People differ in their ways of greeting when they meet each other. Some people are happy with merely verbal greetings, while others have different physical gestures that indicate a close relationship. One of the most common gestures is shaking hands which prevails in most, if not all, Muslim countries. The question arises whether this is part of Arab or Eastern tradition, or it is encouraged by Islam. In answer we have several Hadiths to quote.
Salamah ibn Wardan reports: “I saw Anas ibn Malik shaking hands with people. He asked me who I was, and I told him I was a servant of the Layth tribe. He rubbed my head with his hands three times and said: ‘May God bless you.’” (Related by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad)
Apparently shaking hands was not a standard greeting in Makkah or Madinah prior to Islam. We say this on the basis of other Hadiths, but it is also implicit in this one. The fact that the reporter mentions that Anas ibn Malik, a companion of the Prophet, was shaking hands supports this, because he would not have mentioned it if it was a normal and common practice. Indeed, he mentions it because it was unusual and had not yet taken hold in the Muslim community.
It is also apparent that the reporter was still a young boy at the time. He was keen to shake hands with Anas, because of his standing as a companion of the Prophet. We are not told whether he shook hands with him, but probably he did. Anas was interested in him and asked him about his people. If they did not shake hands, Anas would have told him why he did not shake hands with him, or Salamah would have mentioned it. The fact that neither is made clear supports the conclusion that the pattern was maintained, and since Anas was shaking hands with people, he shook hands with Salamah, and added the inquiry which the reporter mentions.
Another Hadith concerning the shaking of hands in greeting is reported by Anas ibn Malik, who says: “When the people of Yemen came over, the Prophet said: ‘Now come the people of Yemen, who are more softhearted than you.’ They were the first to come and shake hands.” (Related by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad and Abu Dawood) In another version of this Hadith: “They were the first to greet us with the shaking of hands.” A Third version says: “They were the first to shake hands publicly.”
In its three versions, this Hadith makes it clear that shaking hands was not a standard practice in the Hijaz, where Makkah and Madinah are situated. The people of Yemen, whom the Prophet describes as more softhearted than his companions who belonged to the Quraysh and the Madinah tribes of the Aws and the Khazraj, were the first to use this gesture of greeting.
However, Islam encouraged this practice. Al-Bara’ ibn Azib, a companion of the Prophet, reports: “Shaking hands with your brother makes your greeting more complete.” (Related by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, Al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood and Ibn Majah) A similar version related by Al-Tirmidhi attributes this statement to the Prophet himself.
It should be pointed out that such shaking of hands is a part of greeting when people meet. However, some people have extended this so as to shake hands after prayer. This is wrong, because practices of religion are those which the Prophet ordered, encouraged or approved. At no time did he relate shaking hands to finishing a congregational prayer. Moreover, we have reports that when the Prophet shook hands, he used his two hands. Although using the right hand is sufficient, using both hands is better, because it indicates more warmth and a closer relation.
Another gesture of greeting is that mentioned in the Hadith quoted earlier, i.e. rubbing a child’s head. This applies as long as the child has not attained puberty yet, and it could be by either man or woman. Marzooq Al-Thaqafi reports: “Abdullah ibn Al-Zubayr sent me to his mother, Asma’ bint Abu Bakr, and I told her how Al-Hajjaj was treating them. I was still a young lad, and she prayed for me and rubbed my head.”
The woman mentioned in this Hadith, Asma’, was the Prophet’s companion and sister-in-law. The daughter of Abu Bakr, the Prophet’s closest companion, Asma’ was a woman of strong character and great knowledge. She would not do anything that might be thought of as inappropriate, let alone forbidden. Indeed, the way she treated the young lad who brought her the news is the proper way, because it combines endearment with a prayer to God to protect the child and take good care of him.
Perhaps it is useful to add a word of explanation about the events to which this Hadith refers. Abdullah ibn Al-Zubayr was a young companion of the Prophet, with a strong and ambitious character. His father was one of the earliest of the Prophet’s companions and one of the ten the Prophet assured of being in heaven in the life to come. Abdullah strove to become caliph, and he saw his chance when the Umayyad rule seemed to be faltering. He was chosen caliph by the people of Hijaz and Iraq, but the Umayyad ruler fought several battle against his forces, the last of which was in Makkah itself. Al-Hajjaj was the Umayyad commander who fought and defeated him in that battle in which Abdullah was killed.
Yet another gesture of greeting is hugging one’s brother. This is particularly used when one has been away, or when two people meet after a long absence. Jabir ibn Abdullah mentions that he heard that one of the Prophet’s companions was relating a Hadith. Jabir continues: “I bought a camel, and traveled for a month until I reached Syria where I met Abdullah ibn Anees. I sent him word that I was outside. The one who took my message came back and asked: ‘Are you Jabir ibn Abdullah?’ I answered in the affirmative. Abdullah ibn Anees came out and hugged me. I said to him: ‘I have come for a Hadith which I do not know, and I feared that you or I would die before we meet.’ He said: ‘I heard the Prophet saying: “God will resurrect people and they will gather naked, uncircumcised, having nothing with them. He will call out to them in a voice heard by the furthest away (I think he added, ‘just like it is heard by the one who is very near.’): I am the King. None of the people of heaven may enter heaven while one of the people of hell has a complaint against him for which he seeks satisfaction. Nor may anyone of the people of hell enter it while one of the people of heaven has a complaint against him for which he seeks satisfaction.” I asked: ‘But how, when we will be naked and have nothing.’ He said: ‘(We recompense them) with our good and bad deeds.’” (Related by Al-Bukhari)
This Hadith confirms that God does not erase people’s claims against one another but gets them to settle what is due to others. This they do with their own good deeds, or by bearing some of the bad deeds of the one they treated unfairly.
Arab News Islam 6 December 2002