Shaking Hands with Women

“This is concerning my question before abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.), about men’s shaking hands with women. He (the Imam) said, ‘It is lawful for men to shake hands with women with whom marriage is not lawful, like sister, daughter, paternal and maternal aunts, daughter of sister or so. However, a woman with whom marriage is lawful, shaking hands is unlawful, except from behind the cloth but he must not squeeze her palm.’”

“This is concerning my question before abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), if one can shake hands with women who are lawful for marriage. He (the Imam) said, ‘No, it is not permissible except from behind the cloth.’”

Sa‘idah and Minnah sisters of Muhammad Ibn Abi ‘Umayr Bayya‘ al-Sabiriy narrated to me the following: “Once, we visited abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), and asked if a woman can visit her brother. He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, she can do so.’ We then asked if she can shake hands with him. He (the Imam) said, ‘It must be from behind the cloth.’ One of them said, ‘My sister, this one, visits her brothers.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘When you visit your brothers do not wear dyes.’”