The Sunnah for the one entering regarding the greeting and shaking hands

The questioner : We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our own souls.

The Shaykh : And we add to this that the Sunnah for the one entering is to greet once, whether the people sitting are one or more, because the address of the greeting, as you know, is with the plural "upon you" (alaikum), not "upon you" (alaika) in the singular. My intention with this and that—meaning, my intention in saying this—is that shaking hands is prescribed for each individual, whereas the greeting is not prescribed except for the group as a whole, just once. So if the one entering goes in and there are few people in the gathering, he suffices with the single greeting and then shakes hands with each person sitting. But this is if the people sitting are few. As for if the people sitting are many, may Allah bless them, then shaking hands is dropped, because in shaking hands there is a burden. The Messenger (peace be upon him) says: , . And now, reality is the greatest witness. If I wanted to apply shaking hands with each one of you, if I wanted to apply shaking hands with each individual, the artificiality would appear clearly and very obviously, because I would start, for example, as is also the Sunnah, from the right, then a second row would follow, and a third row, and I would get lost in the end.

The questioner : Undoubtedly.

The Shaykh : Undoubtedly, I mean, I would get lost. I said: The greeting upon entering is to be done once, whether the one being greeted is one or more. As for shaking hands, it is for each individual: a greeting in the form of a handshake, on the condition that there is no obvious artificiality. Where do we take this detail from? I mean, where do we take from that the one entering the group greets once, and conversely, if shaking hands is facilitated for him, he shakes hands with each of them? We take this detail from the Sunnah. And the truth is, this occasion, and indeed this phenomenon I witnessed just now, is a blessed phenomenon, if Allah wills, in that you gathered for dhikr, you gathered for knowledge. And this requires me to also draw your attention to two things, but I fear I will not forget to return to what I started speaking about, the single greeting and shaking hands with each individual without artificiality. I hope I will not forget this when I delve into another occasion. If I forget, there is no wonder, for the old age has its right, and remind, for the reminder benefits the believers.