Answer
Wa `alaykum As-Salamu waRahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
It is a good practice to welcome pilgrims before reaching home as long as one does so without excessive fanfare and pomp.
Answering your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a Senior Lecturer and an Islamic Scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
It is a good practice to welcome pilgrims before reaching home as long as one does so without excessive fanfare and pomp. As Imam Nawawi states in Kitab al-Adhkar, welcoming the pilgrims with a prayer like “May Allah accept your hajj, forgive your sins, and replenish your provision” is fine.
We read in a report that the Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed as follows: “O Allah! Forgive those who perform Hajj as well as those they pray for.”
Furthermore, wishing well and congratulating each other for blessings and favors is a good custom; it is bound to enhance and strengthen the bonds of Islamic brotherhood.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.