He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

“Does someone who habitually kisses the ground incur sin? And what about someone who does so to receive a stipend, under coercion?”

He replied:

Kissing the ground, raising the head, and similar acts involving prostration, as performed before certain shaykhs and kings, are impermissible. Indeed, even bending forward as in bowing is impermissible, as in the following report:

“They asked the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: ‘When one of us meets his brother, should he bow to him?’ He replied: ‘No.’”

“When Muʿādh returned from Syria, he prostrated before the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. The Prophet asked: ‘What is this, Muʿādh?’ He replied: ‘O Messenger of Allah, I saw them in Syria prostrating before their bishops, and they attributed this practice to their prophets.’ He said: ‘They have falsely attributed it to them. If I were to command anyone to prostrate before another, I would command a woman to prostrate before her husband because of his rights over her. O Muʿādh, prostration is due to Allah alone.’”

Doing this as an act of religious devotion and a means of drawing nearer to Allah is among the gravest wrongs. Whoever believes such a practice to be a means of drawing nearer to Allah and an act of religious devotion is misguided and fabricates falsehood. Rather, it must be explained to him that this is neither part of the religion nor a means of drawing nearer to Allah. If he persists, he must be called upon to repent. If he repents, well and good; otherwise, he is to be put to death.

But if a man is coerced into doing this, such that refusing would result in his being beaten