Kissing someone’s feet out of reverence is contrary to the Shari’ah and impermissible. Some people argue that the Companions used to kiss the blessed feet of the Prophet ﷺ, but no such narration is reliably established. Even in the three important eras of the Companions, the Tabi’in, and the Tabi’ al-Tabi’in, no proof of it is found.
An Investigative Review of the Narrations Presented:
Narration No. 1:
It is narrated from Safwan ibn Assal al-Muradi (may Allah be pleased with him) that two Jews came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked him about nine verses. When the Prophet ﷺ answered, they began kissing his hands and feet.
Imam al-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) declared this hadith “sahih” (authentic), and Imam al-Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him) also said that we do not find any defect in it.
Analysis:
This narration is “munkar” (rejected). Its narrator Abdullah ibn Salamah is “hasan al-hadith” (his hadiths are good), although his memory deteriorated in his later years.
According to Imam Amr ibn Murrah, Abdullah ibn Salamah had grown old, and he used to narrate hadiths that contained both the well-known and the rejected.
Imam Abu Hatim al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) also says that he used to narrate both well-known and rejected narrations.
Imam al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) said that his hadiths are not corroborated by other trustworthy narrators.
Imam al-Nasa’i (may Allah have mercy on him) declared this hadith “munkar.”
Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) says that this hadith is problematic and that there was a problem in the memory of Abdullah ibn Salamah.
Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) has also called him “saduq” (truthful), but he also stated that his memory had become impaired.
Narration No. 2:
It is attributed to the Companion of the Messenger, Zari’ ibn Amir (may Allah be pleased with him), who was among the delegation of Abd al-Qays, that:
لَمَّا قَدِمْنَا الْمَدِینَۃَ، فَجَعَلْنَا نَتَبَادَرُ مِنْ رَّوَاحِلِنَا، فَنَتَقَبَّلُ یَدَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّی اللّٰہُ عَلَیْہِ وَسَلَّمَ وَرِجْلَہٗ۔
“When we reached Madinah, we hurried out of our howdahs and began kissing the blessed hand and foot of the Prophet ﷺ.”
Analysis:
The chain of this narration is “da’if” (weak), because no muhaddith has declared the female narrator who relates it, Umm Aban bint al-Wazi’, trustworthy. Therefore, what Hafiz Ibn Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said is not correct:
رَوَتْ۔۔۔ حَدِیثًا حَسَنًا، سَاقَتْہُ بِتَمَامِہٖ وَطُولِہٖ سِیَاقَۃً حَسَنَۃً۔
“Umm Aban narrated a good hadith. She related this hadith well, in full and at length.”
Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) has counted Umm Aban among the “majhulat” (unknown women narrators).
Narration No. 3:
It is narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that a Bedouin came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: “O Messenger of Allah! I am indeed a Muslim; show me something by which my faith will increase.” The Prophet ﷺ said: “What do you want?” He said: “Call that tree, and let it come to you.” The Prophet ﷺ called the tree, and it came to him and greeted him with salam. The Prophet ﷺ told it to go back to its place, and it went. Then that Bedouin said:
اِئْذَنْ لِي أَنْ أُقَبِّلَ رَأْسَکَ وَرِجْلَیْکَ۔
“Allow me to kiss your blessed head and both feet.” The Prophet ﷺ gave permission, and he did so.
Analysis:
This narration is also “da’if” (weak), because its narrator Salih ibn Hayyan al-Qurashi is “da’if” according to the majority of the hadith scholars.
Imam al-Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him) called this hadith “sahih al-isnad” (its chain is authentic), but Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
بَلْ وَاہٍ، وَفِي إِسْنَادِہٖ صَالِحُ بْنُ حَیَّانَ مَتْرُوکٌ۔
“It is a weak narration; in its chain is the narrator Salih ibn Hayyan, who is matruk (abandoned).”
Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) has declared Salih ibn Hayyan “da’if.”
Imam Yahya ibn Ma’in (may Allah have mercy on him) also called him “da’if.”
Imam al-Nasa’i (may Allah have mercy on him) says he is not trustworthy.
Imam Ibn Adi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
عَامَّۃُ مَا یَرْوِیہِ غَیْرُ مَحْفُوظٍ۔
“Most of what he narrates is not preserved (munkar).”
Imam al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) said about him “فِیہِ نَظَرٌ” (there is something to be examined in him).
Imam al-Daraqutni (may Allah have mercy on him) declared him “لیس بالقوی” (not strong).
Imam Abu Hatim (may Allah have mercy on him) has said the same.
Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
یَرْوِي عَنِ الثِّقَاتِ أَشْیَائَ لَا تُشْبِہُ حَدِیثَ الْـأَثْبَاتِ، لَا یُعْجِبُنِي الِاحْتِجَاجُ بِہٖ إِذَا انْفَرَدَ۔
“He reports from trustworthy narrators, attributing to them narrations that do not match the hadiths of the trustworthy narrators. I do not like to use as evidence a hadith in which he is alone in narrating it.”
Imam al-Harbi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
لَہٗ أَحَادِیثُ مُنْکَرَۃٌ۔
“He narrated rejected hadiths.”
Imam al-Ijli (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
جَائِزُ الْحَدِیثِ، یُکْتَبُ الْحَدِیثُ، وَلَیْسَ بِالْقَوِيِّ، وَہُوَ فِي إِعْدَادِ الشُّیُوخِ۔
“He is acceptable in hadith; his hadith is written down, but he is not strong. He is counted among the shaykhs.”
Hafiz al-Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
وَہُوَ ضَعِیفٌ، وَلَمْ یُوَثِّقْہُ أَحَدٌ۔
“He is a weak narrator; no muhaddith has declared him trustworthy.”
Narration No. 4:
In the account of the acceptance of Islam by Amir ibn al-Tufayl (may Allah be pleased with him), it is mentioned that:
أَتٰی، فَقَبَّلَ قَدَمَیْہِ۔
“He came and kissed both feet of the Prophet ﷺ.”
Analysis:
The chain of this narration is extremely “da’if” (weak), because:
◄ The biographical details of Umm Haytham bint Abd al-Rahman ibn Fudala al-Sa’diyya could not be found.
◄ Narrators such as Abu Abd al-Rahman ibn Fudala and Abu Fudala ibn Abd Allah also need to be declared reliable, and no such declaration has been found so far.
Narration No. 5:
It is narrated from Abu Burda Yasar, who was a freed slave of Abd Allah ibn al-Sa’ib al-Makhzumi:
دَخَلْتُ مَعَ مَوْلَايَ عَبْدِ اللّٰہِ بْنِ السَّائِبِ عَلٰی رَسُولِ اللّٰہِ صَلَّی اللّٰہُ عَلَیْہِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَقُمْتُ إِلٰی رَسُولِ اللّٰہِ صَلَّی اللّٰہُ عَلَیْہِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَقَبَّلتُ رَأْسَہٗ وَیَدَہٗ وَرِجْلَہٗ۔
“I went in to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ together with my master Abd Allah ibn al-Sa’ib. I went up to him ﷺ and kissed his head, his hand and his foot.”
Analysis:
The chain of this narration is also “extremely weak”, because:
◄ Abu al-Hasan Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Qasim is a “da’if (weak)” narrator.
◄ Imam Abu Hatim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
◄ Imam al-Uqayli (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
مُنْکَرُ الْحَدِیثِ، یُوصِلُ الْـأَحَادِیثَ۔
“He narrates rejected hadiths and presents mursal narrations as connected.”
◄ Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said about one of his hadiths:
مَا ہٰذَا الْحَدِیثُ بِبَعِیدٍ مِنَ الْوَضْعِ۔
“This hadith is not far from being fabricated.”
◄ The biographical details of Ahmad’s father, Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Qasim, could not be found.
◄ No declaration of reliability was found for Ahmad’s grandfather, Abd Allah ibn Qasim, either.
Narration No. 6:
The well-known exegete, Imam Isma’il ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Karima, al-Suddi, the Tabi’i (may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 127 AH), said in his commentary on verse 111 of Surah al-Ma’idah:
“A man asked the Prophet ﷺ: Who is my father? In reply, he ﷺ said: So-and-so. Upon this, Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) went toward him and kissed his blessed foot.”
Analysis:
Imam al-Suddi (may Allah have mercy on him) is a Tabi’i and is reporting this directly from the Prophet ﷺ, so this narration is “mursal”, which is a type of “da’if (weak)” hadith.
Narration No. 7:
Suhayb, the freed slave (mawla) of Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), states:
“I saw Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) kissing the hands and feet of Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) and saying: Uncle! Be pleased with me.”
Analysis:
The chain of this narration is “da’if (weak)”, because the reliability of Suhayb, the mawla of Abbas, has been affirmed only by Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him)
Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“صُہَیْبٌ لَّا أَعْرِفُہٗ۔”
“I do not know Suhayb.”
Therefore, Hafiz Ibn Hajar’s (may Allah have mercy on him)
describing him as “saduq (truthful)” does not appear to be correct.
Narration No. 8:
It is related that Imam Muslim (may Allah have mercy on him) kissed the forehead of Imam al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) and said:
“دَعْنِي حَتّٰی أُقَبِّلَ رِجْلَیْکَ۔”
“Allow me to kiss both your feet.”
Analysis:
The chain of this narration is “da’if (weak)”, because the biographical details of Abu Nasr Ahmad ibn al-Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn Hamawayh al-Warraq could not be found.
Another chain of it is also present in Tarikh Baghdad (102/3, 103) and Tarikh Dimashq (68/52), but that too is “da’if (weak)”, because no declaration of reliability could be found for the narrator in it, Abu Nasr Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Warraq.
The Principles of the Hadith Scholars and the Barelvi School:
Examining the narrations about kissing the feet according to the principles of the hadith scholars makes it clear that no authentic proof of kissing the feet is found from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the noble Companions. No proof of kissing the feet with an authentic chain has been found from the righteous predecessors either. On this basis, kissing the feet of saints and righteous people is not permissible. Despite this:
The Barelvi mufti Ahmad Yar Khan Na’imi Gujrati (1391-1324 AH) writes:
“Kissing the hands and feet of the friends of Allah, kissing their relics (hair, clothing, etc.) and honouring them is recommended. This is established from the hadiths and from the practice of the noble Companions, even though some people deny it.”
However, in contrast to this, the reality is that there is no specific proof of kissing the hands of the friends of Allah, and it should not be made an act of worship or a recommended act. There is no legal proof for kissing the feet, let alone declaring it recommended. As for relics, they are specific to the Prophet ﷺ. No Companion or Tabi’i made the belongings of the senior Companions such as the Rightly-Guided Caliphs a source of blessing (tabarruk). How can kissing the self-invented relics of later elders be permissible?
Mr. Ahmad Yar Khan Barelvi further writes:
“From these hadiths and from the statements of the hadith scholars and the ulama, it is established that kissing the hands and feet of the pious elders of the religion, and their clothing, sandals, hair and all their relics, is permissible and a cause of blessing.”
This statement is based on excess (ghuluww). If seeking blessing from the relics of anyone other than the Prophet ﷺ, whether a saint or a righteous person, is not permissible, how can kissing them be permissible? There is no legal proof for kissing the venerated Ka’ba, the Qur’an, or the pages of the books of hadith, and it is an unlawful innovation. If it were a righteous act, the Companions and the Tabi’un would not have been unaware of it.
Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) kissed the Black Stone and said:
“If I had not seen the Messenger of Allah ﷺ kissing you, I would never have kissed you.”
From this hadith it is understood that kissing something whose kissing is not established from the Islamic Shari’a is impermissible and unlawful.
Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) says in his commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari:
“Our Shaykh (Hafiz al-Iraqi, may Allah have mercy on him) says in his commentary on Jami’ al-Tirmidhi that this hadith proves that kissing something which the Shariah has not taught to be kissed is disliked.”
Ahmad Yar Khan Na’imi further writes:
“Kissing relics is permissible, as it was said in the Quran: {وَادْخُلُوْا الْبَابَ سُجَّدًا وَّقُوْلُوْا حِطَّۃٌ} meaning: O Children of Israel! Enter the gate of Bayt al-Maqdis in prostration and say: may our sins be forgiven.”
This is a distortion of the meaning of the verse and is based on exaggeration regarding graves. There is no evidence for the veneration of those places, nor that the command to prostrate there was given because of the presence of the graves of the Prophets. The commentators of the Quran have declared this prostration to be a prostration of gratitude, as Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“That is, they were commanded to prostrate in order to thank Allah, because Allah granted them victory and help, returned their land to them, and saved them from abasement and misguidance.”
Kissing the ground:
According to the Hanafi fiqh, kissing the ground before scholars and great men is forbidden and a major sin. The reliable books of Hanafi fiqh state the prohibition of this act clearly.
It is written in Radd al-Muhtar ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar:
“The act of kissing the ground before scholars and great men is forbidden. Both the one who does it and the one who is pleased with it are sinners, because this act resembles idol worship. If this act is done with the intention of worship and veneration, it is disbelief, and if it is done by way of greeting (salam), it is not disbelief, but this person will be a sinner and will have committed a major sin.”
Likewise it is also stated in Fatawa Alamgiri:
“Kissing the ground before scholars and ascetics is the act of the ignorant, and both the one who does it and the one who is pleased with it are sinners.”
Allama al-Ayni al-Hanafi, explaining the reason for the prohibition of kissing the ground, writes:
“Because it resembles the worship of idols.”
