Is shaking hands after prayer a sunnah?
Shaking hands is a sunnah, but shaking hands right after every prayer is not a specific sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ and his Companions didn't make it a fixed ritual after the salam. Scholars differ on the custom: some call it a harmless habit, others discourage it. Greeting someone you're meeting for the first time that day is good either way.
Handshakes in general are sunnah
Qatadah asked Anas ibn Malik whether shaking hands was a practice among the Companions, and he said yes (Sahih al-Bukhari 6263). The Prophet ﷺ also said that when two Muslims meet and shake hands, they are forgiven before they part (Sunan Abi Dawud 5212). So a warm handshake between brothers, or between sisters, is a beautiful act with real reward.
What about right after the salam?
In many mosques, especially in South Asian, Turkish and Indonesian communities, people turn to their neighbors after the salam and shake hands, sometimes saying "taqabbal Allah" (may Allah accept). There is no report that the Prophet ﷺ or the Companions did this as a routine after each prayer. What he did after the salam was dhikr: asking forgiveness three times and saying "Allahumma anta as-salam" (Sahih Muslim 591). See What should I say after every prayer?
What scholars say
- Permissible, not sunnah: Imam an-Nawawi (Shafi'i) said the handshake itself is sunnah, and doing it after Fajr or Asr is a permissible habit, especially with someone you hadn't met yet that day.
- Discouraged as a ritual: other scholars, such as Ibn Taymiyyah and a number of Maliki scholars, said that tying it to the end of every prayer makes it look like part of the worship, so it's better left.
- Common ground: nobody says the handshake itself is sinful, and everyone agrees it shouldn't replace the dhikr after prayer.
Discussions about which habits count as bidah come up a lot. For a similar case, see Is saying "Jummah Mubarak" a bidah?
Good manners when someone offers a hand
If the person next to you holds out a hand after the prayer, take it with a smile. Refusing can hurt feelings and cause bad blood in the community, which is worse than the habit itself. You can then continue your dhikr quietly. If you'd rather not start the handshake yourself, that's fine too. Handshakes with the opposite sex are a separate question. See Can I still shake hands with the opposite sex as a Muslim?
- Shaking hands when Muslims meet is a sunnah.
- Doing it after every salam is a later custom, not a sunnah.
- Scholars differ: permissible habit vs. better avoided.
- Never refuse an offered hand rudely; keep the dhikr.
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