The Kissing of Hands

“The kissing of hands hath been forbidden in the Book. This practice is prohibited by God, the Lord of glory and command. To none is it permitted to seek absolution from another soul; let repentance be between yourselves and God. He, verily, is the Pardoner, the Bounteous, the Gracious, the One Who absolveth the repentant.” ¹

"Indeed, He prevents you from bowing and prostrating at My feet or the feet of others… Do not kiss hands, and do not bow upon arrival… Kissing, prostration, submission, and bowing have been forbidden for you… Prostration should only be for the One who is unknown and unseen. And as for the one who is seen, if the clear Book has testified for him, then no one has the right to prostrate to him. And whoever has prostrated to him must repent and turn back to God, for indeed, He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.” ²

“God, exalted be His glory, Wisheth not the humiliation of His servants. Verily He is the Compassionate, the Merciful.” ³

“The kissing of hands hath been forbidden in the Book.
In a number of earlier religious Dispensations and in certain cultures the kissing of the hand of a religious figure or of a prominent person was expected as a mark of reverence and deference to such persons and as a token of submission to their authority. Bahá’u’lláh prohibits the kissing of hands and, in His Tablets, He also condemns such practices as prostrating oneself before another person and other forms of behavior that abase one individual in relation to another. (See note 58.)” ⁴