# selamün aleyküm



## beautilful_garbage

is this turkish:
salam aleikum

and if it is... what does it mean?. thank you!


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## ~ceLine~

It means approximately "hello" we use it in Turkish like "Selam-ın Aleyküm" .. The word which you wrote is the written in Arabic. You know common words


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## badgrammar

Selamlar..

Just a small question about the use of "Selam-ın Aleyküm" in Turkish - actually, it seems like Turkish people do not use it very much at all, atleast I have rarely heard it used there.  Selam, yes, of course, but not the "aleyküm" part.  

When I traveled to other countries with a majority muslim population (North African countries, in particular), I heard it all the time.  But almost never in Turkey.  I would even say I don't think I ever heard it in Turkey, although I know every Turk knows the meaning and use of the phrase. 

Am I right to think it is not often used in Turkey?


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## ~ceLine~

You're right at all, it is not usefull, but it's possible hearing the people who use it.


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## badgrammar

Is it maybe more used by the older generation, or in certain regions?


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## ~ceLine~

%99 it's used by older generation  ..


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## Chazzwozzer

badgrammar said:


> Is it maybe more used by the older generation, or in certain regions?


From my own experience, devout Muslims tend to greet people saying "selamün aleyküm" and the expected response is always "aleyküm selam".


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## ukuca

Mostly religious people use the greeting phrase "Selamın aleyküm" in Turkey. You can consider it as devout Muslims' way of greeting.


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## badgrammar

Tamam, anliyorum ...  Maybe that is why it is not something people would say to a (female) person who does not look very Turkish (or Muslim, although obviously, there are also fair-skinned and blue-eyed Turks and Muslims).  But I also have another question...  Is it something that women also say?  Even in other countries (arabic speaking, from my experience), it always seemed odd for me as a woman to say to a man "Selam alekum" (the arabic version of the phrase, from what I have been told),  the few times I tried it.  

Is it more of a masculine greeting, or is it just strange from a foreigner who is probably not Muslim? 

In the same vein, there might me "Allah ismarladik" (sorry no accents on this keyboard), or other expressions with "Allah" in them (I think of "Allah rahatliksin", also, or something like that)...  Is it just "out of place" for a (presumably) non-muslim to use phrases that refer to Allah?


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## Gencebay

badgrammar said:


> Selamlar..
> 
> Just a small question about the use of "Selam-ın Aleyküm" in Turkish - actually, it seems like Turkish people do not use it very much at all, atleast I have rarely heard it used there. Selam, yes, of course, but not the "aleyküm" part.
> 
> When I traveled to other countries with a majority muslim population (North African countries, in particular), I heard it all the time. But almost never in Turkey. I would even say I don't think I ever heard it in Turkey, although I know every Turk knows the meaning and use of the phrase.
> 
> Am I right to think it is not often used in Turkey?


 
by sharp contrast it is really very often used in Turkey by nearly everyone not just by older generations


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## Gencebay

badgrammar said:


> Tamam, anliyorum ... Maybe that is why it is not something people would say to a (female) person who does not look very Turkish (or Muslim, although obviously, there are also fair-skinned and blue-eyed Turks and Muslims). But I also have another question... Is it something that women also say? Even in other countries (arabic speaking, from my experience), it always seemed odd for me as a woman to say to a man "Selam alekum" (the arabic version of the phrase, from what I have been told), the few times I tried it.
> 
> Is it more of a masculine greeting, or is it just strange from a foreigner who is probably not Muslim?
> 
> In the same vein, there might me "Allah ismarladik" (sorry no accents on this keyboard), or other expressions with "Allah" in them (I think of "Allah rahatliksin", also, or something like that)... Is it just "out of place" for a (presumably) non-muslim to use phrases that refer to Allah?


 

Yes, to some extent you are right; I mean it is used by men more often than women, but this does not mean that it can't be used by women and especially among devout women


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## badgrammar

Gencebay said:


> by sharp contrast it is really very often used in Turkey by nearly everyone not just by older generations



I am surprised you say that, that it is used _very often_ in Turkey seems to be in contrast with what the other posters wrote, and certainly in contrast with my experience.  I have spent a lot of time in Turkey, in different contexts, and don't think I ever heard it used - but mostly I have been around  NON devout people, and most of them around 30 years old and younger, and always, I have been along the coast, never in the north, or center, or east of Turkey.  Are you sure it's not used more/less in certain regions?


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## Gencebay

badgrammar said:


> I am surprised you say that, that it is used _very often_ in Turkey seems to be in contrast with what the other posters wrote, and certainly in contrast with my experience. I have spent a lot of time in Turkey, in different contexts, and don't think I ever heard it used - but mostly I have been around NON devout people, and most of them around 30 years old and younger, and always, I have been along the coast, never in the north, or center, or east of Turkey. Are you sure it's not used more/less in certain regions?


 
I must first say that using Selamun Aleyküm is not restricted only to devout people; I mean whether a person is devout or not, s/he may use it. I have never been along the coast. The people there may not use it, but on the whole using selamun aleykum is more or less something like tradition in Turkish people largely becuase it may stem from the fact that Turkish culture has been highly affected by Arabian culture


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## ukuca

The phrase is also insistently used by some people to manifest their political/sociological aspect as if to point out that they are true Muslims or devout people. Because of this usage by "political Islam", some people avoid using the phrase even though it's a cultural  and frequently used salutation.


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## Gencebay

ukuca said:


> The phrase is also insistently used by some people to manifest their political/sociological aspect as if to point out that they are true Muslims or devout people. Because of this usage by "political Islam", some people avoid using the phrase even though it's a cultural and frequently used salutation.


 

I think it is not a good tihng to use such phrases as political İslam or moderate İslam or whatever, because İslam is İslam, anyway we can't determne who will use selamun aleykum; any person can use it whether devout or not, whether to manifest their aspect or not


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## ukuca

Gencebay said:


> I think it is not a good tihng to use such phrases as political İslam or moderate İslam or whatever, because İslam is İslam, anyway we can't determne who will use selamun aleykum; any person can use it whether devout or not, whether to manifest their aspect or not


 
I don't disagree with that. I simply try to point out the situation going on. Checking out the entries in the popular Turkish dictionary/forum site will verify people's diverse opinions about this.  http://sozluk.sourtimes.org/show.asp?t=selamun+aleykum&nr=y&pt=selaminaleykum


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## Gencebay

This website doesn't give sound information on the whole


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## beautilful_garbage

so what you all are saying is that salam aleikum or selamün aleyküm only means hello?? 
when someone say that, what are turkish people often answer?


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## Chazzwozzer

beautilful_garbage said:


> so what you all are saying is that salam aleikum or selamün aleyküm only means hello??


Selamün aleykem is the spelling that is considered to be correct, but TDK, the official language regulator, insists on the compound spelling: selamünaleyküm.


beautilful_garbage said:


> when someone say that, what are turkish people often answer?


_Aleyküm selam_.


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## badgrammar

But Gencebay has a good point: No one yet has given a transliteration of the phrase.  I found on Wikepedia "Peace be with you", and the response (aleikum selam) "With you be peace".  But that does not sound quite right.  Because there is the name of Allah in there, right?  Isn't it more "may god be in you?".  Or what? 

I also saw there that it may come from Hebrew, as *sholom aleichem...  

*So I don't know, really, where it comes from and what it means, and who uses it Türkiye'de ...

A note, Gence, is that the great thing about this forum is that if you have more information, or anyone else does, you can come write it here.  Whatever it is that you feel was not good in the explanation, please, feel free to expand upon it, no problem.  That is why this is a good forum for those who like languages.


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## bErkEr

beautilful_garbage said:


> so what you all are saying is that salam aleikum or selamün aleyküm only means hello??
> when someone say that, what are turkish people often answer?


 
yes "selamün aleyküm" 's real mean is "hi" .

hi : selam 
hello : merhaba

when someone says selam , you say selam.
when someone says selamün aleyküm , you say aleyküm selam.

but "aleyküm selam" and "selamün aleyküm" are arabic words.
In turkey before 1 November 1928 we were using arabic alfabet but after 1928 we are using latin alfabet and new words. ok? could i help you


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## badgrammar

Tesekkürler, bErkEr...

Selam, yes it's "hi"...

But "selamün aleyküm is "hello", and "aleyküm" must be something like, ala(+e Allah), that(ki), you "üm).  But maybe it is just very arabic and so does not have a strong meaning in Turkish?

It is a very good question, and for sure, in arabic speaking regions it is very common, even the "norm" as a greeting.  In any case, I enjoy reading all of your opinions and viewpoints in the subject!


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## bErkEr

No selamün aleyküm is "hi" and it has not a strong meaning in Turkish because we are using "selam" in stead of "selamün aleyküm".We are new generation maybe someone who has strong belief , that person say that.


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## bErkEr

If i could not tell myself , excuse me.But i tried with my suitable sentences


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## ukuca

badgrammar said:


> But Gencebay has a good point: No one yet has given a transliteration of the phrase.  I found on Wikepedia "Peace be with you", and the response (aleikum selam) "With you be peace".  But that does not sound quite right.  Because there is the name of Allah in there, right?  Isn't it more "may god be in you?".  Or what?
> 
> I also saw there that it may come from Hebrew, as *sholom aleichem...
> 
> *So I don't know, really, where it comes from and what it means, and who uses it Türkiye'de ...
> 
> A note, Gence, is that the great thing about this forum is that if you have more information, or anyone else does, you can come write it here.  Whatever it is that you feel was not good in the explanation, please, feel free to expand upon it, no problem.  That is why this is a good forum for those who like languages.



 A lot of resource translates the phrase "selamün aleyküm" as "peace be with you" (and some translates as “peace be upon you” ) which by the way exists in The Bible (Luke 24:36, John 20:19-21)

  Luke 24:36 - While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "*Peace be with you.*"

_In Turkish translation (İncil) Luka 24:36: Bunları anlatırken İsa gelip aralarında durdu. Onlar “Size esenlikler olsun!” dedi._

  John 20:19-21 - On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "*Peace be with you!*" After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, "*Peace be with you!* As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

_In Turkish translation (İncil) Yuhanna 20:19-21: haftanın o ilk günü akşam olunca, öğrencilerin Yahudi yetkililerden korkusu nedeniyle bulundukları yerin kapıları kapalıyken İsa geldi, ortalarında durup, “Size esenlikler olsun!” dedi. Bunu söyledikten sonra ellerini be böğrünü gösterdi. Öğrenciler Rab’bi görünce sevindiler. İsa yine onlara “Size esenlikler olsun!” dedi. Baba beni gönderdiği gibi, ben de sizi gönderiyorum._

  Regarding to many philologists claiming “Arabic”, “Hebrew” and “Aramaic” are very similar Semitic languages, *sholom aleichem, selamün aleyküm *and it’s version in Aramiac (the language of Jesus) could be derived from the same parent Semitic language. Or is it just my imagination . I wish some people who can speak those languages help on this matter.


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## Flaminius

For your information, *selamün aleyküm* and the likes belong to the common Semitic heritage:
Hebrew: Shalom `aleikhem.
Arabic: As-salaamu `aleikum.
My knowledge on Aramaic is far from mention-worthy so let me just mention that I found _shlaamaa_ as the Syriac word for peace.

I wonder where the Turkish _selamün aleyküm_ is from.  Probably an alternate form in Arabic?


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## Gencebay

I can't agree with those who say that selamun aleykum only means ''hello''; Selamun aleykum has a much stronger meaning than Hello has. Yes it may have contain 'hello' more or less, but its exact meaning is: ''may the peace of God be on you''


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## Chazzwozzer

Gencebay said:


> but its exact meaning is: ''may the peace of God be on you''


Exact meaning? Well, the original Arabic phrase *السلام عليكم *_(As-salaamu Alaikum__) _actually means "Peace be upon you."


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## avok

badgrammar said:


> Selamlar..
> 
> Just a small question about the use of "Selam-ın Aleyküm" in Turkish - actually, it seems like Turkish people do not use it very much at all, atleast I have rarely heard it used there. Selam, yes, of course, but not the "aleyküm" part.
> 
> When I traveled to other countries with a majority muslim population (North African countries, in particular), I heard it all the time. But almost never in Turkey. I would even say I don't think I ever heard it in Turkey, although I know every Turk knows the meaning and use of the phrase.
> 
> They are Arabic speaking countries hence it is normal that they use this phrase quite often, they simply greet each other in their very own language which is Arabic.
> 
> Am I right to think it is not often used in Turkey?
> 
> Yes. It is not that often used, depending on the social and religious tendancies of the speaker.


 


badgrammar said:


> Tamam, anliyorum ... Maybe that is why it is not something people would say to a (female) person who does not look very Turkish (or Muslim, although obviously, there are also fair-skinned and blue-eyed Turks and Muslims). But I also have another question... Is it something that women also say? Even in other countries (arabic speaking, from my experience), it always seemed odd for me as a woman to say to a man "Selam alekum" (the arabic version of the phrase, from what I have been told), the few times I tried it.
> 
> Is it more of a masculine greeting, or is it just strange from a foreigner who is probably not Muslim?
> 
> I guess so, usually men but not women greet each other like this. I don't know why . Good observation, though
> 
> In the same vein, there might me "Allah'a ismarladik" (sorry no accents on this keyboard), or other expressions with "Allah" in them (I think of "Allah rahatlik versin ", also, or something like that)... Is it just "out of place" for a (presumably) non-muslim to use phrases that refer to Allah?
> 
> No, It is not out of place for a non muslim to use such a phrase...why should it be at first place? The word Allah loses its religious meaning in such phrases. When I was little, I did not even know that the expression "Allah'a ısmarladık" has the word "Allah" in it  I thought it was "Allaasmarladık" just a word on its own..


 


beautilful_garbage said:


> so what you all are saying is that salam aleikum or selamün aleyküm only means hello??
> when someone say that, what are turkish people often answer?


 
Salam Aleikum is not Turkish. It is Arabic written in Latin script. So I guess the person who wrote to you was Arabic speaking.



badgrammar said:


> But Gencebay has a good point: No one yet has given a transliteration of the phrase. I found on Wikepedia "Peace be with you", and the response (aleikum selam) "With you be peace". But that does not sound quite right. Because there is the name of Allah in there, right? Isn't it more "may god be in you?". Or what?
> 
> The name of Allah is "not" there, badgrammar.
> 
> I also saw there that it may come from Hebrew, as *sholom aleichem... *
> 
> So I don't know, really, where it comes from and what it means, and who uses it Türkiye'de ...


 


badgrammar said:


> Tesekkürler, bErkEr...
> 
> Selam, yes it's "hi"...
> 
> But "selamün aleyküm is "hello", and "aleyküm" must be something like, ala(+e Allah), that(ki), you "üm). But maybe it is just very arabic and so does not have a strong meaning in Turkish?
> 
> As I said before, it has not got "Allah" in it. One should ask the meaning of "Aleyküm" in the Arabic forum but it has not got any reference to Allah. So people who don't use this phrase in Turkey don't use it not because it has got a reference to Allah but they are not just used to it. I never use it.
> 
> To sum it up, this phrase is usually used by traditional men and amongst themselves.


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## ukuca

About.com gives the definitions as:

*“**Assalamu alaikum**” *(Esselamün Aleyküm)*: *A common greeting among Muslims meaning "Peace be with you."  

Extended form, "*Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah*" (Esselamün Aleyküm ve Rahmetullahü): May the peace and mercy of Allah be with you. 
- As you know “rahmet” means “mercy; compassion”. TDK gives the definition as: birinin suçunu bağışlama, yarlıgama, merhamet etme

And extended form:"*Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh*" (Esselamün Aleyküm ve Rahmetüllahi ve Berakatühü): May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be with you. 
- I’m guessing that it’s “bereket”, meaning “abundance, blessing, fertility”  (TDK gives the definition as: bolluk, gürlük, ongunluk, feyiz, feyezan)

So it’s possible that, the name Allah exists not in the first one but in the second and the third.


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## avok

ukuca said:


> About.com gives the definitions as:
> 
> *“**Assalamu alaikum**” *(Esselamün Aleyküm)*: *A common greeting among Muslims meaning "Peace be with you."
> 
> So it’s possible that, the name Allah exists not in the first one but in the second and the third.


 
Badgrammar thought that "*alai*kum" has the word Allah in it which is not the case.


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## cherine

For further reading about this Arabic expression, you can check this thread in the Arabic forum 

To sum it up: 
the complete expression is *assalamu alaikum wa raHmatu 'l-laahi wa barakaatu*
assalamu alaikum= peace be upon you (no mention of God in this part)
wa = and
raHmatu'l-laahi = the mercy of God (Allah is pronounced a bit differently due to the "liaison" like in French)
wa = and
barakatu(hu) = his blessing
So, it's Peace be upon you, and God's mercy and blessings.

Another side note: Allah is the Arabic word for God, it's not only Mulsim because Christian Arabs use it too, and it's used in the Arabic translation of the Bible.


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## avok

cherine said:


> Another side note: Allah is the Arabic word for God, it's not only Mulsim because Christian Arabs use it too, and it's used in the Arabic translation of the Bible.


 
Yes, I totally agree with you


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## Spectre scolaire

badgrammar said:
			
		

> But Gencebay has a good point: No one yet has given a transliteration translation of the phrase. I found on Wikepedia "Peace be with you", and the response (aleikum selam) "With you be peace". But that does not sound quite right. Because there is the name of Allah in there, right? Isn't it more "may god be in you?". Or what?


 There is no _Allah_ in this greeting. The first syllable starts with a pharyngal fricative in Arabic, and there is no such consonant in the word _Allah_, which is also written with double [l] and pronounced as a velar lateral – as the only Arabic word with a non-palatal [l].

As for a correct transliteration[sic] of the greeting in Arabic, it would be _salam alaikum_. The exact trans_lation_ of this expression is given in the link *salam aleikum* in the Arabic forum, cf. #3 _Whodunit_ and the following. (Note that [e] in Arabic is an allomorph of /a/, cf. the three basic vowels in Arabic, /a/, /i/, /u/).

The reason why Arabic _salam alaikum_ has become _sel__âmaleyküm_ in Turkish (usually written in one word), is that every short [a] in Arabic becomes e in Turkish, and every long one remains – the _ in the Arabic diphthong [ai] becoming a glide, a semivowel (written y in Turkish). Likewise, every short  in Arabic becomes ü __in Turkish, and the long one remains as u. 

As for the use of this greeting in today’s Turkey, I agree that it is mostly used among elderly people – if we restrict our survey to cities. In smaller places, however – like in numerous villages along the Aegean and Mediterranean coast that I have been regularly visiting over the last 30 years or so (and which may be as “secular” as many larger places) – the greeting is very common, and I think it is even more so in inner Anatolia. There is definitely a religious flavour that clings to it, but to say that the greeting is only used by devout Muslims would be like saying that “Grüß Gott!” in Bavaria and in Austria is only used by devout Catholics. Many greetings of this type have become fixed idioms and, as such, devoid of any deeper religious significance. 

To draw a socio-linguistic borderline for the use of selâmaleyküm and its reply aleykümselâm in Turkey would probably require an entire enquête with a number of parameters according to social setting, time and space.
 ​ 
*PS*: I wrote the above lines when I happened to see that this discussion was coming up not realizing that I was barred from posting it using a computer I had access to at the time. Now, most of the questions have been solved (cf. especially ##32 & 33), but reading through the whole link, I still think my contribution could be of some value. I hope you excuse me for this late intrusion; I have not been following up the WR fora discussions for a long time. _


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## Tabac

*Replying to Spectre. Thanks for your apparently well-researched information. I never assumed that the greeting and response had any part of "Allah" in them because of the similarity to the Hebrew.*

*I lived for a year in a small town near Balıkesir. In nice weather I often walked with other men on the outskirts of the town, and whenever we came upon someone (male or female), the greetings were said.*

*I believe I was told that the practice stems from nomadic peoples in the desert: it was sort of a guarantee that the parties were safe. If I come across a man who has evil plans, my use of this greeting will make it "sinful" for him to carry out his evil plans. [I don't know if this is true or not, but it certainly makes a good story.]*


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## eximun

I happen to live in an Arab country, according to my students 'Salaam Maleikum' simply means 'Peace be with you'. The  proper reply 'Maleikum Salaam', is more or less 'With you too'. Sometimes the anticipated reply precedes the actual greeting itself, as a result the phrase assumes various forms. Most of the time though the short form 'Salaam' is used, especially among young people and friends It doesn't mean 'hello' (that's 'marhaba') although it's used as a common greeting form, just like it was used in the Christian world a while ago. I wouldn't try to look for the correct spelling, because the pronunciation in Arabic varies from region to region, and after all the original words are in Arabic not Latin.
Lastly, a reflection on it's usage in Turkey, it is used by older people, or some of the more religiously conservative. It is an Arabic greeting and therefore young people find it uncool if not obsolete, at least in the West of the country.


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## Binapesi

I'm eighteen and I use "Selamün Aleyküm" when I happen to get into a house or school or any place which includes "Muslim" people in it. (Not because you say "Selamün Aleyküm" to Muslim people only which our Prophet Muhammed (p.b.u.h.) said it to non-Muslim people too, but because they just don't want to be greeted that way)
I don't know, maybe because the phrase seems to be too long or it sounds old or religious; young people, especially non-Muslim ones, don't use it, they use simply "Selam" instead. If someone  says "Selam", I answer "Aleyküm Selam" anyway and it doesn't sound unsuitable at all.

And coming to the meaning, it simply means "Selam be upon you". But it's not like a "Merhaba". It's warmer and kinder. Maybe it makes me feel so, because I'm Muslim but "Selam" has so many meanings that it can fill a thick book. Like peace, safety, health, comfort, salvation .. That's how I use it at least.

I hope it's been helpful ..


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## Prince_of_Persia

Salamon alaykom is an arabic phrase for salutation which is clear to translate. and before I say the meaning let me mention to my American friend thet there's no  name of Allah in it. of course SALAM is one of the God's names but there are many words like that which have no religious aspect as it doesn't either. But as for the meaning, wikipedia is right, but I think "alakom ass-salaam" which is an arabic word that's common in persian and turkish and Azari as I know, has an emphasizing meaning for response, it means like: The peace be with you as well.


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