Shar‘i Status of Kissing the Thumbs and Placing Them on the Eyes During Adhan

Source: Fatawa ‘Ulama-e-Hadith, Kitab al-Salah, Volume 1, Pages 256–260

❀ Question:​

Some people, upon hearing “Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah” in the Adhan, kiss their thumbs and place them on their eyes, believing it to be a Sunnah based on a few weak and fabricated narrations. What do the authoritative Islamic texts say about this act?

✔ Ruling:​

The narrations related to kissing the thumbs and placing them on the eyes during Adhan are not authentic. Renowned scholars of Hadith have criticized and rejected these narrations as unauthentic or fabricated (mawdu‘).

✿ Scholarly Opinions:​

• Shah ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Muhaddith Dehlawi (رحمه الله) in ‘Ujalah Nafi‘ah explains that narrations which have no mention in the earlier generations and emerge later without credible chains are considered unreliable and cannot form the basis of belief or practice.
• Al-Sakhawi, Shaykh al-Islam (translator of Bukhari), Hasan ibn ‘Ali al-Hindi, and Muhammad Tahir Patni all classified these narrations as "la yasihh" (not authentic).
• The narration in Musnad al-Firdaws attributed to Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (رضي الله عنه) regarding this act has also been deemed unreliable by Hadith scholars.
• Ibn al-Jawzi and Abu Nu‘aym al-Isfahani have explicitly declared such narrations fabricated.

✔ Summary of Findings:​

◈ No authentic Hadith supports the act of kissing the thumbs and placing them on the eyes during Adhan.
◈ This practice is neither Sunnah nor recommended (mustahabb) — it falls under bid‘ah (innovation).
◈ According to the Fuqaha and Muhaddithin, the only prescribed act upon hearing the name of the Prophet ﷺ in Adhan is to send Salawat (Durud) — nothing beyond that is established.

References:

• Mawlana ‘Ubaydullah Rahmani, Al-Muhaddith, Delhi, Volume 1, Issue 3
• Shah ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Muhaddith Dehlawi, ‘Ujalah Nafi‘ah