بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه narrates that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “A believer owes another believer five rights.” The first right mentioned was ‘responding to salam.’[1]
The scholars state that it is compulsory to reply to salam. However, certain cases are exempted from this obligation due other nusoos (textual evidences) of Shariah.
On the issue of a woman saying salam or replying to a man and vice versa, the muhaddith and faqeeh, Mulla Ali Qari quotes Imam Nawawi as saying:
“As for [the case of] a woman with a man, so if she is his wife, his slave girl or a mahram to him then she is like a man to him [in ruling].
But if she is a stranger [non-mahram] to him, [then it is either of two cases,] if she is beautiful [or young][2] with whom fitna is feared, then the man would not say salam to her, but if he does say salam, it is not permissible for her to reply.
A woman should not say salam to a strange man. But if she says salam to him, she does not deserve a reply. If he replies to her salam he would have done something reprehensible.
[The second case is] if she is an old woman with whom fitna is not feared,[3] it is permissible for her to say salam to a man and it would be necessary on him to reply to the salam.”[4]
Since this is the law regarding salam and its reply, which is a right of a Muslim in normal circumstances what would be the ruling of the unnecessary everyday conversations with non-mahram men and women in work places, schools, universities and other social gatherings?
And Allah knows best.
[1] Bukhari #1240, Muslim #1704
[2] Imam Nawawi used the word شابة ‘young girl’ in Sharh Saheeh Muslim Vol.14 Pg.149
[3] In Sharh Saheeh Muslim, Imam Nawawi says that if the old woman is attractive , then salam should not be said to her nor the reply given. Vol.14 Pg.149
[4] Mirqatul Mafateeh Vol.8 Pg.459
