He (s.a.w.) said...

He (s.a.w.) said: “There are five things which I do not abandon till I die and (one of them) is greeting children so that it can remain a custom after me.”[^7] However, it can be gathered from the traditions narrated in this chapter that all Muslims should precede each other in greeting, especially it being the duty of the young greeting the elder.

Little contemplation will clarify that these narrations are not in conflict, but they are complementary to each other and it is best to practice all of them.

This means that the duty of every person in the Islamic society is to precede in the greeting, but etiquette requires that the younger greet the older, but if for any reason the younger person delays or hesitates to greet the elder one, the elder has an upbringing duty to greet the younger one and thereby making him understand his shortcomings and faults.

This action, especially in respect to children, has a better upbringing effect, and this is why the Prophet of Islam (s.a.w.) used to greet the children in order to attract the attention of his followers to the upbringing effects of honouring the personality of the child and respecting his feelings. 4.3: Taking the Elders as Examples 467. Imam ‘Ali (a.s.) said: “The young among you should take example of your elders, and the elders should be affectionate to the young ones.

You should not be like the crude men of the Age of Ignorance who neither had the understanding of religion nor did they contemplate about Allah.

The Prophet (s.a.w.) said: “The believers are brethren. They fulfil the needs of each other, and by fulfilling each other’s needs, Allah will fulfil their needs on Judgment Day.”[^9] 469. The Prophet (s.a.w.) said: “Allah will grant all the needs of he who seeks to fulfil the need of his brother.”[^10] 470.

al-Kafi , narrating from Safwan al-JammÁl who said: “I was sitting with Abu ‘Abdullah [al-Sadiq] (a.s.) when a man from Mecca named Maymun entered and complained about paying the rent of his animals.