If you’ve ever heard Muslims greet each other, you’ve probably heard the standard Muslim greeting.
One person says: Asalaam Alaykum – roughly translated to “Peace be upon you.”
And the other person responds with: Wa ’Alaykum Asalaam – which means “And peace be upon you also.”
The greeting comes from the Qur’an and is meant to help promote a sense of brotherhood among Muslims and to reflect the peace that should exist between Muslims from all walks of life.
Whether or not these greetings can be used with non-Muslims is up for debate. There are some scholars who say a Muslim should never use them with non-Muslims, while others say the greetings may be used in times of great need or when non-Muslims use them first.