As-salamu alaykum

As-salamu alaykum (Arabic: ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ, as-salāmu ʿalaykum, Arabic: [as.sa.laː.mu ʕa.laj.kum] ^ⓘ), also written salamun alaykum and typically rendered in English as salam alaykum, is a greeting in Arabic that means 'Peace be upon you'. The salām (سَلَام, meaning 'peace') has become a religious salutation for Muslims worldwide when greeting each other, though its use as a greeting pre-dates Islam, and is also common among Arabic speakers of other religions (such as Arab Christians and Mizrahi Jews).

In colloquial speech, often only salām, 'peace', is used to greet a person. This shorter greeting, salām (سَلَام), has come to be used as the general salutation in other languages as well.

The typical response to the greeting is wa ʿalaykumu s-salām (وَعَلَيْكُمُ ٱلسَّلَامُ, Arabic: [wa ʕa.laj.kum mus.sa.laːm] ^ⓘ, 'and peace be upon you'). In the Quranic period one repeated as-salamu alaykum, but the inverted response is attested in Arabic not long after its appearance in Hebrew. The phrase may also be expanded to as-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-raḥmatu -llāhi wa-barakātuh^ū (ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ ٱللَّٰهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ, [as.sa.laː.mu ʕa.laj.kum wa.raħ.ma.tu‿ɫ.ɫaː.hi wa.ba.ra.kaː.tu.huː]), 'Peace be upon you, as well as the mercy of God and His blessings'.

The use of salaam as an Arabic greeting predates Islam, and cognates in older Semitic languages (Aramaic šlāmā ʿalḵōn (ܫܠܵܡܵܐ ܥܲܠܟ݂ܘܿܢ), and Hebrew shalom aleichem (שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם shālôm ʻalêḵem)) can be traced back thousands of years.