How to Greet the Prophet ﷺ and His Companions
Imām al-Nawawī recommends the following approach in his textbook on Ḥajj for greeting the Prophet ﷺ in Masjid al-Nabawī:
“If someone asked you to convey salāms to the Rasūlullāh ﷺ, say:
𝘈𝘴-𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘢̄𝘮𝘶 ʿ𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘬𝘢 𝘺𝘢̄ 𝘙𝘢𝘴𝘶̄𝘭𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘢̄𝘩 𝘮𝘪𝘯 𝘍𝘶𝘭𝘢̄𝘯 𝘪𝘣𝘯 𝘍𝘶𝘭𝘢̄𝘯 — Greetings to you, O Rasūlullāh, from So-and-so, the son of So-and-so; or any similar greeting.
→ Then step an arm’s length to the right and give salāms to Abū Bakr, who lies at the shoulder of the Rasūlullāh ﷺ. Say:
𝘈𝘴-𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘢̄𝘮𝘶 ʿ𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘬𝘢 𝘺𝘢̄ 𝘈𝘣𝘢̄ 𝘉𝘢𝘬𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘴̣𝘢𝘧𝘪𝘺𝘺𝘢 𝘙𝘢𝘴𝘶̄𝘭𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢̄𝘩𝘪 𝘸𝘢-𝘵𝘩𝘢̄𝘯𝘪𝘺𝘢𝘩𝘶 𝘧𝘪̄ 𝘢𝘭-𝘨𝘩𝘢̄𝘳, 𝘫𝘢𝘻𝘢̄𝘬𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘢̄𝘩𝘶 ʿ𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪 𝘢𝘯-𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘺𝘺𝘪 𝘬𝘩𝘢𝘺𝘳𝘢𝘯.
[Greetings to you, Abū Bakr, the Intimate Friend of the Rasūlullāh ﷺ and his second in the Cave; may Allah grant you the best reward on behalf of the Prophet’s Community]
→ Then step an arm’s length to the left of your original position, to the space in front of ʿUmar, saying:
𝘈𝘴-𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘢̄𝘮𝘶 ʿ𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘬𝘢 𝘺𝘢̄ ʿ𝘜𝘮𝘢𝘳, 𝘢ʿ𝘢𝘻𝘻𝘢 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘢̄𝘩𝘶 𝘣𝘪𝘬𝘢 𝘢𝘭-𝘐𝘴𝘭𝘢̄𝘮, 𝘫𝘢𝘻𝘢̄𝘬𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘢̄𝘩𝘶 ʿ𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪 𝘔𝘶𝘩̣𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯 𝘬𝘩𝘢𝘺𝘳𝘢𝘯.
[Greetings to you, ʿUmar; Allah has strengthened Islam through you; may Allah reward you well on behalf of the nation of Muhammad]
→ Then return to your original position directly in front of the Rasūlullāh ﷺ and use the Prophet ﷺ as your means for yourself, seeking his intercession before your Exalted and Mighty Lord ﷻ.
Imām al-Nawawī, Al-Īḍāḥ fī Manāsik al-Ḥajj, Chapter 6: “On Visiting the Grave of our Liege-Lord the Messenger of Allah ﷺ”
