Shaking Hands with Women and the Prophet Taking the Hand of the Slave Girl

The questioner:
The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).

The Shaykh:
May Allah reform you.

The questioner:
He used to take the hand of the slave girl, but we have heard for a long time that shaking hands with a paternal aunt, a paternal aunt, a maternal aunt, or a husband’s sister is forbidden and not permissible. So why is it forbidden? And the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) took the slave girl by her hand.

The Shaykh:
The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is protected from sin; he is not like you, me, or anyone else. Then, regarding his taking the hand of the slave girl, this is not to be taken in an absolute sense. Rather, it is an indication that he was humble toward her, listened to her question, and answered it. It is as if the slave girl came to ask him, and he humbled himself, stood up, asked about her need, and answered her need. It is not intended that he took her hand for the sake of pleasure, or because Allah protected him from what Allah has forbidden for His servants. He conveys the message from Allah, and he is protected from engaging in what Allah has forbidden for him, except for minor sins regarding which scholars differ in two opinions: whether they occur from the Prophets. Even if they did occur, they do not persist in them; rather, Allah alerts them to them so that they repent. Therefore, the conclusion is that his taking her hand is not to be taken in an absolute sense. It may have been that he took her sleeve or the edge of her garment. It is not that he was taking her flesh hand and touching the flesh. He is the one who recites to the people the words of Allah the Exalted: "And if you ask for a favor from Us, We will give it to you" . And a woman is 'awrah (a part of the body that must be covered). So this hadith regarding the slave girl is only an indication of his scrupulousness, his fairness, and his lack of arrogance toward the slave girl who asks about her need. So if he took her hand, or her sleeve, or her garment when there was a need for any of that, such as what was reported in some narrations that Satan pushes a slave girl forward so that food is made lawful through her; because she is small and may eat without saying the name of Allah, so the food is made lawful through her. A Bedouin came and he pushed him forward so that food was made lawful through him. So it is understood that she is a small slave girl or a slave girl who is prevented from what harms her due to her short stature. So no one else is to be compared to this to allow them to shake hands with women. And he is the one who said (peace and blessings be upon him): And it is known, by Allah, what , he prays upon the Prophet. Yes.