Kissing the Hands & Feet of the Pious by Mufti Ibrahim Desai

8/9/2019 Kissing the Hands & Feet of the Pious by Mufti Ibrahim Desai

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In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

KISSING THE HANDS AND FEET OF THE PIOUS

INTRODUCTION

In Jawahir al fiqh, Hadhrat Mufti Shafi Saheb (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on him) hassummarized and translated into Urdu a treatise of Allamah Abid Sindhi (May Allah

Ta'ala be pleased with him) entitled Risalah fi ithbaat al-karamaat wa taqbeel yadi ahlash-sharf. This treatise contains narrations which prove that the Sahabah t used to kiss

the hands and feet of their elders. Thereafter, Hadhrat Mufti Shafi Saheb (May AllahTa'ala have mercy on him) included a section wherein he quotes the verdicts of senior

Ulama from all four madhabs on this subject.

Hereunder, we present a condensed version of the above-mentioned treatise. We havealso added some passages from the book of Shaykh Abdullah al-Ghumari, Ilaam an-nabeel bi jawaz at-taqbeel.

A SUMMARY OF THE TREATISE OF ALLAMAH MUHAMMAD

ABID SINDI

Kissing takes place for various reasons. Amongst others are the following:

1) Lust and passion. There is consensus amongst all Scholars that this type of kissing ispermissible only for ones spouse. It is not permissible to kiss any other person for thisreason. This is irrespective whether a person kisses on the head, face or hands.

2) Compassion. An example of this is the kissing of the mother to her child on the face or

head.

3) Honour and respect. This is where a person kisses the hands of a scholar, elder or justruler.

Kissing for compassion and honour is both permissible and established from Ahadith.

KISSING A PERSON OUT OF COMPASSION The proof of kissing for compassionis the narration where Nabi kissed his grandchild, Hadhrat Hasan (May

Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him). Likewise, Abu Bakr (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased


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with him) kissed his daughter, Ayesha (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with her) on her facewhen she was ill (Abu Dawood). Similarly, Nabi kissed Jafar bin Abi

Talib (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) on his forehead (Ibid). These narrationsattest to the permissibility of kissing a person out of compassion. There is no difference

amongst the Fuqaha on this issue.

KISSING A PERSON OUT OF HONOUR AND RESPECT It is permissible to kissthe hands and feet of only a pious scholar, a just ruler or a person who has some religious

reputation. To kiss anyone else with this intention would not be permissible. The reasonfor this is that the Ahadith only discusses the kissing of the hands and feet of noble

people.

Below are a few narrations which prove the permissibility of kissing the hands and feet ofthose who have scholarly and religious stature.

1) Al Hafidh Abu Bakr bin al-Muqri narrates in his Juz taqbeel al yad that Jabir (May

Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) said, Umar (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him)kissed the hands of the Prophet .

2) Dhaabih (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) came to Nabi with onedelegation. He mentions, When we arrived in Madinah, we hurriedly dismounted ourconveyances and kissed the blessed hands of Nabi .

3) Abdullah bin Umar (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) narrates this incident withthe wording:

4) Likewise, in Sunan Abi Dawood there is a narration from Ayesha (May Allah Ta'ala be

pleased with him) that when Nabi entered her home, she stood up to

welcome him and kissed his blessed hand.

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5) Ibn al Muqri narrates that Usamah bin Shareek (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him)

said, We stood up for Nabi and kissed his hand.

6) Tabrani narrates from Kab bin Malik (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) that whenNabi came to him, he held of the hand of Nabi and kissed it.

7) Imam Ahmad, Imam Bukhari, Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi, Ibn Maja, Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn

al Araabi all narrate that Ibn Umar (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) said, I wason an expedition. Some people began to flee and I was amongst them. We said, Whatwill we do now, we fled the battlefield and earned the anger of Allah Taala. Then we

thought of returning to Madinah and presenting ourselves to Nabi thinking


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to ourselves that if our repentance is accepted, then well and good, otherwise we willreturn. We came to him before the morning prayers. When he came out, he enquired as to

who we were. We replied that we are the ones who fled the battlefield. He replied, Nay,you are the ones who have returned from the battlefield. I am your fiah (supportinggroup) and a fiah to all Muslims. We came to him and kissed his hand.

8) In Mujam al-awsat, Imam Tabrani (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on him) narrates with agood chain that Salamah bin Akwa (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) said, I

pledged allegiance at the hands of Nabi and also kissed his hands. Nabi

did not prohibit me.

9) Hakim narrated and authenticated in Al Mustadrak a narration on the authority of

Buraidah (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) that a person came to Nabi

and kissed his blessed hands and feet.

10) In Tirmidhi, Nasai and Ibn Majah it is narrated from Safwan (May Allah Ta'ala bepleased with him) that a group of Jews kissed both the blessed hands and feet of Nabi

. Imam Tirmidhi (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on him) has classified this

narration as good.

11) Ibn al-Muqri and Al-Bayhaqi narrated that Abu Lubabah (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased

with him) kissed Nabi when his repentance was revealed.

12) Abu ash-Shaykh and Ibn Mardooyah narrated that Kab bin Malik has said, When my

repentance was revealed, I came to Nabi and kissed his hands.

13) Ibn al-Araabi narrates that Zaahir al-Ashjaiee was a Bedouin. Whenever he came to

Nabi , he always brought a gift. Nabi once saw him in a

market selling his merchandise whereas he had not as yet come to Nabi .

Nabi came from behind and placed his hands around him. Zaahir turned

around and when he perceived that it was Nabi , he began to kiss his palms.

There are numerous other narrations which show that the Sahabah t kissed Nabi

. Shaykh Abdullah al-Ghumari (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on him) has quoted

many of these narrations in his book Ilaam an Nabeel.

It is established from these narrations that a person can kiss the hands and in fact even the

feet of a scholar, just ruler or person holding some religious accolades.

In contrast to this is the (following) narration of Anas (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased withhim) from where it appears that there is a prohibition for kissing. This would refer to


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kissing such people who are not scholars, just rulers or do not possess any religiousvirtue.

Imam Tirmidhi narrates with a good chain from Anas bin Malik (May Allah Ta'ala be

pleased with him) that a person enquired from Nabi , If anyone of us

meets a brother or friend, should he bow before him? Nabi replied in the

negative. He further asked, Should he embrace him and kiss him? Nabi

replied in the negative. The person then asked, Should he shake his hands? Nabi

replied in the affirmative.

This narration refers to those people who are not Ulama, just rulers or people of religious

stature. Such a person should not be embraced or kissed. It will be sufficient to merelyshake his hands. This could be ascertained by the very nature of the question. The

questioner did not enquire about meeting scholars or pious people; he asked about

meeting his brothers and friends. In response to this, Nabi prohibited him.

Furthermore, even though Imam Tirmidhi authenticated this narration, other luminaries

such as Imam Ahmad and Imam Bayhaqi have deemed this narration to be weak asnarrated by Allamah Iraqi. The reason for this is that in the chain of transmition there is a

narrator named Handhala. Imam Ahmad, Ibn Maeen and Imam Nasai (May Allah Ta'alabe pleased with them all) have said that he is weak in hadith. Imam Ahmad has

specifically criticized his narrations from Anas (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him).

Till here such narrations have been cited where the Sahabah t kissed the blessed hands of

Nabi . Hereunder are narrations where Nabi himself kissed

some of his companions,

1) It is narrated in Saheeh al-Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim that Nabi kissed

Hasan bin Ali (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with both of them) in the company of Aqrabin Habis. Aqra bin Habis said, Verily I have ten children, and I never kissed any of

them. Nabi looked at him and said, He who does not show mercy will

not be shown mercy.

2) Imam Tirmidhi narrates that Ayesha (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with her) said, Zaid

bin Haaritha came to Madinah while Nabi was at my place. He came and

knocked at the door. Nabi hastened towards him, hugged him and kissedhim.

3) In Sunan Abi Dawood, Tirmidhi, Nasai and Mustadrak Hakim it is narrated that Ayesha

(May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with her) said, I have not seen any person who resembled

the Prophet more in his speech than Fatimah (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased

with her). Whenever she would come in the presence of Nabi , he would


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stand up, welcome her, kiss her hands and seat her in the same place where he was

sitting. And when Nabi would go to her, she would also stand up and kiss

his hand.

4) Ibn al-Araabi (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on him) narrates from Ikrimah (May Allah

Ta'ala have mercy on him) that when Nabi would return from an

expedition, he would kiss Fatimah (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on her).

5) It has been established in one narration that when Abu Bakr (May Allah Ta'ala be

pleased with him) came, Nabi embraced him and kissed him on his face.

When Ali (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) said this, he emulated Nabi

and also kissed Abu Bakr (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him). On this, Nabi

said to Ali, O Abul Hasan, Abu Bakrs status to me is like my status in front

of my mother.

6) Abu Yala narrates that Ayesha (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with her) said, I saw Nabi

hugging Ali and kissing him.

7) In Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah and Sunan Abi Dawood it is narrated that Nabi

met Jafar bin Abi Talib t and kissed him between his eyes.

8) Imam Hakim and Imam Tabrani narrated that when Jafar bin Abi Talib t returned from

Abyssinia, Nabi kissed him between his eyes and said, I dont know if I

am more happy with the return of Jafar or with the conquest of Khaybar.

9) Imam Ahmad narrates from Abdullah bin al-Harith that he said, Nabi

described Abdullah bin Abbaas and his two brothers, Ubaidullah and Katheer and he

said, Whoever races to me, hell get such a prize. They all raced to him and jumped onhis back and chest. He hugged them and kissed them.

10) ImamAhmad,Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Ibn al-Araabi narrate from Ayesha

(May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with her) that she said, I saw Nabi kiss

Uthmaan bin Madhoon while tears were rolling down his cheeks.

It is clear from these narrations that kissing is not a specialty (khaasiyyah) of Nabi. This is corroborated by the following narrations which show that the

companions of the Prophet kissed one another and no one objected.

1) In Tabrani it is narrated from Yahya bin Harith Adh Dhimari that he said, I met

Wathilah bin Asqa and asked, You pledge allegiance on the hands ofNabi


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with this hand? He replied in the affirmative. I submitted, Please stretch out your

hand so that I can kiss it. He fulfilled my request and I kissed his hand.

Allamah Haythami (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on him) narrates the above narration

and comments, All the narrators are strong.

2) Allamah Muhib At Tabari (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on him) narrates in his kitab Ar Riyadh an nadhraunder the chapter of the virtues of Abu Bakr (May Allah Ta'ala be

pleased with him) on the authority of Abu Raja Attaridi that he says, I entered MadinahMunawwarah and saw that all the people had gathered. I also saw one person kissing the

head of another person and saying to him, May I be sacrificed for you; had it not beenfor you, I would have been destroyed. I made enquiries with regards to these people; theone kissing and the one being kissed. The people replied that the one kissing was Umar(May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) and the one being kissed was Abu Bakr (May

Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him). This incident took place at the time when Abu Bakr(May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) was insisting and firm on fighting those who

refused to pay zakaat. Umar (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) and othercompanions held a contrary view. However, jihad took place in conformity with the

decision of Abu Bakr (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him). This incident took placewhen Umar (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) saw the fruits and wisdom of the

decision of Abu Bakr (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him).

3) In his bookAl Isaabah, Hafidh Ibn Hajar Asqalani (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy onhim) narrates under the section of the biography of Abdullah bin Abbaas (May Allah

Ta'ala be pleased with him) on the authority of Shabi (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy onhim) that once Zaid bin Thaabit was riding his horse. As an act of honour Ibn Abbaas

(May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) came in front and took the reins of the horse.

Zaid (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) prohibited him from doing so saying thatyou are the cousin of Nabi , how can I let you do such an act. However, Ibn

Abbaas (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) replied, This is how we have been

commanded to revere and honour our scholars. Zaid bin Thaabit (May Allah Ta'ala bepleased with him) kissed the hands of Ibn Abbaas (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with

him) and said, This is how we have been commanded to respect the noble household of

the Prophet .

This incident is narrated by Hakim in his Mustadrak who has authenticated this narration

by saying that it fulfills the conditions of Imam Muslim. Allamah Dhahabi (May AllahTa'ala be pleased with him) has not objected to this verdict of Imam Hakim. Shams al-

Aimmah Sarakhsi (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) has also narrated this incidentin Mabsoot(73/16)

4) In Bayhaqi it is narrated from Dhiraar bin Umar who narrates from Abu Rafi that Umar(May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) dispatched an army to Rome in which the Sahabi

Abdullah bin Hudhafa t was also sent. The Roman army enjoyed great strength andpower. They imprisoned the Muslims. The king of Rome told Abdullah bin Hudhafa


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(May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) that if he converts to Christianity, the king willmake him a partner of his kingdom. Abdullah bin Hudhafa (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased

with him) blatantly refused. On this the king ordered that Abdullah bin Hudhafa (MayAllah Ta'ala be pleased with him) be hung on a cross and shot with arrows from every

side. This order was executed; however, even on the cross, Hadhrat Abdullah (May Allah

Ta'ala be pleased with him) appeared to be totally content without any sign of fear.Seeing this, the king ordered that he be taken off the cross and ordered that water beheated in a cauldron. Thereafter, he commanded that one prisoner should be burnt. The

flesh of the prisoner began to melt away from his body and his bones became visible.After showing Hadhrat Abdullah (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) this scene, the

king ordered that he be thrown into this boiling water. When Hadhrat Abdullah wasbrought to the cauldron, he began to sob bitterly. The king ordered that he be brought

back and asked him the reason for crying. He replied, I am sad and I regret that I onlyhave one life. When I am thrown in this water, my life will be over. If only I had a

hundred lives and I could use every life to burn in this boiling water. The king wasawestruck and taken aback by Hadhrat Abdullahs steadfastness. The king said, If you

do one thing, I will free you; just kiss my head.Hadhrat Abdulah replied, I will do soonly if you free all the Muslim prisoners. The king accepted this and Hadhrat Abdullahkissed his head. (He did this because it did not entail kufr or shirk and neither was thereany sin, and this would lead to the Muslim prisoners being freed). On this the king

ordered that he and all the Muslim prisoners be freed.

When all these Muslims returned to Umar (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him), hestood up and kissed them on their foreheads.

5) In Tabaqaat Ibn Sad (6/224) it is mentioned under the biography of Asim bin Abi Najood

(May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on him) about Abu Waail (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy

on him) that sometimes he used to come to the village and at times he would be away.When he used to return and meet Hadhrat Asim (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on him),he used to kiss his hands.

6) In Mustadrak Hakim it is narrated under the chapter of the virtues of Abu Sufyaan (MayAllah Ta'ala be pleased with him) that in the battle of Hunain, Abu Sufyaan was with

Nabi . Hadhrat Abbaas (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) submitted,

O Prophet of Allah, this is your cousin Abu Sufyaan, please be happy with him. (The

reason for this is that prior to the conquest of Makkah, Hadhrat Abu Sufyaan fought

every battle against Nabi , hence Abbaas (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with

him) thought that Nabi might still be angry with him). Nabi

accepted the intercession of Abbaas (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) and said, Iam pleased with him. May Allah forgive all the enmity he showed against us.

Thereafter, Nabi turned to Abbaas (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him)

and said, Verily he is our brother. Abbaas (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) says,I kissed his blessed foot while he was seated on his camel.


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7) Ibn al Araabi narrates that Jabir (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) said, Whenmy father was killed on the day of Uhud, I came to him and found him covered. I began

to uncover his face and kiss him. Nabi saw me and did not prohibit me.

8) Sufyaan (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on him) narrates in his Jami that Tamim bin

Salamah said, When Umar (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) came to Syria, AbuUbaidah bin al-Jarrah (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) came to welcome him. Heshook and kissed the hands of Umar (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him). Based onthis, Tamim was of the opinion that kissing the hands is Sunnah.

9) Imam Bukhari (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on him) narrates in Al-Adab al-mufrad thatSuhaib (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) has said, I saw Ali (May Allah Ta'ala be

pleased with him) kiss the hands and feet of Abbaas (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased withhim).

10) Likewise, Imam Ahmad and Imam Bukhari (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on him)

narrates that Thaabit said to Anas (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him), Have youtouched Nabi with your hands. Anas (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with

him) replied in the affirmative. On this, Thaabit kissed his hands.

11) Abu Dawood (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) narrates that Ayaas binDughful said, I saw Abu Nadhirah (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on him) kissthe cheeks of Hasan bin Ali (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him).

12) In his book, Amal al yaum wal laylah, Ibn us-Sunni narrates from Abu BakrbinMuhammad bin Umar (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on him) that he said, One day Icame to the company of Abu Bakr bin Mujahid. Hadhrat Shibli (May Allah Ta'ala be

pleased with him) came to this gathering. Abu Bakr immediately stood up, embracedHadrat Shibli and kissed him on his forehead. I said, O my leader, you are acting like

this to Shibli? Abu Bakr replied, I did the same as I saw Nabi doing the

same to him in one dream: that he went to a gathering of Nabi and Nabi

kissed him on his forehead. I asked Nabi why he was

treating Shibli like this? Nabi said, The reason for this is that after Salaah,

he recites the verse,

After this he sends salutations on me. (Due to this I have kissed him).13) Hafidh Abu Musa Madini (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on him) narrates from Hadrat

Sufyaan (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on him) that he mentioned in one gathering that itis Sunnah to kiss the hands of a scholar and a just leader. Abdullah bin Mubarak was

present in that gathering. He immediately stood up and kissed Sufyaan (May Allah Ta'ala


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have mercy on him) on his head and said, Where will I get such a beautiful opportunityto practice on this Sunnah again.

14) Imam Muslim kissed the forehead of Imam Bukhari and intended to also kiss his feet.

This incident is famous in the books of Hadith and narrators.

15) Imam Nawawi narrates in Al-Adhkaar that Sahl bin Abdullah At-Tustari (May AllahTa'ala have mercy on him) used to come to Imam Abu Dawood any say, Take out your

tongue with which you narrate from Nabi so that I can kiss it. He then

used to kiss it.

The above is further strengthened by the incident that took place at the demise of Nabi

. When Abu Bakr (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) reached the

Janazah of Nabi , he kissed Nabi on his forehead. In the

same way, Nabi kissed Uthmaan bin Madhoon (May Allah Ta'ala be

pleased with him) after his demise.

VERDICTS OF OUR ILLUSTRIOUS JURISTS

1) In Mabsoot of Shams al Aimmah As Sarakhsi under the chapter of Istihsaan (10/149)it is mentioned,

It is narrated that Nabi used to kiss Fatimah (May Allah Ta'ala bepleased with her) and say, I can smell from her the fragrance of Jannah. In fact when he

used to return from a journey, he used to first go to Fatimah (May Allah Ta'ala be

pleased with her) and embrace her. Abu Bakr (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him)

kissed the head of Ayesha (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with her) and said, Whoeverkisses the head of his mother, it is as if he is kissing the threshold of Jannah. Muhammad

bin al-Munkadir (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on him) mentions, I spent a night

massaging my mothers feet and my brother Abu Bakr spent the night in worship. In no

way will I be happy to swap my night with that of my brother.

(It should be noted that it will only be permissible to kiss any woman from onesmaharim (those women who are impermissible to marry) if one feels secure from lust. To


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kiss any woman with lust is prohibited and it has even greater repercussions if done toones maharim). (Ibid)

2) It is mentioned in Badaai as sanaai,

Scholars differ on the ruling of embracing; Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Muhammad

(May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on them) say that it is makrooh (reprehensible) for a male

to kiss the lips, hands or any portion of another male and likewise it is reprehensible to

embrace. It is narrated from Imam Abu Yusuf (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on him) that

there is no problem in doing this. His proof is that when Jafar bin Abi Talib (May Allah

Ta'ala be pleased with him) came from Abyssinia, Nabi embraced him

and kissed him between his eyes. The least status we can attach to the action of Nabi

is that of permissibility. Similarly, it is mentioned that the companions of Nabi used to kiss and embrace one another upon return from a journey.

Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Muhammad use as proof the fact that when Nabi

was asked, Should we kiss one another? Nabi replied in the

negative. When asked if we should embrace one another, Nabi gave the

same response. Thereafter, Nabi was asked if we should shake hands

with one another to which he replied in the affirmative. Abu Mansoor (May Allah Ta'ala

have mercy on him) has mentioned that embracing one another is abominable if it is done

at times when it resembles lust, as when one is naked. If a person merely intends showing

courtesy or honour to another person, it will not be makrooh. Likewise, it will only be

impermissible to kiss if a person if he is doing it out of lust and passion; if these qualities

are not found, it will be permissible. The Hadith which Imam Abu Yusuf has used as

proof will be based on what the Shaykh has mentioned.


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3) In Fatawa Qadhi Khan it is mentioned,

It is detestable for one male to kiss the lips of another male, or even his hand or anyportion of him according to Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Muhammad (May Allah Ta'ala

have mercy on them). And there is no problem in shaking hands. Imam Abu Yusuf (May

Allah Ta'ala have mercy on him) mentions that there is no problem in kissing or

embracing in one piece of cloth. If two males embrace while they have on a shirt or

cloak, or a person kisses out of happiness and has no lust, it will be permissible

according to all.

(Mufti Shafi Saheb mentions): From this last statement of Allamah Qadhi Khan (MayAllah Ta'ala have mercy on him), it becomes clear that the prohibition of kissing and

embracing which is narrated from Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Muhammad (May AllahTa'ala have mercy on them) is confined to that case where a person has lust or it

resembles a person who has lust. Otherwise, it will be permissible to embrace and kissaccording to all three Scholars. The statement of Abu Mansoor (May Allah Ta'ala have

mercy on him) which is in Badaai (the translation has passed above) also corroboratesthis.

4) It is mentioned in Durr al Mukhtaar and its marginal notes, Radd al Muhtaar,

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There is no harm in kissing a scholar or a religious person for blessings. The author

quotes from Al Jami that there is no problem in also kissing the hands of a just ruler. It is

said that this is Sunnah. To kiss the head of a scholar is better as mentioned in al-

Bazaaziyyah. There is no lee-way for kissing the hands of anyone else besides them i.e.

besides the hands of a scholar and just ruler, this is the preferred view. In al-Muheet al

Burhani it is mentioned that if a male kisses another male out of respect for his Islaamand to honour him, it will be permissible.

A person asks a scholar or an ascetic person to spread out his feet so that he can kiss

them, they should comply. According to one view it is mentioned that they should not

fulfill their request.

In Radd al Muhtaar it is mentioned,

(They should comply) because of what is narrated by Imam Hakim that a person came

to Nabi and said, O Prophet of Allah, show me a sign so that I can

increase my conviction. Nabi (pointed towards a tree) and said, Go call

that tree for me. The person went to the tree and said, Nabi is calling

you. The tree came and saluted Nabi . Nabi ordered it to

return to its former place and it returned. Thereafter, Nabi gave this

Sahabi permission and he kissed the blessed head and feet of Nabi . Nabi

said, If I had to command any person to prostrate for another person, I

would have commanded a woman to prostrate for her husband. Imam Hakim said that

the chain of this narration is authentic

5) It is mentioned in Fatawa al-Hindiyyah,

If a person requests a scholar or an ascetic person to spread out his leg to kiss it, it willnot be permissible for him to stretch it out and therefore he should not respond according


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to some scholars. Some scholars however claim that he should respond to this request.The same will be if he requests to kiss the scholars or ascetic persons head and hands.In Madhaahir al haq under the commentary of the hadith of wafd Abdul Qais it ismentioned,

It is apparent that it is learnt from this narration that it is permissible to kiss the feet

even though (some)jurists prohibit it.

Another issue mentioned with the above masala (of kissing the hands and feet) is theissue of embracing one another. The summary of this issue, as mentioned in the books

Badaai as sanaai and Fatawa Qadhi Khan, is that if it is done in a way that a person haslust, or even if there is mere doubt, then according to Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam

Muhammad, it will be makrooh. If this is not the case, then there is consensus that it willbe permissible.

As for the manner in which it is mentioned in Durr al mukhtaar, Radd al muhtaar,Alamgiri etc (as mentioned above), this is a difference of the latter day jurists. In theactual issue of kissing and embracing, there is no difference at all. The basis of this

difference is that the person who people wish to kiss his hands and feet, will it bepermissible for him to spread out his feet in order to give people this chance or not?

The apparent reason for this difference is that if, in reality, a person does not have pride

and arrogance then still, this apparently looks like an act of arrogance which has the greatpossibility of creating pride in a persons heart. Because of this, some jurists claimed thatit is detestable. Others however, looked at the actual action itself and issued the verdictof permissibility.

Some people posed this question to Hadhrat Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (May AllahTa'ala have mercy on him) and he responded as follows,

To interpret something without a proof is not logical. It is also apparent that without the

presence of a proof which averts something from its apparent meaning, we cannot take

another meaning. Hence, in itself it is permissible to kiss the feet of (a pious) person. The

Fuqahah have ruled that it is reprehensible based on an external factor. (Imdad alfatawa 5/345)

From the aforementioned, there are other questions which emerge. It will be appropriate

to mentioned something with regards to those questions.

Question 1

If it is permissible to kiss a persons feet, will it be permissible to lower your head, b owor prostrate to him? Scholars in our country differ on this issue; some say that althoughwhile kissing the feet, it apparently seems as if a person is bowing and prostrating, then

too it will be permissible. However, there are numerous scholars who say that kissing the


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feet will only be permissible if a person does not lower his head, bow or prostrate. Thesescholars cite as proof the following narration which is narrated in Mishkaat under the

chapter of Al Musafaha wal muanaqah:

Anas bin Malik (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) says that a person asked, OProphet of Allah, when any of us meets his brother or friend, should he bow (inhinaa) to

him? Nabi replied, No!In the commentary of Mishkaat, Mirqaat it is mentioned,

The meaning of inhinaa is to bend the head and back out of humility and service. Nabi

replied in the negative because this is in the category of ruku and it is like

prostrating when worshiping Allah.There are numerous other texts which clearly show that bowing for another person is

reprehensible (all these are cited in the original Urdu work).

Furthermore, the following text of Fatawa al-Hindiyyah clearly shows that it is not

necessary tobow when kissing someones feet:

If a person requests a scholar or an ascetic person to spread out his leg to kiss itFrom the aforementioned, which opinion is correct and better to follow?

Answer

It will be reprehensible if a person purposefully intends bowing. If a person bows by theway in order to kiss the feet of another person, it will be in the same ruling of kissing his

feet (i.e. it will be permissible).


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Question 2

What is the meaning of kissing a persons feet, does it mean that you actually kiss a

persons feet or should it be done like when kissing hajr aswad that you place your handson a persons feet and kiss your hands?

Answer

The first meaning is what is intended and the second has no basis.

SUMMARY

The following rulings are derived from the Ahadith, sayings and actions of the Sahabah t

, the Tabieen and the statements of leading scholars which have been presented above:

1. There is consensus that it is not permissible to kiss or embrace any person

with lust besides ones wife and slave-girl. Even if there is a mere fear ordoubt of lust, then too, it will not be permissible.

2. There is also consensus that it is permissible to kiss and embrace small

children out of compassion and to kiss pious people out of honour on

condition that that there is no action associated with it which is in contrast

to the Shariah.

3. If there is any prohibited act associated with the kissing, embracing and

even in the mere shaking of hands, there is consensus that it will all be

reprehensible.

ACTIONS DONE IN CONTRAST TO SHARIAH AT THE TIME OF

EMBRACING AND KISSING

It is essential to know which things are done contrary to the Shariah at the time of kissing

and embracing so that a person can ensure that he stays away from these actions.Hereunder we have presented a list of such actions:

1. The person who apprehends that he will become arrogant and proud should notallow others to kiss his hands and feet.


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2. In those scenarios where these actions will cause harm and inconvenience toothers, then leave alone kissing and embracing, it will not even be permissible to

shake hands with another person. An example of this is if you meet a person whois busy or engaged in some essential work; by trying to kiss, embrace or even

shake the hands of such a person, it will be a means of causing him

inconvenience. Hence, a person should try to abstain from such actions in theseconditions.3. If a person feels that by kissing a certain person, then this will inevitably create

pride in his heart, then he should abstain from this practice. Especially, if thekissing of the hands and feet is done by many people in a gathering; then one

harm is that this takes up a lot of time. Another harm which is even greater is thatin that vicinity where this practice becomes common, an outsider might think this

to be a general consent. Therefore, a person should abstain in such circumstances.4. It is necessary that one keeps himself to the level of how Nabi

aT dna habahaS eht , bieen kissed one another. In all the above mentionedincidents we find that although the Sahabah and our pious predecessors kissed one

another, they did not make it a habit, nor did they do it in every gathering, nor didanyone ask others to kiss him. Thus, wherever this is practiced with the

abovementioned simplicity, then it will be permissible and in fact preferable tokiss the hands and feet of pious people. And in those cases where there is no

simplicity, or it becomes a habit then it will not be free from some harms. It is afamously known by the jurists that if a preferable action contains some aspects

which are contrary to Shariah, then it will be compulsory to leave out that action.An example of this is the shaking of hands after compulsory prayers; some

Fuqaha mention that it is makrooh because people might assume it to be a portionof the prayer.

And Allah knows best

Wassalam u Alaikum

Ml. Ismail Moosa,

Student Darul Iftaa

Checked and Approved by:

Mufti Ebrahim Desai

Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah

Kissing the Hands & Feet of the Pious by Mufti Ibrahim Desai

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Transcript of Kissing the Hands & Feet of the Pious by Mufti Ibrahim Desai