Salâm – Peace.
The word salâm comes from a root meaning to be safe and sound, to be intact, without defect. It thus comes to mean “peace”. Salam, like the Hebrew shalom, is used as a greeting. Muslims say: al-salâmu ‘alaykum, “Peace be upon you”, to which the response is wa-‘alaykum al-salâm, ‘And upon you Peace”. As has been pointed out, this greeting is given at the end of the ritual prayer (see post 10 Rak’a).
Peace is a characteristic feature of Paradise. The righteous, when they enter Paradise, hear the greeting: “Peace be with you, because you have remained steadfast” (Q 13: 24). The source of this peace is traced to God himself, the Lord of Mercy (see Q 36:58).
Al-Salâm is in fact one of the Beautiful Names of God:
He is God, there is no other god but him, the King, the Holy One, Source of Peace.
(Q 59:23)
The qur’anic text just says “Peace” (salâm), but the translator obviously considers it insufficient to call God simply Peace, so he feels the need to indicate that God is the Source of Peace.
May God, the Source of Peace, fill our hearts with peace, so that we may be instruments of peace in our world today.
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