Did companions use to kiss the hands and the feet of the Prophet (pbuh) to show their respect? Is it permissible to embrace each other and kiss the hands etc due to respect?
Dear Brother / Sister,
According to the authentic narration of Ibn Sahib al-Aslami, Burayda reports: “When we were with the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) on an expedition, a beduin came and asked for a sign, that is, a miracle. The Messenger said: ‘Tell that tree that God’s Messenger summons it!’ Then he pointed to a tree; it swayed to right and left, brought itself out of the ground with its roots, and came to the presence of the Messenger, saying: ‘Peace be upon you, O Messenger of God!’ The beduin said: ‘Now let it go to its place again!’ He commanded, and it went. Then the beduin said: ‘Allow me to prostrate before you.’ The Messenger replied: ‘No one is permitted to do that.’ The beduin said: ‘Then I will kiss your hands and feet,’ and he permitted him.” 130 (Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’ i, 299; al-Khafaji, Sharh al-Shifa’ iii, 49. Badiuzzaman, The Letters, The Nineteenth Letter)
Narrations inform that Honored Companions used to kiss the hands of the Prophet (pbuh) to show their respect. (Abu Dawud, Sunan, Kitabu’l-Adab, 5223). Tirmidhi reports that two Jewish people came to the Prophet (pbuh) to ask something and then they kissed his hand. (Tirmidhi, Sunan, Interpretation of the Surah Al-‘Isra; Ibn Majah, II, 1221). Scholars of Islam stated that it is permissible to embrace each other and kiss the hands etc due to respect and piety whereas it is makrooh (abominable) to kiss the hand for worldly purposes. (Shaykh Muhammad as-Safarini, Thulathiyatu Musnadi’l Imam Ahmad, Damascus 1961, II, 178-179). It is reported that Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) stated that a father’s kissing the hands of his child was due to compassion and a child’s kissing the hand of his father was due to respect and a husband’s kissing the hand of his wife is due to desire and a person’s kissing the hand of a pious fellow was due to piety. (Osman Sekerci, Kaynaklarimiza Gore Islam Terbiyesi, Istanbul, 1972, p. 175).
Kab b. Malik and his friends went to the Prophet and kissed his sacred hands when the verses as regards to their being forgiven were revealed. Also, people even kissed the hands of those who kissed the hands of the Prophet (pbuh). (ibid, p.42, Ahlak Hadisleri Translations : Fikri Yavuz; Istanbul 1975, II, 352-353)
While children usually kiss the hands of their elders, it is permissible for adults to kiss the hands of their mothers, fathers, grandfathers, grandmothers, uncles, aunts, elder brothers or sisters or father-in-laws etc.
Questions on Islam
- Ninth Sign: It is about miracles of the Prophet (pbuh) related to trees. It narrates the miracles about trees obeying the Prophet’s orders like human beings, and moving from their places to go to him.
- First Branch explains how the animal species recognized and approved the Prophet (pbuh) as a miracle.
- Eleventh Sign: Eleventh Sign: It indicates how non-living beings like rocks and mountains demonstrated prophetic miracles.
- Third Branch is a great miracle about the protection and preservation of the Prophet by Allah.
- Fourteenth Sign: It mentions the miracles that became manifest as a result of the Prophet’s prayers.
- Sixth Sign: It includes the miracles of Hz. Muhammad (pbuh) about the future and an answer to a question about the Shi‘a’s love for Hz. Ali.
- The Second Kind is the news given by soothsayers, and people like saints and gnostics about Hz. Muhammad’s (pbuh) coming.
- Thirteenth Sign: It narrates the miracles of the Prophet (pbuh) about healing the sick and the wounded.
- The Third Kind is some wondrous events that occurred at the time of the birth of Hz. Muhammad (pbuh).
- Second Branch explains how the dead bodies, jinn and angels recognized and approved the Prophet (pbuh).
