Explanation of Riyadh al-Saliheen-58b

The reciter: "It was narrated from Safwan ibn 'Asal (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: A Jew said to his companion, 'Let us go to this Prophet.' So they came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked him about nine clear signs. The hadith is mentioned up to the point where it says: 'So they kissed his hand and his foot, and they said: We bear witness that you are a Prophet.' Al-Tirmidhi and others narrated it with authentic chains. And from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) is a story in which he said: 'So we approached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and we kissed his hand.' Abu Dawud narrated it. And from 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) she said: 'Zayd ibn Harithah arrived in Madinah while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was in my house. So he came to him and knocked on the door, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up to him dragging his garment, and he embraced him and kissed him.' Al-Tirmidhi narrated it and said: It is a good hadith. And from Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me:

Do not consider any act of kindness insignificant, even meeting your brother with a cheerful face.

لا تحقرن من المعروف شيئًا ولو أن تلقى أخاك بوجه طليق

Mishkat al-Masabih 1894

Muslim narrated it."

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. These are hadiths that al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned in Riyadh al-Saliheen regarding the etiquettes of shaking hands and embracing, and what is related to them. Among them is the hadith of Safwan ibn 'Asal (may Allah be pleased with him) that a Jewish man said to his companion: "Let us go to this man," meaning the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). So he went to him and informed him, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned nine signs, so he kissed his hand and his foot and said: "We bear witness that you are a Prophet". The Jews were in Madinah, and their origin was from Egypt from the Children of Israel. Then they moved to the Levant to the Holy Land, about which their Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) said to them: And they used to read in the Torah that a Prophet would be sent in the last of times, and that he would be from Makkah and his migration would be to Madinah. So many of them migrated from the Levant to Madinah, waiting for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) to follow him, because his virtue was exalted in the Torah and the Gospel regarding the virtue of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). So Allah the Exalted said: And when something occurred between them and the polytheists, they would seek victory over those who disbelieved, saying: "This Prophet will be sent and we will follow him, and he will open [victory] for us over you, and we will defeat you," as Allah the Exalted said: Then they became three Jewish tribes in Madinah: Banu Qaynuqa, Banu al-Nazir, and Banu Quraizah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) made a treaty with them when he arrived in Madinah, and all of them broke the treaty, so they were expelled from Madinah. The last of them were Banu Quraizah, and about seven hundred men from them were killed when they betrayed the treaty on the Day of the Confederates. They moved to Khaybar, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) conquered it and left them there because they were owners of farms and knew agriculture and planting, while the Companions were occupied with what was more important. So the Prophet (peace be upon him) dealt with them and said to them: "You remain in your place in Khaybar on the condition that you have half of the fruit and crops, and the Muslims have half of it, and we leave you in that as long as Allah wills." And they remained in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in Khaybar, and in the time of Abu Bakr. When 'Umar took charge, there was betrayal from them, because the Jews are known for betrayal and treachery. So there was betrayal from them, and 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) expelled them from Khaybar in the sixteenth year to Arajaf in the Levant. This is the origin of the presence of Jews in the Arabian Peninsula. They were waiting for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), but when he came and was sent and they saw him with the eye of certainty, they disbelieved, may Allah protect us from that. Perhaps at first they thought that he was from the Children of Israel, that this Prophet was from the Children of Israel, as some scholars said. But when it became clear that he was from the Children of Isma'il, they envied them; they envied the Children of Isma'il and disbelieved. But this is not clear to me, because Allah says: So they knew that he was from the Arabs, from the Children of Isma'il. But, may Allah protect us from that, there is a difference between the knowledge of certainty and the eye of certainty. At first they thought that if he was sent, they would follow him easily, but they envied him, may Allah protect us from that. The important thing is that these two men kissed the hand and foot of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he approved them of that. So in this is the permissibility of kissing the hand and foot of a great man for the sake of honor and knowledge. And likewise, kissing the hand and foot of the father and mother and the like, because they have a right, and this is from humility.