ʿAbdullāh ibn Salām was one of the most respected Jewish scholars of Medina. When news came that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace be upon him) had arrived from Mecca, crowds rushed out to see him, and ʿAbdullāh went with them. He later said that he looked carefully at the newcomer's face, and knew at once: “This is not the face of a liar.”
Then he heard the first words the Prophet spoke to the people of his new city. They were not about war or politics or who was in charge. He said: “O people, spread peace, feed others, and pray at night while people are asleep, and you will enter Paradise in peace.”
ʿAbdullāh ibn Salām became a Muslim and a close companion. The Prophet later told his followers: “You will not believe until you love one another. Shall I tell you something which, if you do it, will make you love one another? Spread peace among yourselves” (Muslim 54).
After every prayer, Muslims still say the words he taught: “O God, You are Peace, and from You comes peace. Blessed are You, Owner of majesty and honour” (Muslim 591).
Judaism
“The LORD lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.”
Numbers 6:26 · JPS 1917
Shalom means more than the absence of war. It comes from a root meaning whole or complete. When Gideon built an altar, he named it Adonai-shalom, “the LORD is peace”, and the Talmud draws the conclusion: “Shalom is one of the names of God” (Shabbat 10b). For that reason, some Jewish teachers advised against greeting someone with the word in a bathhouse.
The priestly blessing, still said in synagogues, ends with the gift of peace. Many Jewish prayers close with Oseh shalom: “May He who makes peace in His high places make peace for us.”
Shabbat itself is welcomed with peace. On Friday evening many Jewish families sing Shalom Aleichem at the table, greeting the angels of peace before the meal begins.
Christianity
“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, I give to you. Don't let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.”
John 14:27 · WEB
Christians call Jesus the Prince of Peace, a title they read in Isaiah 9. In John's Gospel, on the night before his death, he tells his friends that his peace is not like the world's peace.
Paul writes of “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7), and Jesus blesses the peacemakers, who “shall be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). In many churches, the congregation shares a sign of peace with strangers before communion.
Quakers, the Religious Society of Friends, made peace a lifelong commitment they call the peace testimony, and many refused to fight in both world wars. The prayer ‘Make me a channel of your peace’, set to music in the 1960s and loved at school assemblies, is based on words long linked with Francis of Assisi.
Islam
“And Allah summoneth to the abode of peace, and leadeth whom He will to a straight path.”
Qur'an 10:25 · Pickthall (1930)
As-Salām appears in the list of Names in Qur'an 59:23. Classical scholars gave it two linked meanings. It names the One who is free of every flaw and every harm, and the One from whom all safety and peace come. Al-Ghazālī added that the person who reflects this Name is someone others are safe with.
Peace runs through Muslim life. The daily greeting is salām. Every prayer ends by turning the head to right and left with salām. Paradise is called Dār as-Salām, the Home of Peace (10:25), and the greeting of its people is “Peace”.
Same and different
Shalom and salām are the same word in two sister languages, and both Judaism and Islam say that it is a Name of God. Christianity shares the greeting and calls Christ the Prince of Peace, believing that peace with God comes through him. Islam builds the word into its own name: islām and salām grow from the same root, s-l-m. All three treat peace as wholeness, not just quiet, and all three put it on their lips when they meet a stranger. They differ in how that peace is given: through the covenant and its commandments, through Christ, or through submission to the One God.
schools / neighboursHello in peaceCollect greetings of peace from your class or street: salām, shalom, pax, amani, shanti. Write them on a poster for a shared noticeboard and talk about why so many languages greet with peace.
faith groupsPeace walkArrange a short walk between a local mosque, church and synagogue (or two of them) with each host saying a one-minute welcome in their own tradition's words of peace.
familiesShalom at the tableBorrow the Friday-night custom of welcoming Shabbat with a song of peace. Before one family meal this week, each say what peace you hope for: at home, at school, or in the world.
neighbours / faith groupsShare the peaceGo to a Sunday service at a local church (A Church Near You lists them). Take part in the sign of peace, when people turn to whoever is near and say, ‘Peace be with you.’ Afterwards, talk about what it felt like to say it to a stranger.
Episode 1
