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Fatwa CenterProhibition of shaking hands with non-Mahram women is not specific to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam
Question
What is the sharia ruling on shaking hands between men and (non-Mahram [permanently unmarriageable]) women? Umaymah bint Ruqayqah, may Allaah be pleased with her, narrated that the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "I do not shake hands with women." Is this ruling specific to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, since he did not explicitly forbid men from doing that?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
Shaking hands between a man and a non-Mahram woman is prohibited. This ruling is not specific to the Prophet 
. Principally we are commanded to follow the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in everything that is not proven to be specific to him. Allaah Almighty says (what means): {There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allaah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allaah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allaah often.} [Quran 33: 21]
Further evidence is that the Prophet explicitly forbade touching non-Mahram women, saying: "For one of you to be stabbed with a metal needle in his head is better for him than to touch a woman who is non-Mahram to him." [At-Tabarani. Al-Haythami, Al-Munthiri; Al-Albani: authentic]
Allaah Knows best.
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