Is it permissible for a woman to shake hands with a man, and is a woman’s voice an awrah (part of the body that must be covered)?

Question:
Is it permissible for a woman to shake hands with a man? And is a woman’s voice an awrah (part of the body that must be covered)? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
It is not permissible for a woman to shake hands with a man who is not a mahram (a relative one may not marry) to her, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) never touched the hand of a woman who was not lawful for him, and he used to take the pledge of allegiance from women by speech, not by shaking hands. This indicates that the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) intention was not to shake hands with non-mahram women. Indeed, Allah the Exalted said: . And because shaking hands with a non-mahram woman involves fitnah (trial, discord or temptation), the Wise and Wise Lawgiver came with sadd al-dhara'i' (blocking the means to harm) that leads to what is haram (forbidden), and among that is not shaking hands with a non-mahram woman, because shaking her hand is a means to fitnah. As for the speech of a woman, yes, there is a distinction here. Speech that is to the extent of need, a woman speaking to a man if it is to the extent of need, then there is nothing wrong with it, and he should answer her on the condition that this does not happen in a state of seclusion between them, and that she speaks in a low voice. Also, Allah the Exalted said: , meaning you asked them about something from behind a curtain, a wall, a door, or something else that covers the woman from the man who is not in her home.
As for if a woman’s voice contains welcome, coquetry, or familiarity or joking, then this is not permissible because it is fitnah, because it makes the man hopeful and makes the one with a disease in his heart hopeful. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, said to the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): . The address to the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is an address to the women of the Ummah (the Muslim community), except where the evidence indicates that it is specific to them and not to the other women of the Ummah. There is no evidence indicating that it is specific to them. Moreover, the 'illah (the operative cause of a ruling) for which this ruling was established is a multiple 'illah. Because the intended purpose is to prevent fitnah and the means of fitnah. This exists in the other women as well.
So speaking to a woman, if it contains coquetry, softening of the voice, a singing voice, or if it contains laughter, familiarity, and joking, or something worse than that, which is raising the voice, then this is haram (forbidden) and not permissible. May Allah reward you with good. The voice of a woman has two states: a state in which it is not an awrah (part of the body that must be covered), and a state in which the voice of a woman is an awrah. In any case, whenever it is possible for a woman to be reserved and not speak to a man except to the extent of need, this is a required matter, because Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, prescribed for a woman in the state of ihram (the consecrated state of pilgrimage) to recite the talbiyah (the pilgrim's chant of response) and to lower her voice, without prescribing for men to raise their voices in the talbiyah.
Likewise, in the state of prayer in the mosque, if the imam calls out in his prayer, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If you call out in your prayer, let the men say tasbih (praise) and the women clap, for is it not sufficient for the women to clap, because that would be heard by the men?" This indicates that it is required for a woman to lower her voice, and to keep her voice low, and not to let the men hear her voice except to the extent of need, and with ordinary speech that does not stir the feelings.