Is it permissible to kiss the hand of a scholar, and who are the scholars from whom one should take knowledge?
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The questioner : Is it permissible to kiss the hand of a scholar, and who are the scholars upon whom one relies in ... .
The Shaykh : Kissing the hand of a scholar 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 Sunnah. This is especially true when the matter reaches the point where some shaykhs establish the kissing of their hands in place of shaking hands with their followers. Today, in many Islamic countries, perhaps Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has protected you from such a deviation. We find that some shaykhs, particularly those affiliated with the Sufi orders, 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 and his family) except that he shook hands with us". Those shaykhs do not know anything but extending the hand to be kissed; as for extending their hands to shake the hand of their follower, you hardly hear of it. 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 this Messenger or 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. He also encouraged his Ummah to do so in his hadith, such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):. Along with 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 its substitute, which is the kissing of their hands. 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 that kiss". Yes.
The Shaykh : Kissing the hand of a scholar 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 Sunnah. This is especially true when the matter reaches the point where some shaykhs establish the kissing of their hands in place of shaking hands with their followers. Today, in many Islamic countries, perhaps Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has protected you from such a deviation. We find that some shaykhs, particularly those affiliated with the Sufi orders, 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 and his family) except that he shook hands with us". Those shaykhs do not know anything but extending the hand to be kissed; as for extending their hands to shake the hand of their follower, you hardly hear of it. 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 this Messenger or 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. He also encouraged his Ummah to do so in his hadith, such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):