He (prayers and peace upon him) said: Whoever touches the hand of a woman with whom no contact is permitted – embers will be placed in his hand on the day of resurrection. And this if she is a young woman that can be desired; if she is an old woman that can not be desired, then there is nothing wrong with shaking hands with her and touching her hand since there is no fear of enticement. It is narrated that Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) would go to some of the tribes in which he had been suckled, and he would shake hands with the old women; and Abdullah ibn Al-Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) rented an old woman to care for him when he was ill, and she rubbed his legs and deloused his head. It is likewise if the man is old and guards himself and her; if he does not guard her and himself, it is not permissible for him to shake hands with her, since in this there is a predisposition towards enticement. The conclusion then is that the permissibility of touching is contingent upon them both being sound adults, according to one narrative. According to another, it is sufficient for one of them to be a sound adult, since if one of them is not capable of desire then touching will not lead to falling into enticement, as in the case of a little girl. The reason behind the first is that a young man is not given to desire from touching an old woman, whereas an old woman may experience desire from the touch of a young man, since she has known the pleasures of sex, and this could lead to desire in one of them, which would be forbidden. This is in contrast to the case if one of them is little, since this would not lead to desire in either of them, given that since an adult does not experience desire from the touch of a little one, a little one also does not experience desire from his touch, as there is yet no awareness.