𝗞𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗯𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝘂𝗽𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝘁 ﷺ

Have you ever wondered why some Muslims kiss their thumbs and wipe them over their eyes when they hear the beautiful name of the Prophet ﷺ? Or are you one of those who perform this beautiful act but don’t really know the reason behind it? You’ll find the answer in this post.

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘀

𝟭) 𝐈𝐦𝐚̄𝐦 𝐚𝐥-𝐓̣𝐚𝐡𝐭̣𝐚̄𝐰ī 𝐚𝐥-𝐇̣𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐟ī 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬:

Al-Qaḥṭānī states in his work Kanz al-ʿIbād: IT IS RECOMMENDED (يستحب) upon hearing the first testification upon Prophet ﷺ and say "Ṣallā Llāhu ʿalayka yā Rasūlu Llāh.”

And upon hearing the second time to say, "Qurratu ʿaynī bika yā Rasūlu Llāh, Allāhumma mattiʿnī bi-s-samʿi wa-l-baṣar" (my eyes find comfort in you, O Messenger of Allāh. O Allāh, bless me in my hearing and sight) after placing his thumbs over his eyes. He may Allāh's prayers and peace be upon him, will be his guide in Jannah. 

It is narrated by al-Daylamī in his Musnad al-Firdaws the Ḥadīth of Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq in Marfūʿ form that when you hear the Muʾadhdhin saying “أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله” then you should kiss your thumbs and rub them on your eyes…

It was similarly narrated from Sayyidunā al-Khiḍr, and such acts are practiced in the virtues (faḍāʿil).

[Imām aṭ-Ṭahṭāwī in Sharḥ Marāqīh al-Falāh, 1/110]

𝟮) 𝐈𝐬𝐦𝐚̄ʿī𝐥 𝐇̣𝐚𝐪𝐪ī 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐰ī (𝐝. 𝟏𝟏𝟐𝟕) 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬:

It is narrated in books regarding stories of Prophets that when Ādam (peace be upon him) had the desire to meet Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ in Jannah, at that point Allāh revealed to him (Waḥī) that: "He (ﷺ) is from your descendants and will appear in the latter times."

When Nabī Ādam desired to see him then Allāh made the Nūr of Rasūlullāh ﷺ appear in the right index finger of Ādam and this Nūr praised Allāh, this is why the index finger is also called the finger of testification and "Misbāḥah”, as is mentioned in ar-Rūz al-Fāʾiq.

Allāh, the Most High manifested the beauty of Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ in the clarity of the fingernails of his thumbs, resembling a mirror in both the nails of his thumb, upon seeing that Ādam kissed the fingernails and wiped them over his eyes and “THUS THIS SUNNAH WAS ESTABLISHED IN HIS DECENDANTS” and when Jibrīl informed Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ regarding this, he said: Whoever hears my name and kisses the thumbnails and wipes them over his eyes will never suffer eye afflictions. 

[Tafsīr Rūḥ al-Bayān, 11/107]

𝐅𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡̣𝐚𝐝ī𝐭𝐡, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐫ī𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞:

The material of the nails is the material of the clothes of Jannah:

1) Tafsīr Khāzin (Lubāb al-Taʾwīl fī Maʿānī al-Tanzīl) by al-Khāzin (d. 725 AH):

Under Sūrat al-Aʿrāf, Āyah 22:

"So he brought about their fall through deception. And when they tasted of the tree, their shame was exposed to them, prompting them to cover themselves with leaves from Paradise."

Qatādah said: In Jannah, the clothes of Ādam ʿalayhi al-salām were made from "nail-like material" that covered them. But when they made the mishap, it was stripped from them, revealing their shame.

2) Tafsīr Rūḥ al-Bayān by Ismāʿīl Ḥaqqī Burūsawī (d. 1127):

Their clothing in Jannah was made entirely of nails, with the utmost delicacy, softness, and whiteness, serving as a barrier to seeing the essence of their bodies. When they committed the mishap (of eating from the tree), that covering was removed from their bodies, and only remnants remained at the tips of their fingers, serving as a reminder of the lost blessings and a renewal of remorse.

This shows that our nails are a paradisical dress. Therfore we kiss the heavenly dress to hear His ﷺ name. Similarly how we kiss the Hajr-e-Aswad as a token of that heavenly adobe which was sent to the Earth. Likewise, the nail is also a token of that paradisidal dress. 

𝟯) Imām al-Sakhāwī says:

It is narrated by al-Daylamī in his book al-Firdaws, from Abū Bakr (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhu), that when you hear the Muʾadhdhin say, “Ashhadu anna Muḥammadan Rasūl Allāh” (I bear witness that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah), then you should kiss your thumbs and wipe them over your eyes. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whosoever does as my Khalīl (i.e., Abū Bakr) did, then he will receive my intercession (Shafāʿah).”

Then he says: "Whoever sends blessings upon the Prophet when he hears his name in the call to prayer, and combines the index finger and the thumb of the prayer beads, kisses them, and wipes his eyes with them, will never suffer from eye ailments."

It is narrated from Imām Shams Muḥammad ibn Ṣalāḥ al-Madanī (known as “THE IMĀM AND KHATĪB”) in his book of Tārīkh, who says:

"I heard Ḥaḍrat Majd Miṣrī, one of the great saints of his time, say: ‘Whoever sends blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ when he hears his name in the call to prayer, and, joining the index fingers with the thumbs, kisses them and wipes his eyes with them, will never suffer from eye ailments.’"

[Referenced in: Al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasanah fī al-Aḥādīth al-Dāʾirah ʿAlā al-Sunnah]

Imām al-Sakhāwī quotes again from Tārīkh of Imām Shams Muḥammad ibn Ṣalāḥ al-Madanī, who says:

"I also heard this from the jurist (Faqīh) Muḥammad ibn Zarnadī, from some scholars of Iraq and ʿAjam. He mentioned that when wiping his eyes, he would say:

‘Sallāhu ʿalayka yā Sayyidī yā Rasūl Allāh, yā Ḥabīb qalbī, sallāhu ʿalayka yā Sayyidī yā Rasūl Allāh, yā Ḥabīb qalbī, yā nūr baṣarī wa-yā qurrat ʿaynī (May prayers be upon you, O my master, O Messenger of Allāh, O beloved of my heart, O light of my sight, O delight of my eyes).’"

And each of them said that since they started doing this, their eyes have never suffered from ailments."

Ibn Ṣāliḥ added: "By the grace of Allāh, ever since I heard it from them, I have adopted it, and my eyes have not suffered from ailments. And that, in shāʾa Llāh, I will be spared from blindness."

[Referenced in: Imām al-Sakhāwī, al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasanah, Volume 1, Page 140]

𝟒) 𝐈𝐦𝐚̄𝐦 𝐚𝐥-𝐀𝐣𝐥𝐮̄𝐧ī 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐊𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐟 𝐚𝐥-𝐊𝐡𝐚𝐟𝐚̄ʾ:

It is narrated by al-Daylamī, from Abū Bakr, that when you hear the muʾadhdhin saying, “أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله” (“I bear witness that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allāh”), you should kiss your thumbs and index fingers and rub them on your eyes. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whosoever does like my Khalīl (i.e. Abū Bakr) did, then my intercession (shafāʿah) will become permitted upon him.”

Imām Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī said: “When the raising of this Ḥadīth is proven to al-Ṣiddīq (Abū Bakr), then it is sufficient to act upon it, due to his ‎ﷺ saying, ‘Adhere to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided Khulafāʾ after me.’”

[Imām al-ʿAjlūnī in Kashf al-Khafāʾ under Ḥadīth 2296, Published by Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah]

𝟱) 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤, 𝐒̣𝐚𝐥𝐚̄𝐭 𝐚𝐥-𝐌𝐚𝐬ʿ𝐮̄𝐝ī

It is narrated from the Prophet ﷺ that he said, “On the Day of Qiyāmah, I shall search for the person who used to place his thumbs on his eyes when hearing my name during the adhān. I shall lead him into Jannah.”

[Ṣalāt al-Masʿūdī, Vol. 2, Chapter 20]

𝟔) 𝐈𝐦𝐚̄𝐦 𝐈𝐛𝐧 ʿ𝐀̄𝐛𝐢𝐝ī𝐧 𝐚𝐥-𝐒𝐡𝐚̄𝐦ī, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇̣𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐟ī 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐡𝐡𝐚𝐛

It is recommended (mustaḥabb), upon hearing the first testimony (shahādah) in the adhān, to say: “May Allāh bless you, O Messenger of Allāh (Ṣallā Llāhu ʿalayka yā Rasūlullāh ﷺ).”

And upon hearing the second testimony, to say: “My eyes find comfort in you, O Messenger of Allāh (Qurratu ʿaynī bika yā Rasūlu Llāh Subḥānahu wa Taʿālā).”

Then say: “O Allāh, grant me enjoyment of hearing and sight (Allāhumma mattiʿnī bi-samʿi wal-baṣar).” Afterward, place the thumbnails on the eyes, for he ﷺ will lead the person who does this into Jannah.

This is also mentioned in Kanz al-ʿIbād by Qahīstānī and similar statements in Fatāwā Ṣūfiyyah. In the book Kitāb al-Firdaws, it is mentioned to place the thumbnails on the eyes upon hearing “Ashhadu anna Muḥammadan Rasūlu Llāh” in the call to prayer, saying, “I follow him, and he is my guide and entry into the ranks of Paradise.”

The complete discussion on this has been given in the marginal notes of Bahr ar-Rāʾiq of Ramlī.

[Radd al-Muḥtār ʿalā al-Durr al-Mukhtār, Bāb al-Adhān, Vol. 2, Page 68]

𝟕) 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐈𝐦𝐚̄𝐦 𝐇̣𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐧:

Imām alSakhāwī narrates from the jurist-faqīh Muḥammad bin Saʿīd al-Khulānī that he said, “The knowledgeable jurist Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī bin Muḥammad bin Ḥadīd al-Ḥusaynī informed me, who was informed by the ascetic scholar Zāhid al-Bilālī, that Imām Ḥasan said:

“Whoever, upon hearing the muʾadhdhin, says, ‘I bear witness that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah (Ashhadu anna Muḥammadan Rasūlu Llāh),’ and then says, ‘Welcome, O my beloved and the delight of my eyes, Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh (Marḥaban bi ḥabībī wa qurratu ʿaynī Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdillāh),’ and kisses both thumbs, placing them on his eyes, will neither suffer blindness nor have eye ailments.”

[Al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasanah, Ḥadīth 1021, Dār al-Kutub Ilmīyah (Beirut - Lebanon), Page 385]

𝟖) 𝐈𝐦𝐚̄𝐦 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐚̄𝐥 𝐢𝐛𝐧 ʿ𝐀𝐛𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐚̄𝐡 𝐢𝐛𝐧 ʿ𝐔𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐤ī 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐚̄𝐰𝐚̄:

تقبيل الابھامين ووضعھما على العينين عند ذكر اسمه عليه السلام في الاذان جائز بل مستحب صرح به مشائخنا

Kissing the thumbs (taqbīl al-ibhāmayn) and placing them on the eyes when mentioning the name of Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ in the call to prayer is not only permissible but also recommended (mustaḥabb). Our scholars have explicitly stated this.

Imām Muḥammad Ṭāhir states:

“وَرُويَ تَجْرِبَةٌ عَنْ كَثِيرِينَ”

“There are many reports of this benefit being experienced.”

[Khatīmah Majmaʿ Bahār al-Anwār, Vol. 3, p. 511]

𝟗) 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚̄𝐥𝐢𝐤ī 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐡𝐡𝐚𝐛, 𝐊𝐢𝐭𝐚̄𝐛 𝐊𝐢𝐟𝐚̄𝐲𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥-𝐓̣𝐚̄𝐥𝐢𝐛 𝐚𝐥-𝐑𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐚̄𝐧ī 𝐥𝐢-𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐚̄𝐥𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐛𝐧 𝐀𝐛ī 𝐙𝐚𝐲𝐝 𝐚𝐥-𝐐𝐚𝐲𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐚̄𝐧ī 𝐛𝐲 𝐈𝐛𝐧 𝐊𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐟, 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜:

عينيه لم يعم ولم يرمد ابدا

"Never will the eyes of the person who does so pain, nor will he become blind." 

[Kifāyat al-ṭālib al-Rabbānī, Vol 1, Page 169, Egyptian Edition]

𝟏𝟎) 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐚̄𝐟𝐢ʿī 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐡𝐡𝐚𝐛, 𝐚𝐥-ʿ𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐚̄𝐦𝐚𝐡 𝐀𝐛𝐮̄ 𝐁𝐚𝐤𝐫 ʿ𝐔𝐭𝐡𝐦𝐚̄𝐧 𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐮𝐡̣𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐲𝐲𝐚̄𝐭̣𝐚̄ 𝐚𝐥-𝐃𝐢𝐦𝐲𝐚̄𝐭̣ī 𝐚𝐥-𝐁𝐚̄𝐫ī (𝟏𝟐𝟐𝟔-𝟏𝟑𝟏𝟎𝐇), 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐣𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐤𝐚𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐈ʿ𝐚̄𝐧𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥-𝐓̣𝐚̄𝐥𝐢𝐛ī𝐧 ʿ𝐚𝐥𝐚̄ 𝐇̣𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐀𝐥𝐟𝐚̄𝐳̣ 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡̣ 𝐚𝐥-𝐌𝐮ʿī𝐧:

ثم يقبل ابھاميه و يجعلھما على عينيه لم يعم ولم يرمد ابدا

"Then kiss and place your thumbs on your eyes. By doing so, never will you become blind nor will your eyes be sore.

[Iʿānat at-Ṭālibīn, Page 247, Egyptian Edition]

𝟏𝟏) 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐲𝐤𝐡 ʿ𝐀𝐥ī 𝐒𝐚ʿī𝐝 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐰ī 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭:

The specific location of the kissing with the thumbs was not mentioned, except that it was reported from the knowledgeable scholar and interpreter, Nūr al-Dīn al-Khurasānī. Some have narrated meeting him, and when he heard the muʾadhdhin say, “Ashhadu anna Muḥammadan Rasūlu Llāh,” he kissed his thumbs and rubbed his thumbnails over his eyelids from the inner corner towards the outer, then repeated this action at every testimony. When asked about it, he responded, “I used to do it, then I stopped. However, when my eyes became ill, I saw the Prophet ‎ﷺ in a dream. He said, ‘Why did you stop wiping your eyes during the call to prayer? If you wish to heal your eyes, resume the practice of wiping.’ So, I woke up, wiped my eyes, and they were healed. They have not been affected by the illness since then.”

[Nahj al-Istimiʿā, page 177]

In addition to these esteemed scholars of the Ḥanafī madhhab, ʿUlamāʾ from the Shāfiʿī and Mālikī madhhabs have also ruled that kissing the thumbs (taqbīl al-ibhāmayn) is mustaḥabb (recommended).

𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲: Direct narrations and aḥādīth have been presented regarding this practice in the adhān and takbīr (iqāmah). Therefore, kissing and placing the thumbs during the takbīr is also beneficial and a means of blessings. However, during ṣalāh, a khuṭbah, or while listening to the Qurʾān, it should not be done, as these require a person to be in a state of complete focus and attention.

𝐎𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐇̣𝐚𝐝ī𝐭𝐡:

Even if these aḥādīth were weak, they are still accepted as they have reached us through multiple narrations, thus elevating their status. Additionally, numerous scholars have affirmed the benefits of these reports. Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī also indicated that the narration is maqūf ṣaḥīḥ (مقوف صحيح), referring to a statement or action attributed to a companion of Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ in the context of ḥadīth. Therefore, it is sufficient to be acted upon.

وإذا ثبت رفعه إلى الصديق فيكفي العمل به

"And when it is proven from (Abū Bakr) al-Ṣiddīq it is sufficient to be followed."

This quote from Shaykh al-Islām Abū Zakariyyā al-Nawawī in Al-Adhkār highlights a widely accepted principle in traditional Islamic scholarship: that it is permissible, and even recommended, to act upon weak ḥadīths in matters of virtue (faḍāʾil al-aʿmāl), encouragement, and discouragement. As long as the weak aḥādīth are not fabricated, they can be used to inspire good deeds, encourage moral behavior, and discourage harmful actions. This approach emphasizes the value of aḥādīth for ethical and spiritual motivation, provided their weakness does not pertain to reliability but rather minor narrational concerns.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻:

This blessed Practice is established as being recommended through out history through the statements and aḥādīth mentioned. In every era, Muslim deemed this practice to have this very ruling, along with the following benefits:

1) The eyes of a person who dies this are saved from being sore, pain or aliments.

2) Such a person will never become blind.

3) It is an excellent method to remove something problematic to the eyes. These benefits have been experienced and recorded many times.

4) The Beloved Prophet ﷺ will intercede for the one who practices this.

5) The Beloved Prophet ﷺ will lead such a person into Jannah.