Question:  Dear noble scholars.
We continue to venerate the prophet Muhammad saw and see this as a noble act and in fact necessity. As part of this it has been instilled into us from a young age that kissing of thumbs is deemed praiseworthy on hearing prophet Muhammad saw blessed name. At uni, however, many of my friends look at me strangely when i do this.

Can you help point me to some evidence showing where it originated from and whether it is actually permitted?

(Aminah Qayyum, Birmingham)

Answer

Upon hearing the name of the beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ kissing the thumbs and rubbing them on the eyes is Mustahabb and recommended. Recommended action is that whose performer gets rewarded but if someone doesn’t do it, they will not be sinful. That the action is recommended, is established from a Hadeeth which is weak in narration. Hadeeth with a weak narration can establish the istihbaab of the actions, as is widely accepted by the Muahdditheen.

It is mentioned in المقاصد الحسنۃ، that Dailmi narrates in Musnad Al firdos from Sayyiduna Abu Bakar As Siddique رضی اللہ عنہ that when he heard the blessed name of the beloved Prophet  ﷺ he kissed his index fingers and rubbed them on the eyes. The beloved Prophet  , ﷺwhen saw him, said that whoever will repeat this action will deserve my intercession on the day of judgement. (المقاصد الحسنۃ،ص 604،605،دار الكتاب العربي ، بيروت) A similar narration and conclusion is also found in Radd Al Mukhtar, the authentic book of Fiqh e Hanafi. ( رد المحتار علی الدر المختار،کتاب الصلاۃ،باب الاذان1،ص 398،دار الفکر،بیروت)

So based on these, we can safely conclude that kissing of the thumbs and rubbing them on the eyes out of Love for the name of the beloved Prophet ﷺis recommended. However, if someone doesn’t do it then one should avoid raising an objection on them.

واللہ تعالیٰ  ورسولہ الکریم ﷺ اعلم بالصواب

Written by:  Mufti Syed Siraj Ul Arifeen Shah

St. Ives (Cambridgeshire, UK)

01/07/2024 20:07, 24 Zil’ Hijja, 1445 Hijri