Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 311
وَعَنْ عَبْدِ الْوَهَّابِ، عَنْ أَيُّوبَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ أَبِي مُلَيْكَةَ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا، أَنَّ يَهُودًا أَتَوُا النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالُوا: السَّامُ عَلَيْكُمْ، فَقَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ: وَعَلَيْكُمْ، وَلَعَنَكُمُ اللَّهُ، وَغَضِبُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ، قَالَ: مَهْلاً يَا عَائِشَةُ، عَلَيْكِ بِالرِّفْقِ، وَإِيَّاكِ وَالْعُنْفَ وَالْفُحْشَ، قَالَتْ: أَوَ لَمْ تَسْمَعْ مَا قَالُوا؟ قَالَ: أَوَ لَمْ تَسْمَعِي مَا قُلْتُ؟ رَدَدْتُ عَلَيْهِمْ، فَيُسْتَجَابُ لِي فِيهِمْ، وَلاَ يُسْتَجَابُ لَهُمْ فِيَّ.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Abd al-Wahhab narrated to us, from Ayyub, from ‘Abd Allah ibn Abi Mulayka, from ‘A’isha, may Allah be pleased with her: Some Jews came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, ‘Death be upon you.’ ‘A’isha replied, ‘And upon you; may Allah curse you and be angry with you.’ He said, ‘Easy, ‘A’isha. Be gentle, and beware of harshness and foul speech.’ She said, ‘Did you not hear what they said?’ He replied, ‘Did you not hear what I said? I returned their words to them; my prayer against them will be answered, while theirs against me will not be answered.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The greeting السام عليكم means ‘death be upon you,’ in contrast to the ordinary greeting of peace. The Prophet’s response describes his words as a returned reply and says that his supplication against them will be answered, while theirs against him will not.
السَّامُ عَلَيْكُمْ
السّام means death; the witness adds a parenthetical explanation through English transliteration that is not in the Arabic source.
Should an explanatory note mention the contrast with the ordinary greeting ‘peace be upon you’?