What is the ruling on kissing mahram relatives, such as a sister’s daughter or a brother’s daughter, on their cheeks?

The questioner : Shaykh, following up on the question, if you please, regarding kissing one of them. Some people consider kissing a sister’s daughter or a brother’s daughter on the cheeks to be permissible. Is this appropriate?

The Shaykh : You mean mahram relatives?

The questioner : Mahram relatives.

The Shaykh : Yes, yes, this falls within this scope. What do you have?

The questioner : Shaykh, today I don’t know, let’s not cut off the brothers.

The Shaykh : Ah, go ahead.

The questioner : Is there anyone, for example, who travels and might find her once every two days or so?

The Shaykh : No, no, there are no limits here, because this matter falls first under the category of permissibility. We believe you all know the distinction. It is not permissible to persist in or exaggerate a recommended act that has no explicit text supporting its frequent performance, let alone a merely permissible act where doing it and leaving it are equal. It is not permissible to exaggerate in a merely permissible act, because this exaggeration or habit of exaggeration gives the act the character of legitimacy, recommendation, and sunnah, and this is naturally not permissible.