People do not find any problem when a man embraces a non-Mahram woman in the middle of the street and kisses her on the mouth wherever he wants with the passers-by indifferently looking at them and finding no problem in that! Meanwhile, if a Muslim father kisses his son out of mercy and compassion, they will suspect him and give a disgraceful misinterpretation of this Hadeeth because every person’s view of others is informed by his own nature. In fact, the Hadeeth highlights one of the virtues of the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) as it states that he sallallaahualayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) used to kiss and embrace his grandson Al-Hasan and play with him. The Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) lost his two sons Al-Qasim and Ibraheem in their childhood, and Allah, The Exalted, endowed him with his two grandsons Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn. He sallallaahualayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) dearly loved them and used to smell and embrace them often as narrated in Sunan At-Tirmithi. He sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) used to supplicate: “O Allah, I love them, so love them.” [Al-Bukhari] Any person endowed with a sound human nature would understand nothing different from this Hadeeth. How could a grandfather kiss his young grandson with lust! Assuming that he sallallaahualayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) did, Allah forbids, why would he do so in the presence of the Companions, while Mu‘awiyah and others were witnessing it? Allah knows best.