Females kissing the hands of the pious

Question:-

There’s a certain culture which I am exposed to where, when a woman meets an elderly or pious man (who is not her Mahram), then she kisses his hand. However, this doesn’t occur with every elder/pious person one meets. The women say that these men (the pious person who the family is close to) have taken them as their daughters/sisters, hence, they kiss their hands out of respect. I would like to know if this practice is correct, or, whether Shariah gives any concession to this if the person is not your Mahram, and there is completely no fear of Fitna?

Answer:-

It is totally impermissible for one to kiss the hand of a non-Mahram man even though he may be the greatest saint of the time. It is unknown when lust and desire will overtake a person and he finally gets involved in Haraam. There is an incident recorded by Faqeeh Abul Laith Samarqandi Rahimahullah, about an extremely pious saint of the Bani Israeel who was requested to take care of a young girl by her family. Initially, he refused to accept their request, but when the family insisted, he finally accepted on condition that she remains in a different building altogether. He would take care of her meals, and then he gradually began checking on her and then speaking to her, until he was finally overpowered by lust and impregnated her. To protect his honour, he killed her and the child and buried the both of them. However, Shaytaan appeared in the dream of some her family members and informed them of what had transpired. They dug up the area pointed out to them in the dream, and removed the bodies. The judgement was passed that the saint must be put to death. Just before hanging him, Shaytaan appeared before him and said, “Make Sajdah to me and I will save your life.” In order to save his life, he made Sajdah to Shaytaan and lost his Imaan, and immediately thereafter, he was put to the gallows. This incident clearly indicates that one should always be on his guard and never become negligent or complacent. In conclusion, there is absolutely no concession to kiss the hands of a Na-Mahram, even if one is elderly and one feels that there is no fear of Fitnah.

ALLAH TA’ALA KNOWS BEST!

ANSWERED BY:

Mufti Mohammed Desai

Date: 08 Shabaan 1444 / 01 March 2023