Tell me how the Angels greet...

“Mama, can I ask you a question before you kiss me good night?”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
“Mama, do you believe in angels?”
“Of course, I do”
“Do they have wings like in fairy tales?”
“Yes they do”
“What are they made of?”
“One of the most beautiful elements on earth…. of light”
“Do they ever visit us in dreams?”
“Perhaps. But I often see them in my daydreams waiting to greet us at the Gates of Paradise.”
“How will they greet us at the Gates of Paradise?”
“Salamu ‘Alaikum (Peace be Upon you). You have won... That’s what they’ll say to us insha-Allah”

Salamu Alaikum? I look back at those days when I found it very difficult to greet with these words. I’d pick up the phone and you’d hear me say “Hi”, “Good Morning”, “Marhaba”, “Hela Walla”… anything but “Salamu ‘Alaikum”.

The truth of the matter was that I was ashamed…. plain and simple. It just wasn’t “in vogue” to be seen as an Islamist. Greeting with “Peace be Upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessing” was just a little too much. No, I kept telling myself I needed to be in tune with the times and the last thing I wanted to be seen as (God forbid) was a regressive Muslim!… Ironic isn’t it?... that at times when Muslims were being so cruelly associated with terrorism and violence, I had difficulty using the words “peace and mercy” in my greetings...

I will not lie to you. There are still times when I hesitate before saying “Salamu ‘Alaikum wa rahmatu Allah wa barakatuh” or I'd stammer upon those words especially when addressing ears that are unaccustomed to hearing this beautiful greeting… May Allah bring hidaya to all Muslims including myself… But now at least, I often picture the angels waiting to greet me at the Gates of Paradise ... and I try to remind myself how could there be a more inviting greeting than that which I long to hear upon entering those Gates surrounded by the light of its keepers insha-Allah...

I have come to the end of my post and I leave you with Allah's blessing and say to you all " Salamu 'Alaikum". I pray that we all be greeted with these words by the angels at the Gates of Paradise. By the way, for those of you who wonder why I called myself Salama… this is my story...

وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا رَبَّهُمْ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا حَتَّى إِذَا جَاؤُوهَا وَفُتِحَتْ أَبْوَابُهَا وَقَالَ لَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ طِبْتُمْ فَادْخُلُوهَا خَالِدِينَ )

39:73 (Asad) But those who were conscious of their Sustainer will be urged on in throngs towards paradise till, when they reach it, they shall find its gates wide- open; [75] and its keepers will say unto them, “Peace be upon you! Well have you done: enter, then, this [paradise], herein to abide!”