Young Man Greeting a Young Woman

Q: Is it permissible for a young man to greet a young woman with salaam or any other way, and vice versa? If one party greets first, should the other reply, in view of the fact that replying to a salaam is wajib?

A: It is stated in Durr-e-Mukhtaar a famous Hanafi work on Fiqh, that a man shall not speak to a strange woman except if she is advanced in age. If this old woman sneezes or greets, the man may say yarhamu kallah or reply her salaam. This does not apply to young or middle-aged females. It is stated in Khaaniya: “When a woman greets a man, the latter should only reply in an audible voice if the woman is old. If it happens to be a young woman, he shall reply silently (to himself). Similarly, if a man greets a strange woman with salaam, the answer is the reverse.” (That is, an elderly woman would reply his greeting, not the young woman.)