Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a man asked: O Messenger of Allah! When a person meets his friend, should he bow to him? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: No. He then asked: Should he embrace him and kiss him? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: No. He said: Then should he shake hands with him? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Yes, if he wishes.

A man from the Banu Anz tribe narrates: I came with Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him). When he returned, the people separated from him, and I said: O Abu Dharr! I want to ask you about some matters of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: But if it is a secret of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I will not tell you. I said: It is not a secret matter. The thing is, when a man meets another man, he takes his hand and shakes hands with him. Is this correct? He said: You have indeed asked a well-informed person. Whenever the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) met me, he always took my hand and shook hands with me. However, there was one time when he did not shake hands; this happened in the last moments of his life. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a message to me while he was on his bed; this was at the time when he was suffering from his final illness. I found him lying down, and when I leaned over him, he raised his blessed hand and embraced me. This manner was so much better and more excellent than a handshake.

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When two Muslims meet each other and one of them takes the other's hand and shakes hands, it is incumbent upon Allah to participate in their supplication (i.e., to accept it), and He does not separate their hands until He has forgiven them.

It is narrated from Abu Dawood, he says: I met Sayyiduna Bara’ bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him), he greeted me with salam, held my hand, smiled, and said: Do you know why I did this with you? I said: I do not know! But I am certain that whatever you have done, there must be goodness in it. Then he said: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) met me and he did the same with me as I have done with you, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked me in the same way as you have asked me. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When two Muslims meet and one of them greets his companion with salam and holds his hand, but this action is only for the sake of Allah Almighty, then they do not separate until Allah Almighty forgives them.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them) narrates that a hadith reached me from a man who had heard it from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So I bought a mount, then I tied a saddle on it and traveled for a month until I reached him in Syria. He was Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Unais (may Allah be pleased with him). I said to the doorkeeper: Tell Abdullah that Jabir is present at the door to meet him. He asked: Jabir, the son of Abdullah? I said: Yes. So he came out, trampling his garment, and he embraced me and I embraced him. Then I said: I have received a hadith from you (I have come to hear it directly), then he mentioned a long hadith.