Re: khuda hafiz vs. allah hafiz vs. salaams vs. salaamualaikum
*Khuda Hafiz *
Khuda is Persian for God / god. Hafiz is Arabic for protector. Brought over to urdu with the rest of the persian influence. Persians who are non muslim also use this salutation. Many correctionalists have pointed out this is incorrect and we should say Allah Hafiz instead. While i don't fully agree with that view, i've found myself avoiding using Khuda Hafiz (talk about peer pressure!)
**Allah Hafiz
**This is considered to be the more correct salutation but it is still made in pakistan, no connection with actual Islamic salutations. Non muslim arabs use the word Allah too to refer to God. On MSN you are often corrected by correctionalists to say "AH" instead of "ah" since you have to CAP the "A" to show respect. And if you say Ah then you just sound like you're sighing and often people can take that as the wrong kind of sighing. How sacrilegious!
Salaams
**Cooler way of saying Salaam wa alaikum. Tranlated literally as "peaces**"
**Salaamualaikum
**Incorrect pronunciation of As-Salaam Wa Alaikum. Translated means "Peace be upon you". This is the closest to a proper Islamic salutation, however it is also used by Christian and Jewish arabs. Can be used both as a greeting to meet or part, and is my preferred way of dispensing greetings and salutations.
Of note are the various ways we desis have twisted the pronunciation:
slaa malay kum
slaw lay kum
slaai kum
And as Umar Sharif puts it, Slaaaa Layyyyyy Kum!