Questioner #1: Why is it not allowed to give a hand, to shake hands with a woman?
Huzoor (rh): You know, this is one… Would you first translate it into German?
Translator: Warum ist es nicht erlaubt, dass Männer Frauen die Hände geben?
Huzoor (rh): (rh): You know, it’s both ways. Women are not allowed either to shake hands with men. The fact is that this is one of those regions where a very specific order is not given like this. It is promoted that all such occasions should be avoided which may give rise to free mixing of the two sexes.
Islam has a very special philosophy of segregation of sexes in the sense that women are permitted to play a meaningful role in life but men are not permitted to make them or turn them into toys for seeking pleasure. This is the philosophy of all Islamic injunctions regarding the mixing of men and women. Secondly, Islam considers the motive forces of sex to have been created by God to serve a purpose and if instead of serving that particular purpose they are misdirected and misused and permitted to make short circuits then they will play havoc with the society instead of creating an atmosphere of mutual love and trust between man and wife. Such loose atmosphere in the society would create many short circuits of emotional channels between women and other men and men and other women.
That according to Islam should be prevented or like any two cables leading to a bulb or anything else if before reaching the instrument for which they are meant they meet halfway because of bad insulation, instead of producing a work for man they would destroy sometimes the whole building by causing a fire. So this is the philosophy of Islamic teachings regarding the separation of two sexes only to a degree where unnecessary secret contact is not promoted. Now this is the philosophy in view of this out of respect for lady it is not recommended that any Tom, Dick and Harry should start shaking hands with ladies because every man is not of the same moral standard.
Sometimes he is tried beyond his capacity of moral control. When he shakes hands with ladies he is motivated in wrong directions he tries to convey wrong impressions to the ladies or be influenced wrongly by that contact so this contact is not promoted because of that not because ladies are looked down upon as secondary citizens, it is the men which are not considered safe for ladies.
This is why men are kept to their places and said you can shake your head, respect a lady but don’t extend your hand and start pressing the hands of the unknown people, maybe you are diseased in mind, maybe you have bad intentions so the respectable ladies would be unfairly treated at your hand because of this promotion of contact. Now this is, as I said, a borderline case no definite injunction is found in Islam categorically preventing the shake hand.
So in some Islamic society it is carried but I being the head of a purely religious community I want to set an example for a people if I move in a region or even borderline area in one direction my followers will move ten steps ahead of me in the same direction so I have to play doubly cautious in this regard and set an example for my followers.
(Answer is translated into German)
Let me tell you a joke in the end that is relevant to this issue. A great jurist, leader of one of the largest sects of jurisprudence in Islam, Imam Abu Hanifa, was once walking in the street of Baghdad while it was heavily raining he saw a small child running unconsciously, rapidly along the streets, and Imam Abu Hanifa addressed him and said ‘mind your step young boy, you may slip’. He turned back and said ‘oh Imam, mind your step because if I slip, I will slip one man, if you slip the entire nation will slip’. that was a fit reminder to the Imam of his position and responsibility laid on his shoulders.
(Answer is translated into German)
Questioner #2: (Adds a comment in German)
Translator: He is saying, According to the research which I have made in the field of ecnology, I have found out that the majority of people of mankind have the habit not to shake hands as the way of greeting, so we are in the minority here and the majority is not following this habit, but I also want to add an anecdote when I was coming here I was told not to shake hands with his Holiness but when I came to him then he himself was giving me his hand and I didn’t know what to do, but then I took his hand, and this shows that he is making exemptions
Huzoor (rh): no, no, no you must have been misinformed by somebody who was himself misinformed. Because as I said in truly Islamic practice women shake hands with women and men shake hands with men and in close relationship in family circles men shake hands also with women and vice versa because there they are protected and there is no danger of some wrong person outsider doing it with some mischievous view so this is the system and nowhere in Islam prevents anyway men shaking hands with men and women with women. So unfortunately you were misinformed.
(Answer translated into German)
