What is the ruling on kissing the hands of scholars, and what is the evidence for it?

The Shaykh: Just give us the answer, please. Welcome, but please answer us. I hope the answer will be clear.

The questioner : If Allah wills.

The Shaykh: First: Is there an authentic hadith regarding the kissing of the hand of a learned man? We do not want a hadith or hadiths about kissing the hand of the Messenger (peace be upon him) or the hand of any of the noble Companions, whoever it may be... But do we have hadiths that establish the legitimacy of kissing the hand of someone other than a scholar? Then, do we have hadiths that establish kissing anything other than the hand? And regardless of the hadiths about a father kissing his son, such as those in al-Bukhari and others, where the Messenger (peace be upon him) kissed Fatimah and Fatimah kissed the Messenger (peace be upon him), and so on, and a man also kisses his wife—do not bring us these hadiths! Rather, we are addressing this reality we are witnessing now in many countries, where some kiss here, some kiss there, some kiss the nose, and some... All of this needs to be a Sunnah and a continuous custom among Muslims. We need texts. If these do not exist, as I claim they do not exist, then they are merely customs and traditions. Is it permissible? A final question, and perhaps you will, if Allah wills, convey my wishes as you did perfectly. The final question is: Is it permissible to treat customs, in their various forms in different countries, as if they were Sunnah? And that if a person does not do as is done in our Syrian country, for example, if one enters upon the shaykh and does not kiss his hand, he has insulted the shaykh and not honored him, and there is no doubt that , whereas the Sunnah is the handshake. So, if there are no hadiths to establish these customs as Sunnahs, as was reported from the righteous Salaf, is it permissible for us to adhere to them? This is the final question. If it is not permissible for us to adhere to them, is there a core and a shell? Meaning, do we postpone the discussion of these matters, especially from the scholar? Let the people be in their heedlessness, acting on that hadith I heard in my youth, before I was twenty years old, he said to me like that. Later, I discovered that "in their heedlessness" is an invalid addition with no basis. So, do we act on this hadith that has no basis and leave the people in their heedlessness, or at least do we throw a small stone into the calm sea? And if we make a circle, then a second circle, then a third, until it reaches far away and we do not see it? I claim that it is necessary for the scholar to spread the Sunnah and to combat religious innovation in the best manner. I claim that it is necessary for the scholar to spread the Sunnah and to combat religious innovation in the best manner. If this kissing is permissible, even if we do not have a hadith, it is not permissible for it to become a custom as if it were a Sunnah; because the people of jurisprudence and knowledge say that if the adherence to recommended matters leads to the common people being misled into thinking they are obligatory, the people of knowledge should sometimes leave them. And I think this is known to you.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh: So what about the custom? Should we not sometimes leave it?

The questioner: Yes, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh: I have now become critical of our Saudi brothers; because they transferred this custom of theirs to this country. I can hardly pray without finding a path to walk. Why? This one kisses me from here and this one from here. O people, was this how the Messenger (peace be upon him) was?

The questioner: This is from the glad tidings, O our Shaykh.

The Shaykh: May Allah bless you. We are speaking about the Sunnah.

The questioner: This does not contradict that.

The Shaykh: May Allah bless you. Perhaps you improve the transmission.

The questioner : If Allah wills.

The Shaykh: Although I was very keen to meet our brother Salman and Safar...

The questioner: O Shaykh, he is hoping for it.

The Shaykh: I know, and he wrote to me and called me on the phone.

The questioner : Yes, Shaykh.

The Shaykh: From less than a year ago.

The questioner: He called...

The Shaykh: I heard it. Yes, it is so.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh: So my intention is that I am extremely keen to meet him, because I do not doubt at all, as our brothers know, that I am keen to meet any Muslim brother. I am of the opinion that I benefit from him. Why? Because he is either my equal in knowledge, or more knowledgeable than me, or less knowledgeable than me. In any case, I am with this brother I meet like a Syrian saying: "Like a saw, going up and down, I benefit." If he is more knowledgeable than me, I certainly benefit. If I am more knowledgeable than him, he certainly benefits. If we are equals, each of us benefits from the other. Therefore, I desire with all desire and am keen with all keenness for such a meeting. But: , this is my desire, and he has a right over me because he wrote to me more than once, and I am stingy.

The questioner: It is not needed.

The Shaykh: So I want to be fair.

The questioner : May Allah preserve you.

The Shaykh: But I am stingy in writing, and perhaps you will convey my greetings and my excuse with them.

The questioner: If Allah wills, by the permission of Allah.

The Shaykh: May Allah reward you with good, and we entrust your religion, your trusts, and the endings of your deeds to the care of Allah.