Is it understood from the hadith (the angels shake hands with you) that the angels can descend?
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The questioner : Is it understood from the meaning of the hadith that the angels can descend?
The Shaykh[Al-Qadr 97:4] Yes, the angels descend.
The questioner : And they shake hands?
The Shaykh : No.
The questioner : Shaykh, linguistically, if you were to persist, if it were to cease, it would cease.
The Shaykh : It would cease.
The questioner : If the persistence ceased, the angels would cease.
The Shaykh : That is the intended meaning, that is the sense. But we can say this to dispel the doubt. There is an authentic hadith from 'Imran ibn Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) that the angels used to greet him. But beware of interpreting the greeting as the Jordanian interpretation that confused me when I first came to the country. A questioner asked me, "What is your opinion on shaking hands? What is your opinion on greeting a woman?" I used to distinguish, for example, if she was young or not, and so on, whether it is permissible or not. You see, they mean by the greeting a handshake. So beware of interpreting the angels' greeting to 'Imran as a handshake. No, rather, they say to him, "Peace be upon you," so he hears a voice but does not see a person. Then he said about himself, when he applied cauterization, "And we did not succeed nor prosper, and the angels' greeting to him was cut off." This is a greeting, my brother.
The angels shake hands with you
لصافحتكم الملائكةThe Shaykh
The angels and the Spirit descend therein
تنزل الملائكة والروح فيهاThe questioner : And they shake hands?
The Shaykh : No.
The questioner : Shaykh, linguistically, if you were to persist, if it were to cease, it would cease.
The Shaykh : It would cease.
The questioner : If the persistence ceased, the angels would cease.
The Shaykh : That is the intended meaning, that is the sense. But we can say this to dispel the doubt. There is an authentic hadith from 'Imran ibn Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) that the angels used to greet him. But beware of interpreting the greeting as the Jordanian interpretation that confused me when I first came to the country. A questioner asked me, "What is your opinion on shaking hands? What is your opinion on greeting a woman?" I used to distinguish, for example, if she was young or not, and so on, whether it is permissible or not. You see, they mean by the greeting a handshake. So beware of interpreting the angels' greeting to 'Imran as a handshake. No, rather, they say to him, "Peace be upon you," so he hears a voice but does not see a person. Then he said about himself, when he applied cauterization, "And we did not succeed nor prosper, and the angels' greeting to him was cut off." This is a greeting, my brother.
Source
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