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Is shaking hands with the right hand only from the Sunnah? And is encompassing one hand with both hands (both hands of the Muslim) legislated?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Shaking hands upon meeting and greeting is one of the etiquettes of Islam and removes rancor. A hadith has been narrated regarding its virtue: "There are no two Muslims who meet and shake hands but that they are forgiven before they part." This was a well-known practice among the Companions. The Sunnah in handshaking is to shake with one hand, as indicated by the hadiths and the derivation of the word. As for shaking hands with both hands, there is no established regular Sunnah for it from the Prophet (peace be upon him) nor from his Companions; rather, it occurred in specific cases for additional care. Nevertheless, shaking hands with both hands is not described as an innovation (bid'ah); rather, it is permissible, but it is better to restrict oneself to shaking hands with one hand.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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