Question : A question was asked about the ruling for the shaking of hands after prayer.

Fatwa in Brief: [The practice of] Shaking hands [with the person praying alongside you] after [finishing your] prayer is not Islamic in origin; it is, therefore, a reprehensible innovation.

Shaykh Ibn Baz, Fatawa Islamiyya, p. 179

Response:

The origin of shaking hands is Sunna. The fact that people have not always been observing this Sunna does not mean that it is no longer a recommended practise.

Commentary:

Shaking hands [after prayer] is, in itself, not only permitted but claimed by some to be Sunna – as a sign of mutual love, respect, and familiarity. Some hadiths address the advantages of shaking hands [after prayer]. In Sahih Bukhari [for instance], Qatada says: “I asked Anas was the practice of shaking the hand known to the Companions of the Prophet (upon him be peace)? He [Anas] replied: “yes”.[1] In the Sunan of al-Tirmidhi, in a report attributed to Abu Amama (r.a.), the Messenger of God (upon him be peace) states: A visit to a sick person is only complete when you have put your hand on his forehead and shaken his hand.[2] While in the Sunan of Abu Dawud, in a report attributed to Bara’, the Messenger of God (upon him be peace) claims: God forgives any two Muslims who, on meeting, shake each others hands before they depart.[3]

[Last] in the Musnad by Imam Ahmad, we find a report attributed to Anas ibn Malik in which the Messenger of God (upon him be peace) is reported to have said: “A people are approaching, whose hearts are kinder towards Islam than yours”. Commenting upon this, Anas explained: “the [kind-harded] people who came were Yememis; among them was Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari [one of the later Companions]. When they came close to Madina, they started to sing in rhym that soon [tomorrow] they will see the loved ones, Muhammad (upon him be peace) and his party. Once they arrived [in Madina] they shook hands [in greeting], and thus were the first to initiate this custom.[4]

Ibn Taymiyya disliked the practice of shaking hands after prayers on the grounds that it did not exist in the time of the Prophet, or [even] in that of the righteously-guided Caliphs. Yet, the majority of the scholars disagree with him [on this matter]. For them, the fact that an act did not exist [in the earliest days of Islam] does not automatically signify that it should be forbidden, or [even] that it is a harmful innovation, as long as such a practice does not run counter to [the meaning of] an established text [i.e. the Qur’an or Sunna]. Al-Nawawi said: “The origin of shaking the hands is Sunna”. The disagreement over whether or not the shaking of hands [after prayer] is permitted results from an initial disagreement over the meaning [and implications] of the term “innovation”. [Yet, in our opinion] If the matter provokes disagreement among the scholars, no prejudice should be shown towards any single opinion.

And God knows best.

Dr. Yassir ‘Abd al-‘Azim