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Fatwa CenterEmbracing a brother
Question
Can my brother embrace me?
Answer
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the World; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
One is allowed to hug his brother/foster brother/Muslim brother. He is also allowed to hug his sister or any other female of his Muharim unless such a hug leads to what is Haram or constitutes, suspicion, then it (hug) becomes Haram.
However, hugging is to be confined for those returning from journey.
In this context, " 'Ayisha (Radiya Allahu Anha) reported that once Zaid Ibn Haritha (Radiya Allahu Anhu) came to al-Madina while the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) was at her home. So, when Zaid knocked the door (of our home), the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) got up to meet him, and then, the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) embraced and kissed Zaid " . [ al-Tirmizi , who graded it as a good Hadith].
This means that hugging is not legalized for those who are not returning from journey, for the Hadith reported by Ahmad and al-Tirmizi (as a good Hadith) from " Anas ((Radiya Allahu Anhu) who said that a man said to Allah's Messenger: 'A man of us meets his brother or friend, could one bow to him?' The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) replied: "No". The man asked: 'To embrace and kiss him?' The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: "No". The man asked: 'What about shaking hands?' The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: "Yes"" .
Allah knows best.
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