"If some one is reading quran in masjeed and other person coms in and say "assalamualykum" loudly- 1) Is it mandatory for person reading quran to say ""Walaykumsalam""? 2) If other persons also present in masjeed and they reply to his salam then is it OK for person reading to quran not to reply his salam?"
All praise be to Allah and may His blessings and peace be on His last messenger, Muhammad,
Allah said,
"وَإِذَا حُيِّيتُم بِتَحِيَّةٍ فَحَيُّوا بِأَحْسَنَ مِنْهَا أَوْ رُدُّوهَا إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ حَسِيبًا."
“And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet [in return] with one better than it or [at least] return it [in a like manner]. Indeed, Allah is ever, over all things, an Accountant.” [Sahih International 4:86]
It is mandatory to reply to the greeting of “assalaam” if the person is individually addressed by it. If a group is addressed by it, and some of them replied, it is only preferred for the rest to reply, not mandatory, since it is their collective obligation to reply, and when some of them do, the rest are not obliged to reply. Allah knows best.
