Citizens banned from kissing King's hand
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on Saturday banned citizens from kissing his, or any of the royal family member’s hands saying it was against his cultural values and religious values.
“Brothers, there is something in my mind that I want to tell you. Kissing hands is something alien to our values and ethics, and is refused by free and honest people,” he is quoted by daily Saudi newspaper Arab News as saying.
"It also leads to bowing, which is a violation of God's law. The faithful bow to no one but God." The custodian of the Two Holy Mosques continued.
"I announce my complete rejection of this matter, and I ask everyone to restrain from kissing the hands of anyone but their parents," the monarch said.
Source: Gulf News Online
[taken from http://www.salafitalk.net/st/. Entry posted by Abu Zakariya Sa'eed bin Gunnar Bak ad-Danimaarkee on 21 October 2005.]
5 comments:
Akh, how about kissing the hands of maternal and paternal aunts and uncles which is customary in the malay society? Doesnt kissing the hands of our own parents itself entails bowing to them too? Then this leads to the issue of traditional bowing which the japanese do. They don't regard this as worship but as mere respect to other people. Is this haram anyway? Hope you can provide the answers to these issues with their sources. Jazakallah.
That's a very good question. I've been wondering too.
There's no problem with kissing the hands of our parents, as can be seen in the king's statements.
With regards to other than parents, i'm not too sure.
What i know, we can kiss the hands of our scholars, as was done by Ibn 'Abbas towards Ibn Mas'ood.. (though i might need to verify this again..)
With regards to our uncles, it isn't much of a problem, though I try to avoid, since I'm no longer a kid.. hehe..
With regards to aunts, I'm not too sure myself.. I always try to avoid..
Insha-Allah, I'll verify with the knowledgeable brothers.
Do drop by at Bayaan when you're free. You can always open up a discussion with the brothers there.
As-Salamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullah Akh Noh.
After discussing the matter with Akh Fazli, we conclude that only kissing the hands of parents and scholars have basis.
Other than that, wallaahu a'lam.
With regards to kissing the hands of our aunts, it's best to avoid. That's what I personally feel.
Whereas with regards to kissing the hands of our uncles, try to avoid, since there does not appear to have any basis.
Or perhaps, instead of bowing down to kiss an uncle's hand, you bring his hand up to your lips to be kissed? Hehe, just a joke. =)
A point to note though. It is also common among Malays to bring one's hand to his heart/chest after shaking hands.
There's no basis for this, rather the Sunnah is merely to shake the hands. I read about this from one of the Salafi mashaayikh.. Shaykh Ibn Baaz if i'm not mistaken..
Moreover, it is said that the way political leaders shake hands with one another is actually adopted from the Arabs/Muslims.
Wallaahu a'lam.
Do note that my reply should not be deemed as a fatwa, as I'm not qualified to issue one.
Take it as I'm sharing what I know and understand, with the little knowledge that Allah 'Azza wa Jalla has blessed me with.
I might be right, and I might be wrong.
And as Imam Maalik rahimahullaah said, "The saying of a person can be accepted or rejected except the saying of the occupant of this tomb." And he pointed to the tomb of the Prophet sallAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam.
Akh Khairul Anwar also added that Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen and Shaykh Ibn Baaz rahimahumAllaah were always kissed on their hands by the people.. And they did not comment on it..
Wallaahu a'lam.
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