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Is it permissible for a man to shake hands with a non-mahram woman, and what is the ruling on handshaking with a veiled woman who seeks Allah's pleasure?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is not permissible for a Muslim woman to shake hands with a non-mahram man, based on the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: "For one of you to be stabbed in the head with an iron needle is better for him than that he should touch a woman not permissible for him." This is also because touching is more stimulating than merely looking, and Allah has commanded lowering the gaze. A veiled woman who shakes hands with non-mahram men has done good by her hijab and evil by her handshake. She should refrain from shaking hands because the Shariah forbids it.

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

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