The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Do not greet one another the way the Jews and Christians do, for their greeting is by gestures of the hands, nods of the head, and signals."
أن رسول الله ﷺ قال: لا تسلموا تسليم اليهود والنصارى، فإن تسليمهم بالأكف والرؤوس والإشارة.
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Nasai narrated it in Sunan al-Kubra (10100), from Ibrahim bin Mustamir, who said, "Salit bin Muhammad told me, Ibrahim bin Humayd Ruwasi told us, from Thawr bin Yazid, who said, Abu Zubayr narrated, from Jabir bin Abdullah," who said, and then he mentioned it as above.Its chain is hasan because of Salit bin Muhammad, who is Ibn Abdul-Rahman Basri, for his hadith is hasan. Likewise, Nasai's teacher, Ibrahim bin Mustamir Uruqi Basri, is truthful. Ibn Hajar said in Fath al-Bari (14/11), "Nasai narrated it with a good chain."Abu Yaala (1875) and Tabarani in Awsat (4437) both narrated it, through the route of Uthman bin Abu Shayba, "Abu Khalid Ahmar Sulayman bin Hayan told us, from Thawr bin Yazid, from Abu Zubayr, from Jabir," who said, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "A man's greeting with a single finger, pointing with it, is the practice of the Jews."Haythami said in Majma (38/8), "Abu Yaala and Tabarani in Awsat narrated it, and the narrators of Abu Yaala are the narrators found in the Sahih."The prohibition against greeting with a gesture applies specifically to one who is able to use audible speech. As for someone far away whose voice cannot be heard, it is permissible for him to gesture with his hand while uttering the greeting.Of similar meaning is what was narrated from Abdullah bin Amr bin As, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "He is not one of us who imitates others than us. Do not imitate the Jews or the Christians, for the greeting of the Jews is pointing with the fingers, and the greeting of the Christians is gesturing with the palms."Tirmidhi said, "This hadith's chain is daif, and Ibn Mubarak narrated this hadith from Ibn Lahia but did not attribute it to the Prophet."