A Note on Some Issues Regarding the Etiquette of Handshaking

The Shaykh : Another note: People have begun to deviate from handshaking, which is the practice established by the Sunnah, to shaking heads. How is that? As soon as he meets you and greets you, he takes your head instead of your hand. What is the Sunnah? The Sunnah is to take the hand, that is, this handshake. This act of shaking heads is a recent innovation; it was not present, as far as I know, in the past times that I have lived through, where people would take heads to kiss them. Rather, they would hold hands and shake them. This was the guidance of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). However, this second note is a general one, whereas the first is a specific one. I repeat my hope for my Muslim brothers that they be moderate regarding greetings between us, limiting it to handshaking only, and doing so calmly without roughness.