Answered by: Maulana Syed Johir Miah
Question:
Is generally saying Salaam to a Ghair-Mahram like a cousin sister and asking how they are permissible when there is no necessity?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
Sayyiduna Sahl ( رضى الله عنه ) said,
قَالَ كُنَّا نَفْرَحُ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ. قُلْتُ وَلِمَ قَالَ كَانَتْ لَنَا عَجُوزٌ تُرْسِلُ إِلَى بُضَاعَةَ ـ قَالَ ابْنُ مَسْلَمَةَ نَخْلٍ بِالْمَدِينَةِ ـ فَتَأْخُذُ مِنْ أُصُولِ السِّلْقِ فَتَطْرَحُهُ فِي قِدْرٍ، وَتُكَرْكِرُ حَبَّاتٍ مِنْ شَعِيرٍ، فَإِذَا صَلَّيْنَا الْجُمُعَةَ انْصَرَفْنَا وَنُسَلِّمُ عَلَيْهَا فَتُقَدِّمُهُ إِلَيْنَا، فَنَفْرَحُ مِنْ أَجْلِهِ، وَمَا كُنَّا نَقِيلُ وَلاَ نَتَغَدَّى إِلاَّ بَعْدَ الْجُمُعَةِ.
“We used to feel happy on Fridays.” Then Salamah Bin Dinar asked Sahl, “Why?” He said, “There was an old woman of our acquaintance who used to send somebody to Buda’a (Ibn Maslama said, “Buda’a was a garden of date-palms at Madina). She used to pull out the silq (a kind of vegetable) from its roots and put it in a cooking pot, adding some powdered barley over it (and cook it). After finishing the Jumua prayer we used to (pass by her and) greet her, whereupon she would present us with that meal, so we used to feel happy because of that. We used to have neither a midday nap nor meals, except after the Friday prayer”. 1
When a Ghair Mahram (marriageable) woman gives salam to a man, then the man can reply to the salam of the woman with an audible voice if the woman is old. However, if the woman is young, then he will reply in his mind. Likewise, when a man gives salam to Ghair Mahram woman. 2
In the aforementioned case, saying Salaam to a Ghair-Mahram like a cousin sister and asking how they are when there is no necessity would be permissible for the sake of maintaining kinship.
Only Allah knows best.
Written by Maulana Syed Johir Miah
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
1 Sahih Bukhari, Hadith number 6248, 55/8, Dar Tuqin Najah, First edition 2001. 1422 H.
2 وإذا سَلَّمَتْ المَرْأةُ الأجْنَبِيَّةُ عَلى رَجُلٍ إنْ كانَتْ عَجُوزًا رَدَّ الرَّجُلُ – عَلَيْها السَّلامُ – بِلِسانِهِ بِصَوْتٍ تَسْمَعُ، وإنْ كانَتْ شابَّةً رَدَّ عَلَيْها فِي نَفْسِهِ، وكَذا الرَّجُلُ إذا سَلَّمَ عَلى امْرَأةٍ أجْنَبِيَّةٍ فالجَوابُ فِيهِ عَلى العَكْسِ اهـ.
Raddul Muhtar, Ibn Abidin, 369/6, Darul Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, 1412 H.