Question:
May Allah reward you with good. Among the questions of this questioner, O Shaykh: If a Muslim begins a greeting by saying “Good evening” or “Good morning,” is this a pre-Islamic (Jahiliyyah) greeting?
Answer:
The legislated Islamic greeting is for a person to say, “As-salamu alaykum” (Peace be upon you). This is the greeting whether it is spoken—such as meeting someone in the marketplace, entering a gathering, speaking on the telephone—or written.
As for phrases like “Ahlan wa sahlan” (Welcome), “Marhaban” (Hello/Welcome), and similar expressions, these come after the greeting. Therefore, it is mentioned in the Hadith of the Mi’raj (Ascension) that whenever the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, met any of those whom he met, he greeted them with “Salam,” they responded with the greeting of peace, and then they said “Marhaban.” This indicates that these are welcoming words, which should only be used after the prescribed greeting.