and does not apply generally.”
Sufyān said: “Whatever applies generally to Ja‘far applies to us if we are righteous, and whatever is particular to him is particular to us. Will you permit me to narrate a hadith in your gathering?”
He replied: “Yes, Abū Muhammad.”
He said: ‘Abd Allāh ibn Tāwūs narrated to me, from his father, from ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Abbās, who said: “When Ja‘far ibn Abī Tālib returned from Abyssinia, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) embraced him, kissed him between the eyes, and said: ‘Ja‘far resembles me most closely in appearance and character. What was the most remarkable thing you saw in Abyssinia?’” The hadith continues.
Since it was not reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did this with anyone other than Ja‘far ibn Abī Tālib, Mālik considered it particular to him. He disliked it for people generally because the Companions did not continue its practice after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and because people are averse to it at ordinary times. It generally occurs only at a farewell, in intense longing caused by an absence, or with family and the like. In his view, it differed from shaking hands because the latter was an established practice. The reasoning behind permitting embracing is to treat it as analogous to shaking hands. A report from Abū Dharr states that “the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to shake hands with him; then a chill came over him, and he held him close.” It is possible that he did this once without making it a regular practice.
Section
Kissing the hand when greeting someone is disliked. Mālik was asked about a man returning from a journey whose slave or freedman takes his hand and kisses it. He replied: “I would prefer that he refrain from doing so.”
It is as he said: his patron or master should tell him not to do this, for by virtue of his Islam he is his brother in Allah, and he may be better than him in Allah’s sight. If, however, he is not a Muslim, he need not tell him to refrain, because of the report that “some Jews came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and, to test him, asked him about nine clear signs. When he told them about them, they kissed his hands and feet.” This occurs in a lengthy hadith.
Section
One should not initiate the greeting of peace to non-Muslims under Muslim protection, because this greeting conveys salutation and honour. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:
“a greeting from Allah, blessed and good” [al-Nūr: 61].
Thus, an unbeliever must not be regarded as entitled to it. This