BY HAMMED MARYAM TITILAYO

Sometimes, when I see the way people now make teslim, all I can do is shake my head and feel pity.

I mean, what happened?

We now have “salam,” “asalam,” “salam o,” and sometimes I don’t even know what exactly I am reading

Perhaps we are in too much of a hurry. Perhaps we are simply trying to make greetings shorter. Or perhaps we have become so used to saying salaam that we no longer stop to think about what we are actually saying.

I recently came across a funny conversation(tweet). Someone sent “Salaam,” and the person replied, “I’m not salaam oo.” The sender tried to explain, “Mo n salamo si yin ni.” Then came the reply, “Okay, Wale.” Then the person replied, “Who’s Wale?” and the sender also replied, “mo n dahun salamo ni”

Funny, right?

But beyond the laughter, it made me think about something we often overlook: we may have underestimated the teslim.

As-salāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh.

It is not just another way of saying “hello.” It is a dua. You are asking Allah’s peace, mercy and blessings upon the person you are greeting.

Think about that for a moment.

Every time you say it, you are not merely acknowledging someone’s presence. You are wishing them peace. You are asking Allah to shower them with His mercy and blessings.

And yet, sometimes, we are so eager to greet that we shorten it anyhow.

Of course, there are situations where people use shorter forms casually, and I am not here to condemn anyone. My concern is something simpler: have we become careless with a greeting that carries so much meaning?

The reward attached to the salām should make us think twice before treating it as an ordinary word.

The Prophet ﷺ taught us that saying As-salāmu ʿalaykum earns ten rewards. Adding wa raḥmatullāh makes it twenty, and completing it with wa barakātuh makes it thirty.

Thirty rewards.

For what?

For greeting someone.

Sometimes we are searching everywhere for opportunities to earn good deeds, yet we overlook the small ones already placed in our everyday lives.

The Qur’an also teaches us about the importance of returning greetings. Allah says:

“And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet [in return] with one better than it or [at least] return it in a like manner.”

(Qur’an 4:86)

This tells us that the salām is not something we should treat carelessly. It is part of the beautiful manners Allah has taught us.

And there is something else I love about the salām: it spreads peace.

The Prophet ﷺ encouraged believers to spread salām among themselves, connecting it with love among believers.

Imagine entering a room and saying, “As-salāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh.”

You have just walked in and prayed for peace, mercy and blessings upon everyone there. Imagine how beautiful that is.

So perhaps we should slow down a little.

Not because typing “salam” takes away our ability to be Muslim. Not because every shortened version deserves a lecture. But because sometimes, in our attempt to make everything faster and easier, we forget the beauty behind what we are saying.

We should remember that the salām is not just a greeting we inherited. It is a greeting filled with meaning, a practice taught by the Prophet ﷺ, and an opportunity to earn reward.

So the next time your fingers are about to type “salam,” maybe pause for a second.

Type the full salām.
Say it properly.
Mean it when you say it.

Because sometimes, a few extra words are not really extra.

Sometimes, they carry the peace, mercy, blessings and reward that we were too hurried to remember.

Maybe it is time we stopped underestimating this beautiful kalimah.