Discussion of the issue of offering the greeting and shaking hands in the gathering.

The Shaykh: He offers the greeting to every individual in the gathering, saying "Peace be upon you, peace be upon you" in this manner, according to the number of people present. What we know from the Sunnah is that the one entering offers the greeting once, saying "Peace be upon you," which includes all those present. Then, if it is feasible for him to complete his greeting by shaking hands with the attendees one by one, that is better, because it is established from some of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Therefore, the Sunnah is to offer the greeting once, then to follow the greeting with shaking hands with the attendees if that is feasible. This is because the gathering may be large, making it difficult or burdensome for the greeter to shake hands with every one of that large group. However, if the number is as we are experiencing now, it is better for the one greeting, as we said, to offer the greeting once and then shake hands with the attendees, acting in accordance with the practical Sunnah we mentioned earlier. There is a hadith in "Sunan al-Tirmidhi" that it is good to mention, first to point out its weakness, and second because it is related to this topic. It is: This hadith is like a saying attributed to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), so it is not established. However, its meaning is supported by the correction I mentioned earlier, which is the saying of one of his Companions (peace be upon him): Thus, the meaning of this weak hadith is confirmed by his action (peace be upon him), that shaking hands is part of completing the greeting. In brief, it is not recommended for the one entering a gathering to repeat the greeting according to the number of people present. Rather, he offers the greeting once, and if it is feasible for him to shake hands with all of them, he does so; otherwise, he sits where the gathering ends. This is what I wanted to remind you of, and the reminder benefits the believers.

The questioner: Complete the question, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh: I think the question has ended.

The questioner: The question has ended.

The Shaykh: The topic of ability.

The questioner : Yes, yes.

The questioner : Yes, yes.