al-Adilla al-Shariyya ala Tahrim Musafahat al-Mara al-Ajnabiyya
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- al-Adilla al-Shariyya ala Tahrim Musafahat al-Mara al-Ajnabiyya
al-Adilla al-Shariyya ala Tahrim Musafahat al-Mara al-Ajnabiyya (Legal Evidences for the Prohibition of Shaking Hands with a Non-Mahram Woman) is a legal treatise written by the Palestinian jurist and professor of Islamic law Husam al-Din Afana, completed in 1414 AH (1994 CE) . The monograph examines the jurisprudential and hadith evidence concerning the ruling on a man shaking hands with a non-mahram woman (ajnabiyya) in Islamic law .
Background and Composition
Afana composed the treatise in response to frequent inquiries he received while delivering lessons at the al-Aqsa Mosque and during public lectures in Jerusalem . When he affirmed that physical contact through handshaking with non-mahram women is prohibited, questioners pointed out that certain contemporary groups permitted it based on specific textual interpretations, such as the narration of Umm Atiyya regarding the women's pledge of allegiance . This prompted him to produce a dedicated, comprehensive study compiling the relevant prophetic traditions and juristic rulings across early and late scholarship . He completed writing the work in Abu Dis, Jerusalem, on Wednesday, 25 Shawwal 1414 AH (6 April 1994 CE) . Its first edition was published in Jerusalem by Matba'at al-Isra .
Contents and Structure
The book is arranged into a series of thematic sections (mabahith) alongside an introduction, a conclusion, and an extensive bibliography :
- Linguistic and legal definitions: The author defines handshaking (al-musafaha) according to major Arabic lexicographers and hadith commentators as placing the palm of one hand against the palm of another, and details the categories of permanently and temporarily forbidden women (al-mahramat) versus non-mahram women .
- Scholarly consensus across the four madhhabs: The work documents the positions of scholars from the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali schools, maintaining that touching or shaking hands with a young, non-mahram woman is prohibited in Islamic jurisprudence .
- Textual evidences: Afana compiles scriptural proofs, including narrations of the Prophet's ﷺ pledge of allegiance with women, such as Aisha's report that the Prophet's hand never touched the hand of a woman, and the tradition: إني لا أصافح النساء ("I do not shake hands with women") . He also adduces the narration of Ma'qil ibn Yasar warning against touching non-mahram women, and discusses the legal principle of blocking the means to temptation (sadd al-dhara'i') .
- Critique of the permissive position: A dedicated chapter evaluates what the author characterizes as an isolated opinion (qawl shadh) permitting handshakes between men and non-mahram women without a barrier, specifically critiquing the arguments advanced by Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani in works such as al-Nizam al-Ijtima'i fi al-Islam (The Social System in Islam) and al-Shakhsiyya al-Islamiyya (The Islamic Personality) . Afana analyzes the counter-proofs cited by proponents of this view and argues that they rely on misinterpreted texts or unauthentic reports .
In the conclusion, Afana argues that classical authorities across centuries held a unified stance on the prohibition of handshakes with non-mahram women, and that claims of an established classical disagreement on the matter are unfounded .
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