Part 15

2) It Is Forbidden To Shake The Hand Of A Woman Who Is A Stranger To You (i.e., one who, according to the Shariah, you are not allowed to be alone with)

Ina narration that she narrated from her father #, ‘Aaisha #, the Mother of the Believers, explained how migrating women would pledge allegiance to the Messenger of Allah #%. She % said, “,.When the women would affirm [their pledge] verbally, the Messenger of Allah #% would say, ‘Go, for you have pledged allegiance.’ No, by Allah, the hand of the Messenger of Allah # never touched the hand of a [stranger] woman; instead, women would perform Bai’ah (pledge allegiance) with speech...) Though it was the normal practice among men to shake hands

2] hadith # 966. Bukhaaree titled a chapter based on this hadith: Shaking, The Hands Of Children.” And about this hadith, Al-Albaanee said, “Its chain is Hasan.”

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when giving Bai’ah, the Prophet #g would have women give Bai’ah with a verbal pledge only. The hadith of Umaimah Bint Raqeeqah % confirms this ruling; in fact, in it is a clear prohibition of shaking hands with women. Speaking of when women would give Bai’ah to the Prophet #, Umaimah % said, “We said, ‘Allah and His Messenger #% are more merciful to us than we are to our own selves; come, and we will give you Bai‘ah, O’ Messenger of Allah.’ The Messenger of Allah 2% said,

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‘Verily, I do not shake hands with women. What I say to 100 women (the wording for the Bai’ah) is tantamount to what I say to one woman (i.e., what I say to each woman among you)...”

Ibn ‘Abdul-Barr said, ‘The Prophet's saying, ‘Verily, 1 do not shake hands with women,’ proves that it is not permissible for a man to make any physical contact with a [stranger] woman; he may not touch her with his hand and he may not shake hands with her.”

Related Issue: Some people believe that it is permissible to shake a stranger woman’s hand from behind a barrier, such as a piece of cloth or the sleeve of one’s shirt; however, they are mistaken. It is categorically forbidden to shake a stranger woman’s hand. True, there are narrations in which it is mentioned that women would give Bai’ah to the Prophet # from above his garment, but those are Mursal narrations (a Mursal narration is one that is related from a Taabi’ee, who related from the Prophet # without mentioning the name of the Companion from whom he took the narration), which are not strong enough to counter the clear, authentic narrations that forbid the shaking of hands with women strangers. About the narrations which mention that women would give Bai’ah to the Prophet #% from above his

"] Related by Ahmad (26466), At-Tirmidhee (1597), An-Nassaaee (4181), Ibn Maajah (2874), and Maalik in Al-Muwatta (1842).

garment, Al-Albaanee said, “They are all Mursal; Al-Haafidh mentioned them in Al-Fath (8/488), so one may not use them as proofs, especially considering the fact that they contradict narrations that are more authentic than them...”

3) When You Shake Someone's Hand, It Is Recommended To Hold On, So That He Is The First To Draw His Hand Away

Anas Ibn Maalik 4 said, “If a man faced the Prophet #¢ and shook his hand, the Prophet #% would not pull his hand away from that man’s hand, so that the man would be the one to pull his hand away...”"! We learn from this hadith that it is recommended not only to shake hands but also to prolong the duration of the handshake, but of course not to the degree of hardship or discomfort.

Question: When two people shake hands and when they both prolong the duration of the handshake, which of the two should be the first to draw his hand away?

Answer: Shaikh Taqee-Ud-Deen said, ‘The rule in this situation is this: whoever is almost sure that the other party will draw his hand away should keep his hand [locked in the handshake]. Were it recommended for both of them to hold on to the other person’s hand, the handshake would continue indefinitely. And the principle mentioned by ‘Abdul-Qaadir) is good - that the one who should draw his hand away is the one who initiated the handshake.”

4) Standing To Greet One Who Has Just Arrived

There are three ways you can stand to confer some kind of honor upon another person: 1} You can stand while the other person is sitting down;

"I Related by At-Tirmidhee (2490) and Ibn Maajah (3716), and by dint of all of its chains, Al-Albaanee ruled that it is authentic. He said, “The hadith is authentic because of these chains and especially because it has other narrations that attest to it.” As-Silsilah As-Saheehah (2485), (5,635)

I Here, Ibn Taymiyyah is referring to a saying of ‘Abdul-Qaadir AlJeelaanee.

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tyrants have their subjects stand to honor them in this way.

2) You can stand to welcome someone who is arriving from outside; doing so is permissible.

3) You can stand when you see someone you know; scholars disagree about the permissibility of this kind of standing.

That you may not stand to honor someone who is sitting down is proven by the following hadith. Jaabir Ibn ‘Abdullah 2 said, “The Messenger of Allah #¢ was ill, and so we prayed behind him while he was sitting down. Abu Bakr . would make people hear the Prophet's Takbeer [i.e., when the Prophet # would say Takbeer (‘ Allahuakbar,” Allah is the Greatest), Abu Bakr @ would say it in a loud voice so that everyone could hear]. The Prophet 3# turned toward us and saw us standing; he signaled us [to sit down], and so we sat down. We all followed him in his prayer, sitting down. After his Sallam (i.e, when he said, ‘Assalaamu ‘Alaikum Warahmatullah/ signaling the end of the prayer), he 2% said,

ay resol Le ok sqoails S28 J Saad ai ws bp by Os lai 6 Gis yy 5EE f

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‘Earlier, you almost did what the people of Faaris and Rome do; they stand before their kings, who remain seated. Therefore, do not do so. Follow your Imams; if he (your Imam) prays standing, then pray standing. And if he prays sitting down, then pray sitting down.’ Without a doubt, this form of standing is forbidden; the hadith clearly states that it is forbidden for people to stand before their leaders and honored ones (when the latter ones are seated). And as I said, it was tyrants who would make their subjects stand before them in this manner.

"I Related by Muslim (413)

We except from this rule situations of necessity. For example, if a man fears that he will be physically attacked, it is okay for someone to stand over him as guard. Also, one may stand in this manner if one intends to honor his brother and at the same time humiliate an enemy; this situation is exemplified by an incident that occurred during Sulh-Al-Hudaibiyyah. The Quraish would send men to negotiate with the Prophet #, and when those emissaries would come, Al-Mugheerah Ibn Sho’bah 4 would stand over the head of the Messenger 2, with a sword in his hand, honoring the Messenger # and at the same time humiliating the emissaries that would come from the Quraish.

The second category of standing for another person is a point of general agreement: it is permissible to stand and welcome someone who is arriving from outside. In his Muzatta, Imam Maalik related the story of ‘Ikrimah Ibn Abee Jahl . accepting Islam. In it, he reported the following: “”...He then accepted Islam and went to the Messenger of Allah # during the Year of the [Makkah] Conquest. As soon as the Messenger of Allah 2 saw him, he rushed to him, in a state of joy, having nothing upon him except his robe, until he (‘Ikrimah 2%) gave Bai’ah to him...”!? And we have hitherto mentioned the story of Ka’ab’s repentance and of Talhah standing to meet him and congratulate him. Ka’ab said, “I entered the Masjid, and the Messenger of Allah #8 was there before me. Then Talhah Ibn ‘Ubaidullah # stood and jogged toward me, until he shook my hand and congratulated me.”

And scholars differ about the third category - standing upon seeing someone. One proof that is cited in regards to this issue is the hadith of Abu Mujliz. He said that Mu’aawiyah # once went out and passed by “Abdullah Ibn ‘Aamir 4 and ‘Abdullah Ibn Az-Zubair 4, who were both seated. Upon seeing Mu’aawiyah #, Ibn ‘Aamir # stood, while Ibn Az-Zubair #, the more composed of the two, remained seated. Mu’aawiyah said, “The Prophet # said,

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Vt. d jee ‘Whomsoever it pleases that Allah's slaves should appear before him, standing up, then let him take a house [for himself] in the Hellfire.)

And the following is the wording of Abu Daawood’s narration: Muaawiyah .# then said to ‘Aamir 4s, “Sit, for I indeed heard the Messenger of Allah #: say,

sue Gey 3 he bi esi ye

‘Whoever loves that men should appear before him, standing up, then let him take his seat in the Hellfire.””!

Though scholars are in disagreement in regards to the issue in question, they all cite this hadith as evidence to support their respective views.

Some scholars maintain that this hadith proves that it is disliked to stand before leaders and respected members of society, for that is what people would do for the leaders of Faris and Rome. They equate this hadith with the aforementioned hadith of Muslim: both prove that it is disliked to stand at the head of a person who is seated, an act of veneration that people of other nations would perform for their leaders.

Other scholars say that the hadith proves that it is disliked to stand for someone upon seeing him arrive from elsewhere; they say that the text of the narration clearly expresses that ruling. Mu’aawiyah related the Prophet’s words when Ibn ‘Aamir stood upon seeing him. The timing of Mu’aawiyah’s words, therefore, is significant to the meaning of the narration. Furthermore, Ibn Az-Zubair 4 did not contradict Mu’aawiyah’s statement, which shows that he shared Mu’aawiyah’s view.

This second group of scholars attempts to refute those who say

' Related by Bukhaaree in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad (977), and Al-Albaanee said, “sahih.””

I Sunan Abu Daawood (5229), and Al-Albaanee said, ‘“‘sahih.”

that Mu’aawiyah’s hadith only proves that it is forbidden to stand for someone who is sitting down. They say that the act of standing for someone who is seated was not even known to the Arabs; it was a practice that was common only to the people of Faris and Rome. Therefore, the narration must indicate a more general prohibition.