Cultural Greetings: Prostration and Kneeling Down (Part 2)

We asked earlier,
“Then, what is the ruling of Stooping, Bowing, Kneeling and Prostration?”

It must be categorically stated that there is no distinctive and clear-cut evidence (دليل قطعي الثبوت) either in the Qur’an or Sunnah of the Prophet that prohibits stooping and Kneeling to greet.

And no single hadith was reported in all the Kutub Sittah (Saheeh Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim, Sunan Nasaa’i, Sunan Abu Daawud, Sunan Tirmidhi and Sunan Ibn Majah) denoting against inhinaau (stooping /bowing). Which makes the issue of Inhinaau a mere issue that does not worth fighting over. If it such important as some people take it, at least an hadith would have been reported about it in any of these great six books of Hadith.

For prostration, the hadith of Mu’aadh quoted in Part 1 of this article is being used as an evidence. Even though there is an argument over the authencity of the hadith because a narration mentioned Yemen, while the other mentioned Shaam (which comprises of Syria, Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan then); the argument was over if Mu’aadh truly went to Sham or Yemen in his lifetime – making some scholars gto consider the hadith as weak. The last part of the hadith which is considered sound whereby the Prophet said “if I would command anyone to prostrate for anyone, I would command the wife to prostrate for her husband….” And certainly the prostration in this hadith is not that of worship rather that of greeting. This was deduced by interpretation and not a clear-cut evidence; it is definitely Dhaniyy (doubtful in nature).

As for the verse 18 in Suratu Jinn (وأن المساجد لله…. and that the mosques (points of sujood) are for Allah) some people choose to use as an evidence against Prostration of greeting, this is not an evidence against it; for the مساجد in this verse is clearly explained by the verbial sentence “فلا تدعوا مع الله أحدا Do not call upon anyone in worship except Allah” which denotes that the Prostration here is that of worship and not greeting.

As regard Burook (Kneeling down), the burook that is permissible is said to be the one in form of sitting and not a special one to honour someone.

Imam Bukhari has a chapter he titled
“باب من برك على ركبتيه عند الإمام أو المحدث”
Meaning: “The chapter of the one who knelt down on his kneels before the leader or the speaker”..

But Ibn Hajar in his Fath Baari hadith 7291 permitted burook outrightly and also said there is nothing wrong in kissing of the leg as a form of greeting.

Some of the Sahabah did Burook in front of the Prophet:

In Saheeh al-Bukhaari (3611) it says: “…until Abu Bakr felt sorry [for ‘Umar, after he had a disagreement with him and they both came to the Prophet to resolve the matter, and his expression showed displeasure with Umar, and [Abu Bakr] knelt down and said: O Messenger of Allah, by Allah, I was more unjust to him (than he was to me)…

And it was also narrated that Ibn Umar said: The Messenger of Allah said: “Allah has slaves who are not Prophets and are not martyrs, but the martyrs and Prophets will envy them on the Day of Resurrection because of how close they will be to Allah, may He be exalted.” A Bedouin knelt up and said: O Messenger of Allah, describe them to us. He said: “They are the best of people, who live as strangers among other tribes; they befriend one another for the sake of Allah and love one another for His sake. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, will set up thrones of light for them on the Day of Resurrection. When the people are afraid, they do not fear. They are the close friends of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, on whom there will be no fear nor shall they grieve.”

Narrated by Al-Haakim and he classed it as Saheeh and Imam adh-Dhahabi agreed with him.
There is also a famous hadith of Anas reported in Saheeh Bukhari (93) whereby Abdullah bn Hudhaafa stood up and asked “who is my father” and he was answered “your father is Hudhaafa”… Then Umar knelt down as a sign of honor saying we are pleased with Allah as our Lord and the Prophet as our Messenger, the Prophet was in that sitting but he kept silent. If what Umar did was wrong, he would have corrected him.

The final hadith to be considered in this discussion is the famous hadith related to the issue of Inhinaau which those who argued against it put forward as an evidence.

The lone hadith of Handholah As-Saduusiy from Anas, which says:

The Prophet was asked: O Messenger of Allah, if one of us meets his brother or his friend, can he bow (inhinaau) to him? He said: “No.” He said: Can he embrace him and kiss him? He said: “No.” He said: Can he shake his hand? He said: “Yes.”

Upon verification of this hadith, we see majority of the scholars of Hadith and fiqh graded this hadith as weak (da’eef) and what cannot be used as an evidence of prohibition.

The reason for their conclusion is due to the fact that the narrator (Handholah) is a weak and rejected narrator of Hadith. (See تهذيب الكمال Vol 7 page 450 of Imam Jamalu Deen Al-Mizzi). Among the scholars who reached this conclusion are Imam Ahmad bn Hanbal, Imam Nasaa’i, Imam Al-bayhaqi, Imam Yahya bn Mu’een, Imam Yahya bn Qahtaan, Ibn Hajar Asqalaani, Ibn Abee Shaybah and many more.

As for Imam Tirmidhi who graded the hadith as Hassan Ghareeb, every students of Hadith know that many time ahadeeth graded Hasan Ghareeb by Imam Tirmidhi turns out to always mean da’eef because of their loneliness. This, as affirmed by Imam Dhahabi.

Sheikh Al-Albaani tried to justify the hadith to be Saheeh after he himself already considered Handholah to be a weak narrator in his book “Sifat Solaat Nabiyy page 77”, but the evidences and other narrations he brought to justify and strengthen this hadith of Handholah are not applicable to the topic of discourse; because they are ahadeeth denoting on Prostration and not stooping (inhinaau).

In Conclusion:

1: Note that non of the past or present scholars of Hadith and Fiqh regarded the one who prostrated or bow or kneel in a way of greeting as an innovator (mubtadee’). What some of them said was that it is an act of Haram and not Shirk. So this issue is never an issue of Aqeedah (theology) that can take a Muslim from the fold of Sunnah; it is not an issue that can make one conclude that the person who believes in prostration, stooping and kneeling as permissibility is an innovator or a Sufi or Deobandi. Just like telling lies (which is haram) cannot take one out of the fold of Islam and Sunnah; even though telling lies is justified with clear cut evidences. Meaning, if we even go by those scholars who regard Prostration, Stooping and Kneeling as a prohibition, the issue does still not worth fighting and labelling each other over.

2: In our present day culture, prostration, stooping and kneeling to greet are not majorly considered a form of respect. You can be respectful without any of these. So, there is no benefit in encouraging it. It may likewise makes the receiver of the Stooping, Kneeling to feel more pompous and to look down upon such mankind. Yes, Islam encourages us to respect the elders, but not only the elders should be respected but all mankind of different race. The respect, irrespective of the age, race, gender, must be accorded mutually. Islam frowns a lot at pride and being pompous over others. Before you accuse people of disrespecting you, ask yourself if you are respectful towards them. They have the right to respect and disrespect just as you do.

3: If a Muslim who lives under his parents or within an environment whereby they only regard any of these forms of greetings as a sign of respect, and they will subject him to more of harm than good if he fails to stoop to them in greeting, as much as he remains under them or the vicinity, he has to apply wisdom and good morals in affirming his wants and stance without causing more chaos than intending good he wishes to lay down. Superfluous and issues of fiqh should never be a reason for the break of family ties and unity

We ask Allah to forgive our sins and accept our ibaadaat. Aaaamin