Shaking hands with women by men who are not their mahram (relatives one may not marry) is not permissible due to the fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) involved in it

Question:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good. A listener from Sudan is asking a number of questions, first about men shaking hands with women: is it permissible or not?

Answer:
Men shaking hands with women who are not their mahram (relatives one may not marry) is haram (forbidden) and not permissible; because of the fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) involved in it, and because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not shake hands with women who were not his mahram (relatives one may not marry), even in the pledge of allegiance he did not shake hands with women, but rather he pledged with them by speech, and his hand (peace and blessings be upon him) never touched the hand of a woman who was not lawful for him. Did Allah the Exalted not say: ? And because of the great fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) in shaking hands with a non-mahram woman, it is obligatory to abandon this bad custom. Even if some countries or some tribes have become accustomed to it, it is a forbidden custom, and if a custom is forbidden, it is obligatory to abandon it, reject it, and stay away from it.