Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2722
حَدَّثَنَا بِذَلِكَ الْحَسَنُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ الْخَلاَّلُ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو أُسَامَةَ عَنْ أَبِي غِفَارٍ الْمُثَنَّى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ الطَّائِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي تَمِيمَةَ الْهُجَيْمِيِّ عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ سُلَيْمٍ قَالَ أَتَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقُلْتُ عَلَيْكَ السَّلاَمُ . فَقَالَ " لاَ تَقُلْ عَلَيْكَ السَّلاَمُ وَلَكِنْ قُلِ السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ " . وَذَكَرَ قِصَّةً طَوِيلَةً وَهَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali al-Khallal reported to us: Abu Usamah narrated from Abu Ghifar al-Muthanna ibn Sa‘id al-Ta’i, from Abu Tamimah al-Hujaymi, from Jabir ibn Sulaym, who said: I came to the Prophet and said, ‘Peace be upon you.’ He replied, ‘Do not say, “Peace be upon you”; rather, say, “Peace be upon you”’—using the greeting formula in the order ‘al-salamu ‘alayk.’ The narrator then related the full story. This is a hasan sahih hadith.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
This variant explicitly contrasts the greeting order ‘alayka al-salam’ with ‘al-salamu ‘alayk’; both phrases mean peace be upon you, but the Prophet instructs the latter wording. The full story is referenced rather than repeated here.