Question:
What is the ruling on listeners kissing their hands and placing them on their heads during the Friday khuṭbah?
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
Answer:
At the beginning of the Friday khuṭbah, for the listeners to kiss their hands and then place them on their heads is an unfounded and baseless act. It is a reprehensible innovation (qabīḥ bidʿah).
Scholarly Statement:
❀ ʿAllāmah Ibn al-Naḥḥās رحمه الله (814 AH):
ما اعتاده كثير من الجهال إذا قال الخطيب: الحمد لله، سيما فى الخطبة الثانية باسوا أيديهم ووضعوها على رؤوسهم، حتى ربما يسمع صوت بوس أيديهم من خارج المسجد، وهذا سخافة عقل وبدعة شنيعة ليس لها أصل فى الشرع ولم يفعلها أحد من السلف الصالح ولا ممن يرجع إليه، فينبغي إنكارها وتعريف أنها بدعة ليس لها أصل
“It has become a habit of many ignorant people that when the khuṭīb says ‘al-ḥamdu lillāh’, especially in the second sermon, they kiss their hands and place them on their heads—sometimes even to the extent that the sound of their kissing is heard outside the mosque. This is foolishness of the mind and an evil innovation, which has no basis in Sharīʿah. None of the righteous predecessors, nor anyone whose example is followed, ever practiced this. Hence, it should be condemned and people should be informed that it is a baseless innovation.”
(Tanbīh al-Ghāfilīn, 441)
Conclusion:Kissing one’s hands and placing them on the head during the Friday khuṭbah is a condemned innovation with no foundation in Islam and must be avoided.
