Is it obligatory for one who enters a gathering and shakes hands with all the attendees to verbally greet each person he shakes hands with individually?
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The questioner : Your Eminence, the Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Please proceed.
The questioner : He greeted them and posed the question, just as you mentioned regarding the group, in cases where the need for shaking hands arises. So, with what phrase does one shake hands? Does he not need to offer a new greeting?
The Shaykh : No, he does not need to.
The questioner : So, shaking hands without a greeting?
The Shaykh : No, how can it be without a greeting? May Allah reward you. I mean, if we imagine now that he entered and said, "Peace be upon you," and sat down, did he sit down without a greeting?
The questioner : My intention is regarding the situation you mentioned, Your Eminence, where there is a kind of... that necessitates shaking hands. So, when I want to shake hands with this one and that one, it means I am giving them a silent handshake.
The Shaykh : This is something that pleases me, but I wanted to say that this person who entered and said, "Peace be upon you," and sat down, has he not greeted everyone?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Fine, another person entered and said, "Peace be upon you," greeted everyone, and then followed up by shaking hands with each of the individuals.
My intention, may Allah reward you, is that when this person entered and offered the greeting, his greeting encompassed all the attendees. Then, if he wished to shake hands with the attendees, as we mentioned from the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him):, this would be better than the one who entered, offered a single greeting to everyone, and then sat down. So, the one who greeted everyone and then followed up by shaking hands with each of them, this is good because it is mentioned in the second hadith. And when I said what I said, it was only considering the Sunnah, because we know that Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3642Sahih (Darussalam). So, when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) met his Companions, he shook hands with them one by one, but it never reached me that he ever gave each person he shook hands with a specific greeting. This is the extent of my knowledge.
The Shaykh : Please proceed.
The questioner : He greeted them and posed the question, just as you mentioned regarding the group, in cases where the need for shaking hands arises. So, with what phrase does one shake hands? Does he not need to offer a new greeting?
The Shaykh : No, he does not need to.
The questioner : So, shaking hands without a greeting?
The Shaykh : No, how can it be without a greeting? May Allah reward you. I mean, if we imagine now that he entered and said, "Peace be upon you," and sat down, did he sit down without a greeting?
The questioner : My intention is regarding the situation you mentioned, Your Eminence, where there is a kind of... that necessitates shaking hands. So, when I want to shake hands with this one and that one, it means I am giving them a silent handshake.
The Shaykh : This is something that pleases me, but I wanted to say that this person who entered and said, "Peace be upon you," and sat down, has he not greeted everyone?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Fine, another person entered and said, "Peace be upon you," greeted everyone, and then followed up by shaking hands with each of the individuals.
My intention, may Allah reward you, is that when this person entered and offered the greeting, his greeting encompassed all the attendees. Then, if he wished to shake hands with the attendees, as we mentioned from the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him):