The manner of embracing (mu‘anaqa)

Question

Question: What is the sunna way of embracing (mu‘anaqa)? I have seen some people embrace shoulder to shoulder three times, while some embrace on one side only. What is the correct way?

Answer

One side alone is sufficient. Editor’s note: the meaning of mu‘anaqa is to join neck to neck, and repetition in embracing is not established by the books of lexicon or the books of hadith.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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