Adding to “as-salamu ʿalaykum”

Question

When meeting Bakr, Zayd says “السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته”, and Bakr in reply says “ورحمة الله وبركاته ومغفرته”. Is it permissible for Bakr to say this or not? Please write with references to the books. (2) If Zayd says “ورحمة الله وبركاته ومغفرته”, and Bakr in reply, not merely saying “وعليكم السلام ورحمة الله”, also says that the one replying to salam will not say “ومغفرته” — is all of this permissible or impermissible, and is the one answering the question on the right path or not? (3)

Answer

In the narrations “ومغفرته” has also come, and in some even more than that, both in the salam and in the reply; while in some “وبركاته” is stated to be the limit of salam and adding to it is forbidden. For this reason the ʿulama have written that it is mustahabb to give salam thus: “السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته”, and in the reply it is likewise mustahabb, i.e.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.