Rising to Greet Someone

Question :

What is the ruling on standing up for one who enters,and kissing him?

Answer:

1. Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah has answered your first question in detail, mentioning all the relevant Shari'ah proofs, and so we have decided to relate to you his answer: "It was not custom of the Salaf during the time of the Prophet ﷺ, or the rightly guided Khalifahs, to rise every time they saw him, as many people do.

Rather, Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said, 'No person was more beloved to them (i.e. the Companions) than the Prophet ﷺ, yet if they saw him, they would not rise because they knew that he hated that."

Nevertheless, they might have risen at times to welcome someone who was away, just as it has been reported that the Prophet ﷺ rose up for 'Ikrimah, and when Sa'd bin Mu'ath returned, he said to the Ansar:
"Stand for your chief."

This happened when Sa'd, may Allah be pleased with him, was returning from Banu Qurayzah the tribe accepted him as a judge to rule in a dispute among them.

So it is necessary for people to make it a habit to follow the way that the Salaf, were upon during the time of the Messenger of Allâh: after all, those Muslims were the best generation of Muslims. Because the best speech is Allah's Speech, and because the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, so one is not to abandon his guidance, and the guidance of that generation for what is inferior. So it is required of the person who is obeyed that he should not approve of this behavior with his companions, except in the case of meeting with aggressors.

As for standing to meet one who arrived from a journey and the like, that is good. If certain people are accustomed to rising for a person who is approaching, if that person would feel insulted because people did not rise for him, and if the custom that agrees with the Sunnah (i.e. not rising) is not known among the people, then it is better to rise for those present, preventing anger and rancor from entering the hearts of those entering. But if the custom of the people is in accordance with the Sunnah, then rising is not necessary, as no harm will result to the person who came. This form of rising-rising for a person who has come to a gathering should not be confused with the Prophet's ﷺ saying,
"Whoever becomes pleased when people appear before him standing, let him take his seat in the Fire."

That refers to people standing for a person who is seated, not for people standing when a person arrives. This is because there is a difference between saying, "I stood to [greet] him" and, "I stood for him." The one standing to greet an arriving person is merely standing like him, as opposed to one who stands for a sitting person.

It is confirmed in Sahih Muslim that when the Prophet ﷺ lead the people in prayer, sitting due to his illness, and the people stood behind him he ordered them to sit, and said:
"Do not glorify me as the foreigners do with each another."

So he forbade them from standing during the prayer while he was sitting so that they would not resemble the foreigners, who stand for their leaders that are sitting.

So to summarize all of this, it is better to follow the custom of the Salaf, and their behavior, and to struggle to implement that as much as possible. But in the case of people who do not believe that and are not aware of that custom, and so a person avoids such behavior, instead acting according to the preferred, although worse, custom of the people to honor someone, then by this he has prevented the greater of the two harms with the lesser, just as it is obligatory to perform the more important of two beneficial things rather than the lesser important.

There is another incident that supports what Shaykh Al-Islam said. In the Two Sahihs, the story is mentioned when Allah Almighty forgave Ka'b bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, (and his two Companions). When Ka'b then entered the Masjid, Talhah bin 'Ubaydullah, may Allah be pleased with him, stood, ran to him, greeted him, and congratulated him for being forgiven by Allâh Almighty. The Prophet did not censure him for this act. This indicates that it is permitted to stand when someone enters, to shake hands and greet him, and similar is confirmed from the Prophet. Whenever he would enter upon his daughter Fatimah, she would stand, take him by the hand, and make him sit in her place. Whenever she would enter upon him, he would stand, take her by the hand, and make her sit in his place. At-Tirmithi said that this is Hasan.

2. As for kissing, there are texts mentioned from the Prophet that prove its legitimacy. 'Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "When Zayd bin Harithah, may Allah be pleased with him, came to Al-Madinah, the Messenger of Allah was in my house. Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him, knocked on the door, and the Messenger of Allah stood and went to the door, wearing only his lower garment and dragging the rest of his garment on the ground - I never saw him wearing his lower garment only, not before this incident and not after it. He then hugged Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him, and kissed him." Recorded by At- Tirmithi, who said "This Hadith is Hasan."

This Hadith shows that it is permissible to kiss someone who is just arriving. In another Hadith, Abu Hurairah related that the Messenger of Allah kissed Al-Hasan bin 'Ali. Al-Aqra' bin Habis, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I have ten children and I have never kissed any one of them." The Messenger of Allâh ﷺ answered:
"He who shows no mercy receives no mercy."

This Hadith points to the permissibility of kissing as a display of love and mercy. As for kissing to greet one returning, then there are reports that prove it is is not legislated, but rather shaking the hands is sufficient. Qatadah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I asked Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, whether the Companions of the Messenger of Allah used to shake hands with each other, and he answered, 'Yes." Al-Bukhari recorded that. Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, said "When the people of Yemen came, Allâh's Messenger ﷺ said:
"The people of Yemen have come, and they are the first to have introduced handshaking."

Al-Bara' bin 'Azib, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"No two Muslims meet and shake hands with one another except that, before they depart, they are forgiven."

Recorded by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and At-Tirmithi, who said that it is authentic.

Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "A man asked, 'O Messenger of Allâh, when a man meets his brother or his friend, should he bow to him. He said, 'No.' 'Should he cling to him and kiss him?" asked the man. The Messenger of Allah said, 'No.' Should he take his hand and shake it? Here the Messenger of Allah said, "Yes." At-Tirmithi recorded it and said, "This Hadith is Hasan," This is what he said, but its chain is weak because it contains Hanthalah As-Sadusi. The scholars consider him to be weak. But perhaps At-Tirmithi believed it to be Hasan because of other Hadiths that support its correctness.

Ahmad, An-Nisa'i, At-Tirmithi, and others with authentic chains recorded a Hadith that At-Tirmithi declared to be authentic, from Safwaan bin 'Usal, who relates that two Jews asked the Prophet about nine clear signs, and when the Prophet answered them, they kissed his hands and legs, and said, "We bear witness that you are indeed a Prophet."

May Allah send peace and blessings upon Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.