Is it prescribed for the imam to greet the people in the mosque when he comes in?
Question

                We have an imam in the mosque; when he enters the mosque from behind the people, the mu’adhdhin gives the iqaamah (call immediately preceding the congregational prayer) straight away, and the people make room for him to pass, and he does not greet anyone standing in the rows until he reaches his place at the front of the mosque. I advised him to greet the worshippers when he enters the mosque, so that he may earn the love of the worshippers, and so that Allah, may He be exalted, might bless us with paradise for spreading the greeting of salaam as our Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) taught us. But his response to me was that this is not the Sunnah, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not do that, and there is no evidence that he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did that. So what should I do? We disagreed, and I asked him for evidence to that effect, and he replied that during the iqaamah it is not permissible to greet anyone with salaam, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not do that.

So my question is:

If this imam right in what he says? Is it permissible for the imam to come from behind the worshippers and from a distance when the iqaamah is being given for the prayer?
Praise be to Allah.
	Firstly: 
	

	It is prescribed 
	for the one who enters the mosque – whether he is the imam or one of the 
	worshippers – to greet the people in the mosque with salaam, because of the 
	general meaning of the hadiths that have been narrated concerning this 
	matter. For greeting with salaam generates love and harmony among people, 
	and not greeting with salaam generates ill feeling, resentment and grudges 
	among people.

	In the answer to 
	question no. 114225 we stated that the view of most 
	of the scholars is that it is permissible to greet with salaam a person who 
	is praying so long as that will not lead to distraction or cause one who 
	lacks knowledge to spoil his prayer.

	Shaykh Ibn Baaz 
	(may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:

	If a person 
	enters the mosque, should he greet the people with salaam?

	He replied: He 
	should greet the people in the mosque with salaam. If there is someone in 
	the mosque, he should greet him with salaam before he starts to pray. He 
	should say salaam, then start his prayer, whether it is a prayer to greet 
	the mosque (tahiyyat al-masjid) or regular Sunnah prayer. If the 
	people in the mosque are busy, he should still greet them with salaam, even 
	if they are reading Qur’an. The one who is reading can pause, say “Wa 
	‘alaykum as-salaam,” then resume his reading.

	End quote from
	
	Fataawa Noor ‘ala ad-Darb 
	(11/344).

	Shaykh ‘Abd 
	al-Kareem al-Khudayr (may Allah preserve him) was asked:

	Some people, 
	when they enter the mosque, give the greeting of salaam, even though the 
	people who are there may be busy, praying or reading Qur’an. Should one give 
	the greeting of salaam in this instance, and what about returning the 
	greeting on the part of the one who is there?

	He replied:

	If the Prophet 
	(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was greeted with salaam whilst he 
	was praying, he would return the greeting with a gesture. So the one who 
	enters the mosque should give the greeting of salaam; one who is reading 
	Quran should return the greeting, one who is sitting there should return the 
	greeting, and the one who is praying should also return the greeting, with a 
	gesture. End quote.


	http://www.khudheir.com/text/4068

	It is not 
	appropriate to be hasty in passing judgement before examining the matter, 
	and describe every action for which one does not know of specific evidence 
	as being an innovation. A scholar may reach a conclusion, based on his 
	examination of the shar‘i texts, that a particular action serves a clear 
	interest, and there is nothing in the shar‘i texts to the contrary; rather 
	the general shar‘i guidelines support it in principle and point to it. Thus 
	is more akin to al-maslahah al-mursalah 
	(consideration of public 
	interest) 
	than to innovation (bid‘ah).

	See the answer 
	to question no. 160876

	If someone 
	researches the question of whether the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah 
	be upon him) greeted his companions (may Allah be pleased with them) every 
	time he entered the mosque, perhaps he will not find any evidence to that 
	effect, so he may think that doing that is an innovation. Hence, if he is an 
	imam, he may enter the mosque and the people may make room for him, and he 
	may pass between their rows and their groups, whilst they are looking at 
	him, not speaking and not greeting them with salaam, on the grounds that 
	this is contrary to the Sunnah and is, in his mind, an innovation which it 
	is not permissible to do! Such ijtihad is subject to further review: 
	spreading the greeting of salaam is a Sunnah and is more emphatically so in 
	the mosque; there is nothing wrong with greeting someone who is praying; and 
	greeting with salaam is one of the greatest means of spreading love and 
	affection among people. So it is prescribed to do it, especially if not 
	doing it may generate ill feeling and resentment. Paying attention to all of 
	these factors is part of the Sunnah and is part of Islam. 

	If we may 
	sometimes refrain from doing something that is recommended and prescribed, 
	for fear that it may undermine some clear interest, then doing something 
	which is supported by the shar‘i texts in general terms – rather the shar‘i 
	texts emphasise the importance of spreading it and doing it at all times, 
	even if there is no proof that it should be done at a particular time or in 
	a particular situation – in accordance with the general guidelines and in 
	accordance with a clear interest, is more appropriate.

	Yes, if the imam 
	enters the mosque when the mu’adhdhin is giving the iqaamah for the prayer, 
	and the people are busy getting up to pray and straightening their rows, 
	then there is no blame on the imam or anyone else if he enters the mosque 
	without saying salaam. The matter is broad in scope.

	With regard to 
	the issue of entering from the back of the mosque, and making his way to the 
	mihrab, this depends on the design of the mosque and its doors that lead to 
	the outside. If the mosque has a door at the front which is nearer to the 
	mihrab than the rear doors, then it is preferable to enter from that door, 
	and is less likely to lead to stepping over people and pushing through the 
	rows, unless the rear door is easier for the imam and more accessible to 
	him.

	Whatever the 
	case, such an action should not be the cause of disputes, differences and 
	division. The members of the congregation should not condemn the imam for 
	such matters, especially if he thinks that what he is doing in this instance 
	is the right thing, and that is not his usual habit or attitude with people 
	in other situations, and he does not usually refrain from greeting people 
	with salaam. Rather he is only refraining from giving the greeting of salaam 
	in this situation on the basis of his misunderstanding of the Sunnah. So 
	such a person should not be condemned or criticised for such an attitude; 
	rather he should be given sincere advice and the matter should be discussed 
	with him, and if it does not become clear to him that it is contrary to the 
	Sunnah, then we hope that there will be no blame or sin on him.

	And Allah knows 
	best.