Refuting the Doubt Regarding Shaking Hands with a Non-Mahram Woman
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Your Eminence! Some contemporary writers have raised a doubt regarding shaking hands with a non-mahram woman, saying: There is no harm in an impulsive handshake; and innocent seclusion with a non-mahram woman, provided the heart is sound, and that faith is in the heart,And as for his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): (I do not shake hands with women) This is specific to him (peace and blessings be upon him). So what is your comment on this doubt? May Allah guide you.
Our comment on this doubt: It is an error; this statement is an error; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: (No man is to be alone with a woman except with a mahram) and this is general,And he said: (Beware of entering upon women) and this is general,Until they said: (O Messenger of Allah! What do you say about the in-law -Meaning: the relative of the husband entering the house of his relative-He said: the deadly in-law) meaning: so beware of them. And shaking hands is more severe than seclusion; because if the handshake is without a barrier, it involves direct contact of body with body, and it is not hidden what occurs in that regarding the arousal of desire, no matter what the person's heart is,And the second: If there is a barrier, Satan may still mislead the person to squeeze the hand with force or intensity, or shake it, or something similar, which stirs up desire. So the matter is entirely an error.
As for the fact that the hand of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not touch the hand of a woman, this is not specific to him. Rather, it is permissible for him (peace and blessings be upon him) to have seclusion with women that is not permissible for others. And it is established in multiple hadiths that indicate the permissibility of the seclusion of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) with a woman and the permissibility of her uncovering herself to him,In the Farewell Pilgrimage, a woman asked him: regarding her Hajj on behalf of her father, and she was a beautiful woman. So al-Fadl ibn Abbas, who was riding behind the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) on his camel, kept looking at her, so he turned his face away. And this indicates that it is permissible for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) to look at women in a way that is not permissible for others; because he is the most remote of people from suspicion. So this doubt is not a doubt in reality except for one who has a disease in his heart,For al-Mutanabbi says:
And whoever has a bitter, sick mouth finds the clear water bitter
Our comment on this doubt: It is an error; this statement is an error; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: (No man is to be alone with a woman except with a mahram) and this is general,And he said: (Beware of entering upon women) and this is general,Until they said: (O Messenger of Allah! What do you say about the in-law -Meaning: the relative of the husband entering the house of his relative-He said: the deadly in-law) meaning: so beware of them. And shaking hands is more severe than seclusion; because if the handshake is without a barrier, it involves direct contact of body with body, and it is not hidden what occurs in that regarding the arousal of desire, no matter what the person's heart is,And the second: If there is a barrier, Satan may still mislead the person to squeeze the hand with force or intensity, or shake it, or something similar, which stirs up desire. So the matter is entirely an error.
As for the fact that the hand of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not touch the hand of a woman, this is not specific to him. Rather, it is permissible for him (peace and blessings be upon him) to have seclusion with women that is not permissible for others. And it is established in multiple hadiths that indicate the permissibility of the seclusion of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) with a woman and the permissibility of her uncovering herself to him,In the Farewell Pilgrimage, a woman asked him: regarding her Hajj on behalf of her father, and she was a beautiful woman. So al-Fadl ibn Abbas, who was riding behind the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) on his camel, kept looking at her, so he turned his face away. And this indicates that it is permissible for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) to look at women in a way that is not permissible for others; because he is the most remote of people from suspicion. So this doubt is not a doubt in reality except for one who has a disease in his heart,For al-Mutanabbi says:
And whoever has a bitter, sick mouth finds the clear water bitter