Advice and a reminder to be diligent in following the Sunnah of following the greeting with a handshake, and correcting the incorrect phrase: "I, as a Muslim, or I, as a Salafi."

The Shaykh : ...that the one entering among you should complete the greeting with a handshake. So strive to maintain this handshake, for it is a Prophetic Sunnah from his deeds (peace be upon him) and his words. As for his deeds, Abu Dharr said: "We never met the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) but he would shake hands with us. We never met him but he would shake hands with us." This is his deed. As for his words, as you heard from the hadith, he said (peace be upon him): .
Then, in this Sunnah—that is, the Sunnah of following the greeting with a handshake—there is the elimination of a bad custom prevalent in the Islamic world. It is incumbent upon us, in our capacity as Salafis—and I do not say "it is incumbent upon us as Salafis," because that is an incorrect expression, even if it is well-known. "I, as a Muslim," "I, as a Salafi," "I, as such"—this is a foreign expression. Because when you say "I, as a Salafi," it means you are not a Salafi. And when you say "I, as a Muslim," it means you are not a Muslim. It is an error for a person to say "I, as a Salafi" or "as a Muslim."
So, after this short parenthetical sentence, I say: We, in our capacity as Salafis, must spread the Sunnah, at least among ourselves. Otherwise, we will be among those who say what they do not do. As for matters where it is not feasible for us to spread the Sunnah, there is no power or strength except with Allah, and we have an excuse there. But at least, our private gatherings should always and forever be filled with the Sunnah in word and deed. So, when one of us enters and greets those who are sitting, and they are sitting and seated, and he shakes hands with them, that eliminates the polytheism that has spread throughout the Islamic lands today. They stand up for the one entering and remain standing until this person enters and sits down. This is what the Messenger (peace be upon him) disliked, even in the most sacred state or form, which is prayer. Imam Muslim narrated in his Sahih, from the hadith of Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to the people and prayed the midday prayer with them while sitting. The people stood up behind him, so he gestured to them while praying to sit down, and they sat. When he finished the prayer, he turned to them and said: .
The point is his saying: . It is clear from this hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) dropped a pillar of the prayer, which is standing, for the healthy worshippers who are not permitted to pray while sitting, by his saying (peace be upon him): . These people were able to stand, and they did so behind the Messenger (may Allah praise and bless him). Nevertheless, he gestured to them to sit and explicitly said: . Why? To abolish an apparent polytheism, which is the king sitting on his throne and the retinue standing behind him in reverence for him. Knowing that the Messenger (peace be upon him) only sat in prayer out of necessity, and did not sit as Kisra did in arrogance. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) also sat or stood before they stood behind him (peace be upon him) for our Lord (Mighty and Majestic), (Glorified and Exalted is He), and they did not stand for the sake of the Messenger (may Allah praise and bless him). Despite these differences between the Messenger and his Companions and between Kisra and his retinue, he said to them: . Despite the difference in their intentions, he wanted even in prayer that no image resembling the image of the polytheists of Persia appear, so he said: .
So what about us today? It is not in prayer that we stand behind the imam while he is sitting, but in our usual gatherings. We are sitting, and when the one entering comes, we all stand up for him, and we remain standing like this, as if we had stood for the Lord of the Worlds, until he sits down, and then we sit?! This is the problem that the Messenger (peace be upon him) fought against with his well-known authentic saying: . And every person entering who does not detest this standing in his heart, but rather his soul, which commands evil, approves of it, has a small or large share of that severe warning: . I say this because among the people who stand, some stand and sit; that is, they do not pose. And some remain posing, lacking nothing but placing their right hand over their left as they do in prayer. And some prolong their standing in reverence for the one entering.
Therefore, I remind you—and the reminder benefits the believers—that among the Sunnahs of the Messenger (peace be upon him) upon meeting is the handshake. In it is what we mentioned of following him (peace be upon him) first, then acquiring the virtue of forgiveness second, and third and finally, the elimination of the custom of posing by standing. And in that is a reminder for whoever has a heart or lends an ear while being a witness.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.