What is the ruling on kissing the hands and heads of scholars and those who know God, and on greeting with a kiss as is customary in the Gulf? What should one do if a scholar refuses to have his hands kissed? And has this been mentioned in the transmitted texts (athar)?

Kissing the hand of a scholar is permissible or even recommended if the one whose hand is kissed is a person of knowledge, righteousness, and nobility, and not because of his wealth or status. Kissing the hands of one's parents is permissible. As for kissing on the face, it is disliked except for someone returning from a journey. If the scholar refuses the kiss out of humility, then it should be abandoned.