A reminder to the one entering the gathering that he should greet once, then shake hands if it is possible for him, and not repeat the greeting with everyone.
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The questioner : Peace be upon you...
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah... The Algerians have a custom that has become widespread in the modern era, which is not part of the Sunnah in any way. That is, the Sunnah is that the one entering the gathering offers his greeting once, and then if it is possible for him to shake hands with each person present, that is fine. If it is not possible for him, he limits himself to the single greeting. As for when he comes to shake hands with those present and each one greets him with "Peace be upon you, peace be upon you," this is one of the religious innovations that have become widespread in the modern era, for which one finds no mention in past books, because it is a newly invented matter. It did not reach the ears of the previous scholars so that they would warn against it. So this is a reminder, and a reminder benefits the believers.
The questioner : ...؟
The Shaykh : When the one entering says "Peace be upon you," if it is possible for him to shake hands, he completes the greeting with the handshake. As for "Peace be upon you, peace be upon you," this is a religious innovation. We can say this is an innovation of the brothers, meaning that those who innovated it are the Muslim Brothers, and that is due to their poverty in knowledge.
The questioner : Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) in *Al-Adhkar*, meaning in the section on the greeting or the chapters on the greeting, mentioned the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that if he spoke, he spoke three times so that he would be understood, and if he greeted, he greeted three times. He transmitted al-Mawardi's explanation of the hadith, saying that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would single out some people, or rather, the explanation of the hadith states that he would single out some people out of love, or distance, or something similar?
The Shaykh : Would he single them out for the greeting?
The questioner : Meaning after he shakes hands, meaning for example, he says "Peace be upon you" to one of twenty people, then...
The Shaykh : This has no basis.
The questioner : Is it just independent legal reasoning?
The Shaykh : Yes, that last part. As for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) greeting... that is established, of course, in an authentic hadith, and that is when he asks for permission to enter, not when he enters the gathering and the people are ready to hear the greeting. This is not said about the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) at all. Rather, when he stands behind the door and asks for permission to enter, he says "Peace be upon you." As for any gathering, it was never transmitted about the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that he repeated the greeting three times. This is from one aspect. From another aspect, even if this were established, that would be one thing, and what we are doing is another thing. Meaning, even if this were established, it does not justify this. This is entirely a different matter.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah... The Algerians have a custom that has become widespread in the modern era, which is not part of the Sunnah in any way. That is, the Sunnah is that the one entering the gathering offers his greeting once, and then if it is possible for him to shake hands with each person present, that is fine. If it is not possible for him, he limits himself to the single greeting. As for when he comes to shake hands with those present and each one greets him with "Peace be upon you, peace be upon you," this is one of the religious innovations that have become widespread in the modern era, for which one finds no mention in past books, because it is a newly invented matter. It did not reach the ears of the previous scholars so that they would warn against it. So this is a reminder, and a reminder benefits the believers.
The questioner : ...؟
The Shaykh : When the one entering says "Peace be upon you," if it is possible for him to shake hands, he completes the greeting with the handshake. As for "Peace be upon you, peace be upon you," this is a religious innovation. We can say this is an innovation of the brothers, meaning that those who innovated it are the Muslim Brothers, and that is due to their poverty in knowledge.
The questioner : Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) in *Al-Adhkar*, meaning in the section on the greeting or the chapters on the greeting, mentioned the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that if he spoke, he spoke three times so that he would be understood, and if he greeted, he greeted three times. He transmitted al-Mawardi's explanation of the hadith, saying that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would single out some people, or rather, the explanation of the hadith states that he would single out some people out of love, or distance, or something similar?
The Shaykh : Would he single them out for the greeting?
The questioner : Meaning after he shakes hands, meaning for example, he says "Peace be upon you" to one of twenty people, then...
The Shaykh : This has no basis.
The questioner : Is it just independent legal reasoning?
The Shaykh : Yes, that last part. As for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) greeting... that is established, of course, in an authentic hadith, and that is when he asks for permission to enter, not when he enters the gathering and the people are ready to hear the greeting. This is not said about the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) at all. Rather, when he stands behind the door and asks for permission to enter, he says "Peace be upon you." As for any gathering, it was never transmitted about the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that he repeated the greeting three times. This is from one aspect. From another aspect, even if this were established, that would be one thing, and what we are doing is another thing. Meaning, even if this were established, it does not justify this. This is entirely a different matter.