Is it permissible to kiss the heads of scholars and others?
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The questioner : Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The questioner : The Holy Qur'an Radio, the "Question by Phone" program?
The Shaykh : Yes, the "Question by Phone" program.
The questioner : We would like to ask the Shaykh, may Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Ask, may Allah bless you.
The questioner : Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O Shaykh, and increase you in knowledge.
The Shaykh : And those who are listening.
The questioner : We ask you, may Allah preserve you, about shaking hands in general. How is the shaking of hands and greeting the scholars? Is it by kissing the head, or otherwise?
The Shaykh : Shaking hands upon meeting is a recommended practice (sunnah). Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did this. As for kissing and embracing, that is not done except upon arriving from a journey or after a long period of separation. In that case, it is what the Salaf (may Allah have mercy on them) did. So the kissing is on the forehead, the head, and the hand. But only for one who deserves this honor of kissing. As for one who does not deserve this honor of kissing, he is not honored with it. Then, there is a custom that has occurred among people recently, which is that at the bookstores, one holds the head to kiss it and does not shake hands. This is contrary to the Sunnah. The Sunnah is to shake hands first, then kiss the head or forehead afterwards if the need arises, if the cause for this is present.
The questioner : Also, O Shaykh, may Allah preserve you, does a man shake hands with his father and kiss the head or the hand? Or does a man shake hands with his mother?
The Shaykh : And likewise, shaking hands with the parents.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The questioner : The Holy Qur'an Radio, the "Question by Phone" program?
The Shaykh : Yes, the "Question by Phone" program.
The questioner : We would like to ask the Shaykh, may Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Ask, may Allah bless you.
The questioner : Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O Shaykh, and increase you in knowledge.
The Shaykh : And those who are listening.
The questioner : We ask you, may Allah preserve you, about shaking hands in general. How is the shaking of hands and greeting the scholars? Is it by kissing the head, or otherwise?
The Shaykh : Shaking hands upon meeting is a recommended practice (sunnah). Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did this. As for kissing and embracing, that is not done except upon arriving from a journey or after a long period of separation. In that case, it is what the Salaf (may Allah have mercy on them) did. So the kissing is on the forehead, the head, and the hand. But only for one who deserves this honor of kissing. As for one who does not deserve this honor of kissing, he is not honored with it. Then, there is a custom that has occurred among people recently, which is that at the bookstores, one holds the head to kiss it and does not shake hands. This is contrary to the Sunnah. The Sunnah is to shake hands first, then kiss the head or forehead afterwards if the need arises, if the cause for this is present.
The questioner : Also, O Shaykh, may Allah preserve you, does a man shake hands with his father and kiss the head or the hand? Or does a man shake hands with his mother?
The Shaykh : And likewise, shaking hands with the parents.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 1805- هل يجوز التقبيل على الرأس للمشايخ وغيرهم /سؤال على الهاتف 📞 /ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.