A: Shaking hands with women needs elaboration; for if the woman is one of the Mahrams (spouse or unmarriageable relative) of the one who shakes hands such as his mother, daughter, sister, maternal/paternal aunt or wife, in this case, there is no harm. On the other hand, it is impermissible for a person to shake hands with a non­Mahram woman, for a woman once outstretched her hand to shake the Prophet (peace be upon him), and he told her: I do not shake hands with women. `Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) also said: By Allah, the hands of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had never touched the hands of any woman, he only used to take their pledge of allegiance verbally (Peace be upon). Hence, it is impermissible for a woman to shake hands with non­Mahram men, as it is impermissible for a man to shake hands with non­Mahram women based on the two mentioned Hadiths. It is also feared that Fitnah (temptation) may occur as a result of this.