Monday, April 6, 2015

Manners of Greeting with Salaam, Dought & clear, - * Ruling on male student shaking hands with a female classmate












What is the ruling on a male student shaking hands with a female classmate? What should he do if she holds out her hand to greet him?
Praise be to Allaah.
It is not permitted to study in a mixed setting with female students in one place or in one school or on one bench. This is one of the greatest causes of fitnah (temptation) and it is not permissible for a male or female student to take part in this, because of the fitnah involved. The Muslim should not shake hands with a non-mahram female, even if she holds out her hand for him to shake, and he should tell her that shaking hands with a non-mahram man is not permitted, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, when accepting the allegiance (bay’ah) of women: “I do not shake hands with women.” And it was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “By Allaah, the hand of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) never touched the hand of any (non-mahram) woman; he used to accept their allegiance in words only.” And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Indeed in the Messenger of Allaah (Muhammad) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes for (the Meeting with) Allaah and the Last Day, and remembers Allaah much”
[al-Ahzaab 33:21]
For a woman to shake hands with someone who is not her mahram is something that may lead to temptation for both parties, so it must be avoided.
There is nothing wrong with the shar’i greeting of salaam in which there is no fitnah and no shaking hands, and which does not give rise to doubts and does not involve any softness in speech, and in which hijaab is observed and there is no being alone with a member of the opposite sex, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any other women. If you keep your duty (to Allaah), then be not soft in speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease (of hypocrisy, or evil desire for adultery) should be moved with desire, but speak in an honourable manner”
[al-Ahzaab 33:32]
At the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), the women used to greet him and ask him questions concerning things they did not understand, and the women also used to ask the companions of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) concerning things they did not understand.
With regard to a woman shaking hands with other women, or shaking hands with men who are her mahrams, such as her brothers, uncles, etc., there is nothing wrong with that.
Al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah in al-Fataawa al-Jaami’ah li’l-Mar’ah al-Muslimah, part 3, p. 988





















- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M

Manners of Greeting with Salaam, Dought & clear, - * Prohibition on shaking hands with paternal uncle’s wife even if she is old













Is it permissible to shake hands with a paternal uncle’s wife if she is old, and if not shaking hands will provoke rancour and resentment, because that is the custom among relatives?.
Praise be to Allaah.
It is haraam for a man to shake hands with a non-mahram woman even if she is old. That is because of the general meaning of the evidence which states that it is forbidden.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
It is not permissible to shake hands with non-mahram women at all, whether they are young or old, and whether the man who is shaking hands is a young man or an old man, because of the danger of fitnah (temptation) that it poses to both parties. It was narrated in a saheeh hadeeth that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I do not shake hands with women.” And ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “The hand of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) never touched the hand of any woman, and he used to accept their oath of allegiance by words only.”
It makes no difference whether one shakes hands with a barrier in between or with no barrier, because of the general meaning of the evidence, and so as to block the ways that may lead to fitnah. And Allaah is the Source of strength.
Fataawa Islamiyyah, 3/76
What some people believe, that the wife of a paternal or maternal uncle is not a stranger (non-mahram) is not correct, and there is no basis for that. Rather the wife of an uncle is a non-mahram. The question of a man shaking hands with a non-mahram woman has already been dealt with on this site; please see question no. 2459and 21183
With regard to what the questioner says that not shaking hands will cause resentment and that this is customary among them, he should refrain from shaking hands with her, and should explain to her that he is not refraining from shaking hands because he despises her or thinks little of her, but rather because he is obeying Allaah and His Messenger. The Muslim has to obey the command of his Lord, and avoid that which He has forbidden, even if that goes against the people’s customs. But he should explain to the people that he is doing that out of obedience to Allaah, and he should be gentle and polite so that he can convince them to follow the sharee’ah and so that they will not think badly of him.
And Allaah knows best.




















- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M