| Ruling on shaking hands immediately after obligatory and supererogatory Salahs  | | (Part No. 11; Page No. 199) | |
Q: What is the ruling on shaking hands after Salah (Prayer)? Is there any difference between supererogatory and obligatory Salah in this regard? A: The basic principle is that it is permissible for Muslims to shake hands upon meeting each other. Moreover, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would shake hands with his Companions. Furthermore, they would shake hands with each other whenever they met. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) and Al-Sha`by (may Allah be merciful to him) said: The Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) would shake hands whenever they met and would embrace someone who came from a journey. It is authentically reported in the Two Sahih (authentic) Books of Hadith (i.e. Al-Bukhari and Muslim) that Talhah ibn `Ubaydullah, one of the ten people who were given the glad tidings of entering Paradise (may Allah be pleased with them all), left the teaching circle of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in the Masjid (mosque) of the Prophet to Ka`b ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) after Allah has accepted the latter's repentance, shook hands with him, congratulated him when Allah accepted his repentance. This was a widespread practice among the Muslims during the lifetime of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and after his death. | | (Part No. 11; Page No. 200) | |
Furthermore, the Prophet is authentically reported to have said,  The two Muslims who meet and shake hands with each other will have their sins removed i.e. Forgiven, exactly as the leaves of tree fall down. Thus, it is recommended to shake hands with others upon meeting in the Masjid or even in a row. If two Muslims do not shake hands with each other before Salah, it will be permissible to do so after Salah so as to put this great Sunnah into practice, reinforce affability and to remove bad feeling.However, if one does not shake hands with another before an obligatory Salah, it will be permissible for them to shake hands after saying the recommended Dhikr (remembrance of Allah).I see no grounds for people who proceed to shake hands with each other immediately after Taslim (salutation of peace ending the Prayer) of obligatory Salah. Rather, it is more likely Makruh (disliked) as there is no evidence to support it, because after Taslim it is recommended to proceed to say the relevant Dhikr (Remembrance of Allah) said by the Prophet (peace be upon him) after Taslim of obligatory Salahs.As for supererogatory Salah, it is permissible to shake hands thereafter if no shaking hands takes place before Salah. However, it will be enough if shaking hands takes place before Salah. |
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