Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
Kissing the Quran is a way of showing respect. It is not reported that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to kiss the Quran, but it is reported that one of the Companions used to kiss it. Therefore, it is not bidah (innovation in religion) to kiss the Quran, but it is also not prescribed in Shariah.
The late Sheikh Sayyed Ad-Darsh, former head of the UK Shari`ah Council (may Allah bless his soul), states:
Kissing the Quran is not bidah. Imam An-Nawawi reported that whenever Ikrimah opened the Glorious Quran, he used to place it on his forehead and then kiss it, as a form of showing respect. Then he would say, “This is the speech of Allah, this is the Book of Allah.”
Based on this incident, the great scholar As-Suyuti maintained that it is good to kiss the Glorious Quran. This is also based on an analogy drawn with the black stone in the Kabah. Both are as a blessing from Allah.
Similarly, inasmuch as kissing our children denotes love and affection, kissing the Quran is a sign of our devotion and love for Allah Almighty.
Moreover, the late great Saudi scholar Sheikh Abdul-`Aziz Ibn Baz (may Allah bless his soul), adds:
I do not know of any evidence to indicate that kissing the Quran is prescribed in the Shariah,. But if a person does it, there is nothing wrong with that. It is narrated that Ikrimah Ibn Abi Jahl used to kiss the Quran, and he used to say, “This is the speech of my Lord.”
Anyway, there is nothing wrong with kissing the Quran. But it is not prescribed to do so. And there is nothing to indicate that it is prescribed in the Shariah.
Therefore, if a person kisses it as an act of veneration and respect if it falls from his/her hand or from a high place, there is nothing wrong with that.
Almighty Allah knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.