Do not initiate the greeting of peace to the Jews or Christians, and if you meet one of them on the way, force him to narrowest part thereof
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not initiate the greeting of peace to the Jews or Christians, and if you meet one of them on the way, force him to narrowest part thereof."
Attribution: Narrated by Muslim
Grade: Authentic
Explanation
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) forbids initiating the greeting of peace to the Jews or Christians even if they are Dhimmis (free non-Muslim subjects living in a Muslim country), let alone others from the disbelievers. He (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) further explained that if we meet one of them on the road, we should force him to the narrowest part thereof, as the believer is the one entitled to walk in the middle of the road and the disbeliever is the one who should make way. A Muslim should in no way be abject.
Benefits
It is impermissible for a Muslim to initiate the greeting of peace to any of the Jews, Christians, or others from the disbelievers.
It is permissible to respond to their greeting of peace, in case they are the ones to initiate it, by saying: And upon you.
It is impermissible for a Muslim to hurt a disbeliever on purpose by deliberately and unnecessarily bearing down on him to force him to move to the narrowest part of the road. However, if the road is narrow or crowded, then the Muslim is more entitled to it and the disbeliever should move away.
Manifesting the Muslims' honor and the humiliation of others without oppression or using foul language.
Imposing restrictions upon the disbelievers due to their disbelief in Allah Almighty could cause them to embrace Islam and, thus, be saved from Hellfire if this motivates them to learn the reason behind such restrictions.
There is nothing wrong if a Muslim starts by saying the following to a disbeliever: How are you? How are you doing this morning? How are you doing this evening? And similar things if there is a need for this because the prohibition is taken to refer to the greeting of peace.
At-Tībi said: Based on the chosen opinion, the heretical innovator should not be initiated with the greeting of peace. If one happens to greet with peace someone he does not know and it turns out to be a Dhimmi or a heretical innovator, then he should say: I take back my greeting of peace, by way of derogation.
