Thursday, January 5, 2012

Shaking Hands with Ahlul Kitab

Here are two Authentic adīth regarding shaking hands with the Ahl al-Kitāb. This is very important, especially in this day in age, because we interact with them so often. According to these aādīth, if you shake your hands with someone from the Ahl al-Kitāb (i.e. Jew, Christian or Zoroastrian) then you must wash your hands.

There is another adīth that states when you shake your hands with a dhimmī you do not wash your hands, but you wipe your hands upon dirt or a wall, and if it is a nāibī then you wash your hands. This adīth is Da`īf (weak) because one of the narrators (`Alī bin Mu`ammar) is majhūl (unknown). Also, this cannot be used for your everyday Ahl al-Kitāb, because the adīth specifically states dhimmī.

حُمَيْدُ بْنُ زِيَادٍ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ وُهَيْبِ بْنِ حَفْصٍ عَنْ أَبِي بَصِيرٍ عَنْ أَحَدِهِمَا ع فِي مُصَافَحَةِ الْمُسْلِمِ الْيَهُودِيَّ وَ النَّصْرَانِيَّ قَالَ مِنْ وَرَاءِ الثَّوْبِ فَإِنْ صَافَحَكَ بِيَدِهِ فَاغْسِلْ يَدَكَ
From Abī Baṣīr from one of them (عليه السلام) about a Muslim shaking hands with a Jew or a Christian? He (عليه السلام) said: “(Do it) From behind a cloth, and if you shake his hand (without a cloth), then wash your hands”
Source:
1.     Al-Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, ed. `Alī Akbar al-Ghaffārī, 8 vols., (Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah, 3rd Edition, 1388 AH), vol. 2, pg. 650, hadeeth # 10
Grading:
1.     Al-Majlisī said this hadeeth is Muwaththaq (Reliable)
à Mir’āt Al-`Uqūl, 26 vols., (Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah, 1410 AH), vol. 12, pg. 548


أَبُو عَلِيٍّ الْأَشْعَرِيُّ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْجَبَّارِ عَنْ صَفْوَانَ عَنِ الْعَلَاءِ بْنِ رَزِينٍ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ مُسْلِمٍ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ ع فِي رَجُلٍ صَافَحَ رَجُلًا مَجُوسِيّاً قَالَ يَغْسِلُ يَدَهُ وَ لَا يَتَوَضَّأُ
From Muhammad bin Muslim from Abī Ja`far (عليه السلام) about a man shaking hands with a Zoroastrian man? He (عليه السلام) said: “Wash your hands, but you do not (need) to do wuḍū’”
Source:
1.     Al-Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, ed. `Alī Akbar al-Ghaffārī, 8 vols., (Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah, 3rd Edition, 1388 AH), vol. 2, pg. 650, hadeeth # 12
Grading:
1.     Al-Majlisī said this hadeeth is Ṣaḥīḥ (Authentic)
à Mir’āt Al-`Uqūl, 26 vols., (Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah, 1410 AH), vol. 12, pg. 548

6 comments:

  1. Salam,

    But why does Ayatollah Sistani say this:

    A few relevant rulings from Sayyid Seestani:


    35. The Ahlul Kitab (that is, the Jews, the Christians and the Zoroastrians) are ritually pure (tahir) as long as you do not know that they have become ritually impure (najis) by coming into contact with an impure object. You can follow this ruling when dealing with them.

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  2. @Anonymous,

    Some scholars believe that this washing of the hands is mustaHab, while wiping the hands on the wall is waajib. This stems for a larger debate which is on the najaasah of Ahlul Kitaab.

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  3. Salam Aleykum,

    Does touching the Ahlul Kitab, in any way affect our prayers?

    If we have wudhu, then shake their hands, must we wash our hands before we pray?

    If there are any connections between touching the Ahlul Kitab and prayers, could you please post the relevant hadiths?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Salam Aleykum,

    I am still waiting for a response to my question, previously posted in response to this post.

    Could you please provide an answer for it?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sayed, Fadullah (ra) Sistani e Khamanei dizem taher cristãos e judeus.
    As tradições devem esta em conformidade com alcorao!

    ReplyDelete