Greet by Shaking With Both Hands | Manners of Greeting in Islam

Greet by shaking with both hands

Authored by the renowned spiritual guide and leader of Ahl al-Sunnah, Mawlānā Ilyās ꜤAṭṭār al-Qādirī

دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ

The Beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said, “When two Muslims meet and perform muṣāfaḥah (shake hands), their sins are forgiven before they separate.”^[1]  O devotees of the Prophet! Whenever you meet any Muslim, greet him with salām and then shake his hands using both your hands as this is the Sunnah. The erudite Hanafi jurist, Muftī Amjad ꜤAlī al-AꜤẓamī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه writes, “The Sunnah is that both hands should be used in performing muṣāfaḥah, and there should be no barrier between the hands of both people, such as a cloth, etc.”^[2]

Remember! Greeting with one hand may be a fashionable style but is not the way of the Sunnah. However, a large proportion of the Muslims are embroiled in the habit of greeting with just one hand, and in imitating them, their children are also greeting with one hand. The Reviver of Islām, the Imām of Ahl al-Sunnah, Imām Aḥmad Razā Khān رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه (whom we extol), wrote an entire treatise^[3], which is in the 22^nd volume of al-Fatāwā al-Riḍawiyyah, refuting shaking with one hand and proving that shaking with both hands is a Sunnah. In the time of Imām Aḥmad Razā Khān رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه, there was a group of people that were in fact vociferously inviting towards shaking with one hand. However, may Allāh Almighty elevate the rank of Imām Aḥmad Razā Khān رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه for writing an entire treatise in order to preserve this blessed Sunnah of the Beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم.

O devotees of the Prophet! If we do not act upon the Sunan, who will? Please, all of you, make a mindset and form a habit of shaking with both hands. Remember! If someone, when greeting you, only extends one hand, then have a good opinion of him that his attention has shifted or perhaps he has not read or heard about this matter. However, you must greet with two hands and if possible, inform the one who greets with one hand about the Sunnah.

Furthermore, teach your children that when meeting any Muslim, first of all one should say, اَلسَّلَامُ عَلَیْکُمْ وَرَحْمَۃُ اللّٰهِ وَبَرَکٰتُهٗ and greet with both hands. Even if you have to inform your children a hundred times, in order to remove the habit of shaking with one hand and inculcate the habit of shaking with both hands, do not despair. Keep trying; اِنْ شَــآءَالـلّٰـه, you will be granted success. May Allāh Almighty grant us the ability to learn and teach.

اٰمِیْن بِجَاہِ خاتَمِ النَّبِیّیْن صلَّی اللہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلَّم

(Note that this subject is being presented here after having being prepared with the help of the Madanī Mudhākarah (Ep:2085) that took place after the ꜤIshāˈ prayer of 24^th September 2022 and being placed before the renowned spiritual guide and leader of Ahl al-Sunnah, Mawlānā Ilyās ꜤAṭṭār al-Qādirī دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ for amendments and additions.)