The ruling on greeting with a hand gesture
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Q: What is the ruling on greeting with a hand gesture?
A: It is not permissible to greet with a hand gesture; rather, the Sunnah is to greet with words, both in initiating and responding. Greeting with a gesture is not permissible because it imitates some of the disbelievers in this regard, and because it contradicts what Allah has prescribed. However, if one gestures with his hand to a Muslim who is far away so that he understands the greeting, while also speaking the greeting, there is no harm in that, as there is evidence indicating this. Likewise, if the person being greeted is occupied with prayer, he responds with a gesture, as the Sunnah is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this regard.
A: It is not permissible to greet with a hand gesture; rather, the Sunnah is to greet with words, both in initiating and responding. Greeting with a gesture is not permissible because it imitates some of the disbelievers in this regard, and because it contradicts what Allah has prescribed. However, if one gestures with his hand to a Muslim who is far away so that he understands the greeting, while also speaking the greeting, there is no harm in that, as there is evidence indicating this. Likewise, if the person being greeted is occupied with prayer, he responds with a gesture, as the Sunnah is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this regard.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.