Is it permissible to kiss a scholar's hand? And who are the scholars whose criticism of narrators is relied upon?
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The questioner : Is it permissible to kiss a scholar's hand? And who are the scholars you rely upon for their criticism of narrators?
The Shaykh : Kissing a scholar's hand has a basis in the Sunnah, but this basis is within the limits of what is permissible and lawful, not within the limits of a recommended practice. This is especially true when the matter has reached the point where some shaykhs establish the kissing of their hands in place of shaking hands with their followers. Today, in many Islamic countries—and perhaps Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has protected you from such deviation—we find some shaykhs, particularly those affiliated with the Sufi orders, who do not know the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding his shaking hands with his Companions, as Abu Dharr or others said: "We never met the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) without him shaking our hands." Those shaykhs know nothing but extending their hand to be kissed, while extending their hand to shake the hand of their follower is something you hardly hear mentioned. In my opinion, kissing such a hand does not fall under what is established in some hadiths that the hand of the Messenger (peace be upon him) was kissed by a Bedouin man who did not know the guidance of the Messenger, nor his humility. Such kissing is not permissible to be taken as a basis and made, as we said, a substitute for the handshake that the Messenger (peace be upon him) himself performed with his Companions, and he also encouraged his Ummah to do so in his hadith, such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):. Given this virtue that came with the handshake, and the Messenger's (peace and blessings be upon him) consistent practice of it with his Companions, you find those shaykhs neglecting it entirely and establishing the kissing of their hands as its substitute. Here, we can recall the saying of Ibn al-Wardi:
"I do not choose to kiss a hand; *** Cutting it off is more beautiful than those kisses."
Yes.
The Shaykh : Kissing a scholar's hand has a basis in the Sunnah, but this basis is within the limits of what is permissible and lawful, not within the limits of a recommended practice. This is especially true when the matter has reached the point where some shaykhs establish the kissing of their hands in place of shaking hands with their followers. Today, in many Islamic countries—and perhaps Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has protected you from such deviation—we find some shaykhs, particularly those affiliated with the Sufi orders, who do not know the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding his shaking hands with his Companions, as Abu Dharr or others said: "We never met the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) without him shaking our hands." Those shaykhs know nothing but extending their hand to be kissed, while extending their hand to shake the hand of their follower is something you hardly hear mentioned. In my opinion, kissing such a hand does not fall under what is established in some hadiths that the hand of the Messenger (peace be upon him) was kissed by a Bedouin man who did not know the guidance of the Messenger, nor his humility. Such kissing is not permissible to be taken as a basis and made, as we said, a substitute for the handshake that the Messenger (peace be upon him) himself performed with his Companions, and he also encouraged his Ummah to do so in his hadith, such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):
There are no two Muslims who meet and shake hands but that their sins fall off them as leaves fall from trees in autumn.
ما من مسلمين يلتقيان فيتصافحان ؛ إلا تحاتَّت عنهما ذنوبهما كما يتحاتُّ الورق عن الشجر في الخريف"I do not choose to kiss a hand; *** Cutting it off is more beautiful than those kisses."
Yes.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.