِبْتُمْ فَٱدْخُلُوهَا خَالِدِينَ
"Those who are wary of their Lord will be led to paradise in throngs. When they reach it, and its gates are opened, its keepers will say to them, 'Peace be to you! You are welcome! Enter it to remain [forever].'"
Other variants, such as salamun ʿalā (سَلَامٌ عَلَىٰ), or the term salam (سَلَام) alone is also mentioned in several other Ayahs of the Qur'an.
