What is the ruling on shaking hands from time to time after a brief separation and then meeting again?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : We prayed with you.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : We prayed Maghrib.
The Shaykh : In congregation.
The questioner : And after the prayer.
The Shaykh: All right.
The questioner : We went out to the door of the shop opposite the mosque, and we talked and prolonged the conversation about worldly affairs. After that, I was wearing a shirt and trousers.
The Shaykh : May Allah grant you health.
The questioner : So I left them and went to my house, and I changed from the trousers and shirt to this thobe, which is according to my status.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : WhenThe Shaykh : Taysir came and said: I want to make a phone call. The guests I have, by Allah, are delayed. I want to call your phone. He did not pick up the phone until the brother arrived, so I had not missed them yet.
The Shaykh : What do you mean?
The questioner : I had not missed the group who were sitting with me to the extent that I would shake their hands and greet them.
The Shaykh : I am saying on their behalf: May Allah forgive you! [Everyone laughs!]
The questioner : ... everyone ...
The Shaykh : And I am saying the affirmation, saying: Ameen.
The questioner : Now, in some matters, if they become frequent, their value decreases; meaning, as they say in the Shami proverbs: "Visit unexpectedly, and your love will increase."
The Shaykh : This is not a proverb; this is a noble Prophetic hadith.
The questioner : So this noble Prophetic hadith, and I am sorry because I did not know it was a noble Prophetic hadith.
The Shaykh : No problem.
The questioner : It applies to my situation and these relatives of mine.
The Shaykh : No, it does not apply, but I am not cutting off your speech so you can say: I am finished.
The questioner : Okay, I am clarifying.
The Shaykh : Is that all?
The questioner: Go ahead.
The Shaykh : Fine; I thought you were going to offer an excuse for not shaking hands with these brothers of yours, and if it is an excuse, it is against you, not for you.
The questioner : May Allah forgive you!
The Shaykh : O Allah, Ameen. Say: Ameen.
The questioner : And He wrote for me reward for bearing this word.
The Shaykh : [ The Shaykh : [He laughs!] But do you want to ask me why?
The questioner : And I will not ask you; I ask Allah to take revenge on you [Everyone laughs!].
The Shaykh: All right.
The questioner : So that the reward is established.
The Shaykh : No problem, if you do not ask me and I speak from my own mind, will you listen to me?
The questioner : Yes, I am listening.
The Shaykh: All right.
The questioner : And I count that for Allah.
The Shaykh : But I am telling you: if you had asked me, it would have been better for you; because you are counting with Allah something you do not know. Do you know what I will say?
The questioner : No, but it is an attack on me.
The Shaykh : But what? If someone is advising you and reminding you, is he attacking you? May Allah forgive you once more, say: Ameen.
The questioner: Amen.
The Shaykh : What do they call you, Abu what?
The questioner : Abu 'Abdullah.
The Shaykh : Welcome.
Another questioner : Abu 'Abdullah, our brother, Dr. 'Atiyyah Sarhan.
The Shaykh : Abu 'Abdullah, welcome.
The questioner : Welcome, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : I am going to tell you that the speech you made is an argument against you, not for you; because I imagined that you were with a group in the mosque and you all went out together, and you were delayed behind them, so you had recently shaken their hands, that is how I imagined it when you told me: "We were together just now."
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : And you are going to give me a lecture that you went to the house and changed the trousers...
The questioner : In one minute, O Shaykh [Everyone laughs!].
The Shaykh : My dear, we are not holding you accountable now, we are not holding you accountable for one minute or five or half an hour; the important thing is that it is contrary to what I imagined. You went out of the mosque, some time passed and some time was delayed, and you went to the house and changed your clothes and garments and so on, which means the distance was long, do you see? The distance was longer than what I... imagined. Now I am telling you: after I narrated to you the hadith from the Messenger - peace be upon him - "He did not meet us except that he shook our hands," what is the meaning of this hadith?
The questioner : The meaning of this hadith is that the Companions of the Messenger - peace and blessings be upon him - used to separate from him for work, so they would pray the Fajr prayer, then they would set out to their jobs, and when the time for the Zuhr prayer came, they would meet the Messenger of Allah - peace and blessings be upon him - and he would shake their hands. And who among us is like the Messenger of Allah - peace and blessings be upon him - in the nobility of his character and habits?
The Shaykh : You embellished it at the end [Everyone laughs!], the first part is fine, but a question comes back to you: where did you get the idea that they would pray and not meet him except at Zuhr, and pray Zuhr and not meet him except at 'Asr? Where did you get this from?
The questioner : Do you have anything that contradicts it?
The Shaykh: Of course.
The questioner : Bring it?
The Shaykh : The same hadith: "He did not meet us"; what is the meaning of "He did not meet us"?
The questioner : We did not separate and we met.
The Shaykh : It means whenever he met us, there was no separation; because meeting is preceded by separation.
The questioner : Yes, yes.
The Shaykh : Ah, but this separation, where did you define it as four or five hours?
The questioner : And perhaps three days.
The Shaykh : Or two hours, and perhaps minutes.
The questioner : ... it is also weak.
The Shaykh : Why?
The questioner : Because the separation did not occur.
The Shaykh : Why?
The questioner : So that it occurs, meaning the meeting.
The Shaykh : My dear, why? I am asking you, there is no need to repeat the understood speech, but to understand the unknown, why? Now, were you not meeting with the group?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Fine; did you separate, is it true that you separated or not?
The questioner : We separated, but it is not considered separation in the sense of separation.
The Shaykh : Allow me, my dear, a word and it is covered, did you separate from them or not?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Fine; what happened between you and your companions, does it not happen between the Messenger and his Companions?
The questioner : Very possible. Peace and blessings be upon him.
The Shaykh : Correct?
Another questioner : Yes, yes.
The Shaykh : Keep this word in mind, and if the Messenger - peace be upon him - separated from his Companions as you and your companions separated, without any comparison as is said, then when he met them, does the hadith "He did not meet us except that he shook our hands" not apply?
The questioner : This is correct, but there is something there.
The Shaykh : So, no, allow me to finish my speech.
The questioner: Go ahead.
The Shaykh : Because one person asks a question in order to receive the answer and build upon this answer, and the truth is that we differ in it.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : So since it is correct and yes, what you said is correct, let us build upon it. So do not define the distance of separation; because you will fall into a problem now that you have no capacity to handle, which is: what is the distance that you estimate from the separation until when you meet some of your companions, you say: shaking hands is permissible, shaking hands is good. No, it is not good because the duration is what? Short. What is this distance? Can you bring a distance from your mind?
The questioner : Also, you cannot define a minimum limit and a maximum limit for it.
The Shaykh : I did not define it, my brother.
The questioner : It remains open, meaning the separation in the sense of.
The Shaykh : We are looking for the word "open" that we want.
The questioner : It is difficult, it is difficult to define it.
The Shaykh : My dear, you are the one defining it.
The questioner : I am now experiencing a simple incident where we were separated from each other for minutes, let us not call it separation; because separation means days.
The Shaykh : You are defining it, you are defining it, on one hand you say it is difficult to define, and on the other hand, how easy is the definition for you!!
The questioner : No, no, no, I am saying that.
The Shaykh : So we agree on a common word that we do not define?
The questioner : We agree, but there is a question more important than this.
The Shaykh : No problem, let us finish, we do not lose the whole research, we agree on a common word that it is not possible to define, correct? -- Thank you -- correct?
The questioner : Correct.
The Shaykh : It is not possible to define, so if it is not possible to define, take the hadith: "He did not meet us except that he shook our hands," meaning: whenever you separate from a companion of yours, or from companions of yours, and then you meet them as you greet them, what do you do? You shake their hands, as you greet them you shake their hands, there is no need at all for you to define what? The distance; because we agreed that it is not possible to define this distance.
And finally: a very great hadith will come to us; and it is his saying - peace be upon him - and this is the crux of the hadith which took a bit longer than necessary.
The questioner : No, take your time, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And it is his saying - peace be upon him -:, this virtue, as is said, is one to which journeys are made. So if our Lord - Mighty and Majestic - on the tongue of His Prophet - peace and blessings be upon him - has made it easy for us to obtain forgiveness merely by meeting your brother and saying to him: Peace be upon you, and shaking his hand, the sins are rubbed off as leaves are rubbed off in autumn, as is known, meaning the leaves dry up and fall to the ground.
So, this is a virtue that we should not — may Allah bless you — O Abu 'Abd Allah — waste or lose because of setting a time limit for the meeting, and we have agreed that it is not possible to set a limit. This is all I have, and we ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to inspire us with the right in what we say and what we do.
The questioner: Amen.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : We prayed Maghrib.
The Shaykh : In congregation.
The questioner : And after the prayer.
The Shaykh: All right.
The questioner : We went out to the door of the shop opposite the mosque, and we talked and prolonged the conversation about worldly affairs. After that, I was wearing a shirt and trousers.
The Shaykh : May Allah grant you health.
The questioner : So I left them and went to my house, and I changed from the trousers and shirt to this thobe, which is according to my status.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : WhenThe Shaykh : Taysir came and said: I want to make a phone call. The guests I have, by Allah, are delayed. I want to call your phone. He did not pick up the phone until the brother arrived, so I had not missed them yet.
The Shaykh : What do you mean?
The questioner : I had not missed the group who were sitting with me to the extent that I would shake their hands and greet them.
The Shaykh : I am saying on their behalf: May Allah forgive you! [Everyone laughs!]
The questioner : ... everyone ...
The Shaykh : And I am saying the affirmation, saying: Ameen.
The questioner : Now, in some matters, if they become frequent, their value decreases; meaning, as they say in the Shami proverbs: "Visit unexpectedly, and your love will increase."
The Shaykh : This is not a proverb; this is a noble Prophetic hadith.
The questioner : So this noble Prophetic hadith, and I am sorry because I did not know it was a noble Prophetic hadith.
The Shaykh : No problem.
The questioner : It applies to my situation and these relatives of mine.
The Shaykh : No, it does not apply, but I am not cutting off your speech so you can say: I am finished.
The questioner : Okay, I am clarifying.
The Shaykh : Is that all?
The questioner: Go ahead.
The Shaykh : Fine; I thought you were going to offer an excuse for not shaking hands with these brothers of yours, and if it is an excuse, it is against you, not for you.
The questioner : May Allah forgive you!
The Shaykh : O Allah, Ameen. Say: Ameen.
The questioner : And He wrote for me reward for bearing this word.
The Shaykh : [ The Shaykh : [He laughs!] But do you want to ask me why?
The questioner : And I will not ask you; I ask Allah to take revenge on you [Everyone laughs!].
The Shaykh: All right.
The questioner : So that the reward is established.
The Shaykh : No problem, if you do not ask me and I speak from my own mind, will you listen to me?
The questioner : Yes, I am listening.
The Shaykh: All right.
The questioner : And I count that for Allah.
The Shaykh : But I am telling you: if you had asked me, it would have been better for you; because you are counting with Allah something you do not know. Do you know what I will say?
The questioner : No, but it is an attack on me.
The Shaykh : But what? If someone is advising you and reminding you, is he attacking you? May Allah forgive you once more, say: Ameen.
The questioner: Amen.
The Shaykh : What do they call you, Abu what?
The questioner : Abu 'Abdullah.
The Shaykh : Welcome.
Another questioner : Abu 'Abdullah, our brother, Dr. 'Atiyyah Sarhan.
The Shaykh : Abu 'Abdullah, welcome.
The questioner : Welcome, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : I am going to tell you that the speech you made is an argument against you, not for you; because I imagined that you were with a group in the mosque and you all went out together, and you were delayed behind them, so you had recently shaken their hands, that is how I imagined it when you told me: "We were together just now."
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : And you are going to give me a lecture that you went to the house and changed the trousers...
The questioner : In one minute, O Shaykh [Everyone laughs!].
The Shaykh : My dear, we are not holding you accountable now, we are not holding you accountable for one minute or five or half an hour; the important thing is that it is contrary to what I imagined. You went out of the mosque, some time passed and some time was delayed, and you went to the house and changed your clothes and garments and so on, which means the distance was long, do you see? The distance was longer than what I... imagined. Now I am telling you: after I narrated to you the hadith from the Messenger - peace be upon him - "He did not meet us except that he shook our hands," what is the meaning of this hadith?
The questioner : The meaning of this hadith is that the Companions of the Messenger - peace and blessings be upon him - used to separate from him for work, so they would pray the Fajr prayer, then they would set out to their jobs, and when the time for the Zuhr prayer came, they would meet the Messenger of Allah - peace and blessings be upon him - and he would shake their hands. And who among us is like the Messenger of Allah - peace and blessings be upon him - in the nobility of his character and habits?
The Shaykh : You embellished it at the end [Everyone laughs!], the first part is fine, but a question comes back to you: where did you get the idea that they would pray and not meet him except at Zuhr, and pray Zuhr and not meet him except at 'Asr? Where did you get this from?
The questioner : Do you have anything that contradicts it?
The Shaykh: Of course.
The questioner : Bring it?
The Shaykh : The same hadith: "He did not meet us"; what is the meaning of "He did not meet us"?
The questioner : We did not separate and we met.
The Shaykh : It means whenever he met us, there was no separation; because meeting is preceded by separation.
The questioner : Yes, yes.
The Shaykh : Ah, but this separation, where did you define it as four or five hours?
The questioner : And perhaps three days.
The Shaykh : Or two hours, and perhaps minutes.
The questioner : ... it is also weak.
The Shaykh : Why?
The questioner : Because the separation did not occur.
The Shaykh : Why?
The questioner : So that it occurs, meaning the meeting.
The Shaykh : My dear, why? I am asking you, there is no need to repeat the understood speech, but to understand the unknown, why? Now, were you not meeting with the group?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Fine; did you separate, is it true that you separated or not?
The questioner : We separated, but it is not considered separation in the sense of separation.
The Shaykh : Allow me, my dear, a word and it is covered, did you separate from them or not?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Fine; what happened between you and your companions, does it not happen between the Messenger and his Companions?
The questioner : Very possible. Peace and blessings be upon him.
The Shaykh : Correct?
Another questioner : Yes, yes.
The Shaykh : Keep this word in mind, and if the Messenger - peace be upon him - separated from his Companions as you and your companions separated, without any comparison as is said, then when he met them, does the hadith "He did not meet us except that he shook our hands" not apply?
The questioner : This is correct, but there is something there.
The Shaykh : So, no, allow me to finish my speech.
The questioner: Go ahead.
The Shaykh : Because one person asks a question in order to receive the answer and build upon this answer, and the truth is that we differ in it.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : So since it is correct and yes, what you said is correct, let us build upon it. So do not define the distance of separation; because you will fall into a problem now that you have no capacity to handle, which is: what is the distance that you estimate from the separation until when you meet some of your companions, you say: shaking hands is permissible, shaking hands is good. No, it is not good because the duration is what? Short. What is this distance? Can you bring a distance from your mind?
The questioner : Also, you cannot define a minimum limit and a maximum limit for it.
The Shaykh : I did not define it, my brother.
The questioner : It remains open, meaning the separation in the sense of.
The Shaykh : We are looking for the word "open" that we want.
The questioner : It is difficult, it is difficult to define it.
The Shaykh : My dear, you are the one defining it.
The questioner : I am now experiencing a simple incident where we were separated from each other for minutes, let us not call it separation; because separation means days.
The Shaykh : You are defining it, you are defining it, on one hand you say it is difficult to define, and on the other hand, how easy is the definition for you!!
The questioner : No, no, no, I am saying that.
The Shaykh : So we agree on a common word that we do not define?
The questioner : We agree, but there is a question more important than this.
The Shaykh : No problem, let us finish, we do not lose the whole research, we agree on a common word that it is not possible to define, correct? -- Thank you -- correct?
The questioner : Correct.
The Shaykh : It is not possible to define, so if it is not possible to define, take the hadith: "He did not meet us except that he shook our hands," meaning: whenever you separate from a companion of yours, or from companions of yours, and then you meet them as you greet them, what do you do? You shake their hands, as you greet them you shake their hands, there is no need at all for you to define what? The distance; because we agreed that it is not possible to define this distance.
And finally: a very great hadith will come to us; and it is his saying - peace be upon him - and this is the crux of the hadith which took a bit longer than necessary.
The questioner : No, take your time, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And it is his saying - peace be upon him -:
There are no two Muslims who meet and shake hands except that their sins fall off them as leaves fall from trees in autumn.
ما من مسلمَين يلتقيان فيتصافحان إلا تحاتَّت عنهما ذنوبهما كما يتحاتُّ الورق عن الشجر في الخريفSo, this is a virtue that we should not — may Allah bless you — O Abu 'Abd Allah — waste or lose because of setting a time limit for the meeting, and we have agreed that it is not possible to set a limit. This is all I have, and we ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to inspire us with the right in what we say and what we do.
The questioner: Amen.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.