Are Hand Signs Permissible to Use?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Are hand signs permissible to use?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
Many hand gestures that are positive in one country can be insulting in another. The meaning of gestures can also differ within a country.
Through prevalent local practice, one must find out what is considered positive or negative. Also, one then must ensure through a reliable local scholar and confirm it, to remove any baseless misgivings, etc.
Caution
If one is in doubt or it leads one to baseless misgivings, then one should refrain from using such. One can use Islamic greetings, compliments and acknowledgments, and good cultural gestures. One should learn the prophetic duas for all occasions, which one will find for all aspects of one’s life.
The Prophet of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Leave what makes you doubt for what does not make you doubt. Verily, truth brings peace of mind, and falsehood sows doubt.” [Tirmidhi]
I pray this helps in your question.
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied within UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan and Turkey.
He started his early education in UK. He went onto complete hifz of Qur’Qur’anIndia, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in UK where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then travelled to Karachi, Pakistan.
He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’Qur’anjwid, Fiqh and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences.
He currently resides in UK with his wife. His personal interest is love of books and gardening.
