And finally, we conclude and mark the end of our prayer by saying what is known as the تسليم tasleem, السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته translated as “May Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah, and His blessings,” the intended audience here being our fellow-worshippers (if present), and the recording angels.
We have already looked at the meaning of these words individually throughout this series, so we shall instead now look at the meaning of this phrase within this context.
The word سلام salam is derived from the meaning of safety and security; we wish this upon anyone who has fulfilled the command of Allah in prayer, and it entails that they are granted safety from the tribulations of this world and exonerated from the punishment of the Hereafter.
To genuinely desire سلام salam in this world is to safeguard our faith, hearts and minds from the darkness of sins through the reverence of Allah in our worldly deeds and behaviour. It is to safeguard our friends - or even enemies - from any harm we might cause, whether it be verbal, through backbiting and slander, or physical, through our actions.
If we do not genuinely try to grant salam to those around us, then it might be considered that we are actually being disingenuous in spreading the greeting to others.
The core essence of the prayer is that it acts as a divine blessing from Allah to us, imprinting its influence on our soul from start to finish. As we utter the concluding tasleem, we re-enter the worldly life with a transformed soul, enriched with the essence of faith nestled deep within our hearts.