excerpt from “Aḥkām wa Masāʾil – Kitāb wa Sunnat kī Roshnī Mein” by Shaykh Mubashshir Ahmad Rabbānī:
Question:
Is handshaking with the right hand established from any authentic hadith? Some people claim that shaking hands with one hand is an English custom, and that no authentic hadith proves shaking hands with just one hand. Please guide us according to the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Answer:
Before citing the authentic ahadith related to handshaking (muṣāfaḥah), let us first understand the definition of muṣāfaḥah.
"هي مفاعلة من الصفحة والمراد بها الإنضاء بصفحة اليد إلى صفحة اليد"
“Muṣāfaḥah is derived from the form of interaction (mufāʿalah) from the word ṣafḥah, and it refers to joining the palm of one hand with the palm of another.”
Fatḥ al-Bārī, 11/54
◈ Imām Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī رحمه الله explained:
"ومنه حديث المصافحة عند اللقاء وهي مفاعلة من الصافح، صفح الكف بالكف"
“The term used in the hadiths about greeting through handshakes is also derived from ṣafḥ. It refers to the act of joining the palm with another palm.”
Al-Nihāyah fī Gharīb al-Ḥadīth wa al-Athar, 3/43
This same definition has been adopted by ʿAllāmah Muḥammad Ṭāhir al-Fatnī in Majmaʿ Biḥār al-Anwār (3/328), and by Abū al-Ḥusayn Aḥmad bin Fāris and others in Muʿjam Maqāyīs al-Lughah (p. 546).
This definition of handshaking perfectly aligns with the manner practiced by Ahl al-Ḥadīth, whereas the form commonly practiced among Ḥanafīs does not conform to this classical definition.
"لقيني رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وأنا جنب، فأخذ بيدي، فمشيت معه حتى قعد فانسللت"
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ met me while I was in the state of janābah. He took my hand, and I walked with him until he sat down, and then I slipped away.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Ghusl, Bāb: The Junub Going Out to the Market, etc. 285
◈ In some marginal notes of study versions of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, the addition "بيميني" (with my right hand) is found — meaning the Prophet ﷺ took his right hand.
This addition is referenced by:
◈ Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh bin Busr رضي الله عنه said:
"ترون كفي هذه؟ فأشهد أني وضعتها على كف محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم"
“Do you see this palm of mine? I testify that I placed it on the palm of Muḥammad ﷺ.”
Musnad Aḥmad 4/189, Ḥadīth: 17838–17842
Tārīkh Dimashq 27/154–155
Al-Kunā lil-Dūlābī 2/118
Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān 9/275
Maʿjam al-Ṣaḥābah by Ibn Qātiʿ 2/81
Also, in Al-Tamhīd (12/247) by Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, the narration is recorded as:
"ترون يدي هذه؟ صافحت بها رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم"
“Do you see this hand of mine? With this hand, I shook the hand of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”
These phrases — "كفّي هذه", "يدي هذه", "بيميني" — clearly indicate the use of a single hand and not both hands.
Those who claim, in the presence of such clear and authentic proofs, that shaking hands with one hand is a “Western custom,” are far from the truth and have strayed from the Straight Path.
Such people, in falsely labeling the Sunnah as a “Western innovation,” have undermined their own faith and plunged into deep misguidance.
"The Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hand (yad) other Muslims are safe"
However, using this kind of general mention of “hand” as evidence against one-handed handshake is incorrect.
Imām ʿAynī in ʿUmdat al-Qārī (1/20) clarifies that in such cases, “hand” refers to any form of harm, whether literal or metaphorical.
Hence, comparing handshake-related hadiths to these general ones is a false analogy (qiyās maʿa al-fāriq).
In the case of muṣāfaḥah, the word “hand” is used in a specific legal context, and as shown earlier, the definitions by scholars of language and hadith clarify it as one hand to one hand.
✔ Handshaking with one hand — specifically the right hand — is Sunnah
✔ It is clearly proven from authentic ahadith
✔ Declaring it a Western custom is a false and ignorant assertion
Question:
Is handshaking with the right hand established from any authentic hadith? Some people claim that shaking hands with one hand is an English custom, and that no authentic hadith proves shaking hands with just one hand. Please guide us according to the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Answer:
Before citing the authentic ahadith related to handshaking (muṣāfaḥah), let us first understand the definition of muṣāfaḥah.
❖ Definition of Muṣāfaḥah
◈ Imām Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī رحمه الله stated:"هي مفاعلة من الصفحة والمراد بها الإنضاء بصفحة اليد إلى صفحة اليد"
“Muṣāfaḥah is derived from the form of interaction (mufāʿalah) from the word ṣafḥah, and it refers to joining the palm of one hand with the palm of another.”
Fatḥ al-Bārī, 11/54◈ Imām Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī رحمه الله explained:
"ومنه حديث المصافحة عند اللقاء وهي مفاعلة من الصافح، صفح الكف بالكف"
“The term used in the hadiths about greeting through handshakes is also derived from ṣafḥ. It refers to the act of joining the palm with another palm.”
Al-Nihāyah fī Gharīb al-Ḥadīth wa al-Athar, 3/43This same definition has been adopted by ʿAllāmah Muḥammad Ṭāhir al-Fatnī in Majmaʿ Biḥār al-Anwār (3/328), and by Abū al-Ḥusayn Aḥmad bin Fāris and others in Muʿjam Maqāyīs al-Lughah (p. 546).
This definition of handshaking perfectly aligns with the manner practiced by Ahl al-Ḥadīth, whereas the form commonly practiced among Ḥanafīs does not conform to this classical definition.❖ Authentic Ahādīth on One-Handed Handshake
◈ Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrated:"لقيني رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وأنا جنب، فأخذ بيدي، فمشيت معه حتى قعد فانسللت"
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ met me while I was in the state of janābah. He took my hand, and I walked with him until he sat down, and then I slipped away.”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Ghusl, Bāb: The Junub Going Out to the Market, etc. 285◈ In some marginal notes of study versions of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, the addition "بيميني" (with my right hand) is found — meaning the Prophet ﷺ took his right hand.
This addition is referenced by:
- ʿAllāmah ʿAynī al-Ḥanafī in ʿUmdat al-Qārī (2/241)
- ʿAllāmah Aḥmad al-Qasṭallānī in Irshād al-Sārī (1/209)
◈ Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh bin Busr رضي الله عنه said:
"ترون كفي هذه؟ فأشهد أني وضعتها على كف محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم"
“Do you see this palm of mine? I testify that I placed it on the palm of Muḥammad ﷺ.”
Musnad Aḥmad 4/189, Ḥadīth: 17838–17842 Tārīkh Dimashq 27/154–155 Al-Kunā lil-Dūlābī 2/118 Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān 9/275 Maʿjam al-Ṣaḥābah by Ibn Qātiʿ 2/81Also, in Al-Tamhīd (12/247) by Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, the narration is recorded as:
"ترون يدي هذه؟ صافحت بها رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم"
“Do you see this hand of mine? With this hand, I shook the hand of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”
These phrases — "كفّي هذه", "يدي هذه", "بيميني" — clearly indicate the use of a single hand and not both hands.Those who claim, in the presence of such clear and authentic proofs, that shaking hands with one hand is a “Western custom,” are far from the truth and have strayed from the Straight Path.
Such people, in falsely labeling the Sunnah as a “Western innovation,” have undermined their own faith and plunged into deep misguidance.
❖ Misuse of the Word “Hand” (Yad) in General Hadiths
Some argue from general ahadith like:"The Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hand (yad) other Muslims are safe"
However, using this kind of general mention of “hand” as evidence against one-handed handshake is incorrect.
Imām ʿAynī in ʿUmdat al-Qārī (1/20) clarifies that in such cases, “hand” refers to any form of harm, whether literal or metaphorical.
Hence, comparing handshake-related hadiths to these general ones is a false analogy (qiyās maʿa al-fāriq).
In the case of muṣāfaḥah, the word “hand” is used in a specific legal context, and as shown earlier, the definitions by scholars of language and hadith clarify it as one hand to one hand.
Conclusion:
✔ Handshaking with one hand — specifically the right hand — is Sunnah✔ It is clearly proven from authentic ahadith
✔ Declaring it a Western custom is a false and ignorant assertion
