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As-salamu alaykum
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<p><i>As-salamu alaykum</i> , also written <i>salamun alaykum</i> and typically rendered in English as <i>salam alaykum</i>, is a greeting in <a href="/facts/Arabic/A1e66hVV">Arabic</a> that means 'Peace be upon you'. The <i>salām</i> (سَلَام, meaning 'peace') has become a religious <a href="/facts/Salutation/KfReVdMs">salutation</a> for <a href="/facts/Muslims/W2ukq4pg">Muslims</a> worldwide when greeting each other, though its use as a greeting predates <a href="/facts/Islam/zDLbL45C">Islam</a>, and is also common among <a href="/facts/Arabic/A1e66hVV">Arabic</a> speakers of other religions (such as <a href="/facts/Arab_Christians/5tgvCsnS">Arab Christians</a> and <a href="/facts/Mizrahi_Jews/sJxlNJFP">Mizrahi Jews</a>). </p><p>In colloquial speech, often only <i>salām</i>, 'peace', is used to greet a person. This shorter greeting, <i>salām</i> (سَلَام), has come to be used as the general salutation in other languages as well. </p><p>The typical response to the greeting is <i><a href="/facts/Wa_alaykumu_s-salam/SEALrrcw">wa-ʿalaykumu s-salām</a></i> (وَعَلَيْكُمُ ٱلسَّلَامُ [wa.ʕa.laj.ku.mu‿s.sa.laːm] ⓘ, 'and peace be upon you'). In the Quranic period one repeated <i>as-salamu alaykum</i>, but the inverted response is attested in Arabic not long after its appearance in <a href="/facts/Hebrew_language/hqKCSy9d">Hebrew</a>. The phrase may also be expanded to <i>as-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-raḥmatu -llāhi wa-barakātuhᵘ̄</i> (ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ ٱللَّٰهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ [as.sa.laː.mu ʕa.laj.kum wa.raħ.ma.tu‿ɫ.ɫaː.hi wa.ba.ra.kaː.tu.hu], 'Peace be upon you, as well as the mercy of <a href="/facts/God/EITpdL9t">God</a> and His blessings'). </p><p>The use of <i>salām</i> as an Arabic greeting dates at least to Laqit bin Yamar al-Ayadi (6th century), and <a href="/facts/Cognate/nXETf5Y4">cognates</a> in older <a href="/facts/Semitic_languages/WCYrz4Qm">Semitic languages</a>—<a href="/facts/Aramaic/FpvKez1w">Aramaic</a> <i>šlāmā ʿalḵōn</i> (ܫܠܵܡܵܐ ܥܲܠܟ݂ܘܿܢ) and Hebrew <i><a href="/facts/Shalom_aleichem/bevg0hsu">shalom aleichem</a></i> (שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם <i>shālôm ʻalêḵem</i>)—can be traced back to the <a href="/facts/Old_Testament/YFNzQVcK">Old Testament</a> period. </p>