The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Tomorrow there will arrive among you a people whose hearts are softer toward Islam than yours."Then the Asharis arrived, and among them was Abu Musa Ashari. As they drew near Madinah, they began chanting in rajaz verse, saying, "Tomorrow we shall meet our beloved ones, Muhammad and his company."When they arrived, they shook hands with the people, and they were the first to introduce the practice of shaking hands.
قال رسول الله ﷺ: يقدم عليكم غدا أقوام هم أرق قلوبا للإسلام منكم. قال: فقدم الأشعريون فيهم أبو موسى الأشعري فلما دنوا من المدينة جعلوا يرتجزون يقولون: غدا نلقى الأحبه محمدا وحزبه فلما أن قدموا تصافحوا، فكانوا هم أول من أحدث المصافحة.
Ahmad (12582) narrated it, and Ibn Hibban (7193) graded it sahih, both through the route of Yahya bin Ayub, from Humayd Tawil, who said, "I heard Anas bin Malik say," then he mentioned it. It is recorded in the book on the virtues of the companions.Anas said, "The companions of the Prophet ﷺ, when they met each other, would shake hands, and when they returned from a journey, they would embrace." Tabarani narrated it in Awsat, Majma Bahrayn (3034), from Ahmad bin Yahya bin Khalid bin Hayan Raqqi, who said, Yahya bin Sulayman Jafi told us, Abdul-Salam bin Harb told us, from Shuba, from Qatada, from Anas, then he mentioned it. Tabarani said, "No one narrated it from Shuba except Abdul-Salam, and Jafi transmitted it alone."I say, Yahya bin Sulayman Jafi, although he is among the men of the sahih collections, there is some criticism of him that lowers his hadith to the rank of hasan. Tabarani's teacher is likewise hasan al-hadith, for a group narrated from him, and Tabarani frequently transmitted from him, and despite his renown, he was not impugned.Shaybi said, "The companions of the Prophet ﷺ, when they met, would shake hands, and when they returned from a journey, they would embrace." Tahawi narrated it in Sharh Maani al-Athar (4/281), and Bayhaqi (7/100), both through the route of Shuba, from Ghalib Tammar, from Shaybi, then he mentioned it. The wording given is Tahawi's.Its chain is hasan because of Ghalib Tammar, for he is hasan al-hadith.