al-Rukhsa fi Taqbil al-Yad li-Ibn al-Muqri

al-Rukhsa fi Taqbil al-Yad (Arabic: الرخصة في تقبيل اليد, lit. 'The Dispensation Regarding Hand-Kissing') is a hadith treatise (juzʾ) compiled by the scholar and hadith specialist Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Ali ibn Asim ibn Zadhan al-Isfahani, widely known as Ibn al-Muqri (d. 381 AH / 991 CE) al-Rukhsa fi Taqbil al-Ya…+1. The work gathers prophetic traditions and early reports documenting the permissibility and practice of kissing the hand, feet, head, or forehead as an expression of respect, devotion, and religious veneration Fath al-Bari bi Sharh al-…+1.

Contents and Methodology

The work is arranged as a specialized monograph transmitting chains of narration (asānīd) on physical gestures of respect and greeting, particularly hand-kissing al-Rukhsa fi Taqbil al-Ya…+1. As noted by Abd al-Azim al-Mundhiri, the compilation features narrations concerning Companions such as Abd Allah ibn Umar, Abd Allah ibn Abbas, Jabir ibn Abd Allah, Burayda ibn al-Husayb, Safwan ibn Assal, Mazida al-Abdi, and al-Zariʿ ibn Amir al-Abdi, as well as accounts involving the Successors (Tābiʿūn) Mukhtasar Sunan Abi Dawud….

Key traditions and reports compiled in the text include:

• The narration of Ka'b ibn Malik, who came to the Prophet ﷺ upon the revelation confirming his repentance and kissed his hand and knees al-Rukhsa fi Taqbil al-Ya….
• The arrival of the delegation of Abd al-Qays, whose members dismounted and rushed forward to kiss the Prophet's ﷺ hand and foot, followed by their youngest leader, al-Ashajj al-Rukhsa fi Taqbil al-Ya…+1.
• Accounts of Companions kissing the Prophet's ﷺ hand, such as reports attributed to Usama ibn Sharik, Umar ibn al-Khattab via Jabir, and Salama ibn al-Akwa' regarding the hand that pledged allegiance Silsilat al-Adab - al-Mun…+1.
• Reports of the Bedouin who requested permission from the Prophet ﷺ to kiss his head and feet after witnessing a miracle involving a tree al-Rukhsa fi Taqbil al-Ya….
• Gestures of honor between early figures, including Ali ibn Abi Talib kissing the hand and foot of his uncle al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib and saying, « أَيْ عَمِّ، ارْضَ عَنِّي » ("O uncle, be pleased with me") al-Rukhsa fi Taqbil al-Ya…+1.
• The practice of Thabit al-Bunani kissing the hand and eyes of Anas ibn Malik out of reverence because they had touched and seen the Prophet ﷺ Silsilat al-Adab - al-Mun…+1.
• Statements and actions of early authorities, including Sufyan al-Thawri's dictum that kissing the hand of a just ruler is Sunnah, and Sufyan ibn Uyayna standing up to kiss the hand of Husayn al-Ju'fi al-Rukhsa fi Taqbil al-Ya…+1.
• Reports concerning the embrace and kissing between the eyes, including the Prophet's ﷺ reception of Ja'far ibn Abi Talib and Zayd ibn Haritha al-Rukhsa fi Taqbil al-Ya….

Scholarly Reception

The monograph served as an important textual reference on the legal and customary propriety of hand-kissing in Islamic jurisprudence and hadith scholarship. In his commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani noted hearing Ibn al-Muqri's compilation directly through transmission, remarking that he had assembled an extensive collection of hadiths and historical reports on the subject Fath al-Bari bi Sharh al-…. Later hadith scholars and legal commentators frequently cited and assessed the chains of narration preserved in Ibn al-Muqri's booklet when evaluating the permissibility of kissing the hands of scholars, parents, and righteous figures Hayat al-Sahaba+1.