Ruling on shaking hands with and kissing mahrams

Question

Praise be to Allah.

There is nothing
wrong with a man greeting his mahrams, or with a woman greeting her mahrams,
by shaking hands or by kissing. There is nothing wrong with that. The
mahrams are the ones who are mentioned in the verse in which Allah, may He
be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“…and
not to reveal their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their
husbands fathers, their sons, their husbands sons, their brothers or their
brothers sons, or their sisters sons, or their (Muslim) women (i.e. their
sisters in Islam), or the (female) slaves whom their right hands possess…”

[an-Noor 24:31].

So mahrams include
maternal uncles, paternal uncles and others.

The following are
the mahrams: her father, her grandfathers, her mother’s father and
grandfathers on the mother’s side, her sons, the sons of her daughters and
the sons of her sons. The woman’s brothers and the sons of her brothers are
also her mahrams, as are her maternal uncles and paternal uncles; all of
them are her mahrams. The same applies to her husband’s father, her
husband’s grandfather, her husband’s son, his son’s sons and the son of her
husband’s daughters; all of them are mahrams to her.

There is nothing
wrong with a man kissing his mahram – his paternal aunt, his maternal aunt,
his mother, his grandmother and his sister. There is nothing wrong with him
kissing them, but it is preferable for him to kiss her on the head,
especially if she is an adult, or on the nose or on the cheek. The majority
of scholars regard it as makrooh to kiss on the mouth except the husband; it
is better for that to be with the husband, not with mahrams. In the case of
mahrams, kissing should be done on the head, the nose or the cheek. This is
what is preferred and is appropriate.

It is all the same
whether the mahrams are mahram by blood or through breastfeeding.

The mahrams
through breastfeeding are the woman’s father through breastfeeding, her
paternal uncle through breastfeeding, her maternal uncle through
breastfeeding, her husband’s son through breastfeeding, her husband’s father
through breastfeeding. They are like blood relatives because the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “What becomes mahram
(forbidden for marriage) through breastfeeding is that which becomes mahram
through blood ties.” This is what he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said. So blood ties are like ties through breastfeeding. The same also
applies to ties through marriage (in-laws), as mentioned above. The
husband’s father is a mahram by virtue of ties through marriage. The
husband’s grandfather and the husband’s son are also mahrams by virtue of
ties through marriage. Whether (the mahram relationship) is through ties of
blood or through breastfeeding, shaking hands is more appropriate.

End quote.

Shaykh ‘Abd
al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him).