Editing Respect (section)

=== Physical gestures ===
{{See also|Category:Gestures of respect}}

[[File: Westindischer Maler um 1530 001.jpg|thumb|180px|right|A wife touching the feet of her husband]]

In Islamic cultures, there are many ways to show respect to people. For example, one may kiss the hands of parents, grandparents, or teachers. It is narrated in [[Hadith|the sayings of Muhammad]] "Your smiling in the face of your brother is charity".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jami' at-Tirmidhi 1956 - Chapters on Righteousness And Maintaining Good Relations With Relatives - كتاب البر والصلة عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم) |url=https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:1956 |access-date=2024-04-08 |website=sunnah.com}}</ref> It is also important for Muslims to treat the [[Quran]] with great care, as it's considered the word of God. Actions like placing it on the floor or handling it with unclean hands are forbidden and should be followed by a [[Istighfar|prayer of forgiveness]].

In [[India]], it is customary that, out of respect, when a person's foot accidentally touches a book or any written material (considered to be a manifestations of [[Saraswati]], the goddess of knowledge) or another person's body, it will be followed by an apology in the form of a single hand gesture ({{transliteration|sa|[[pranāma]]}}) with the right hand, where the offending person first touches the object with the finger tips and then the forehead and/or chest. This also counts for money, which is considered to be a manifestation of the goddess of wealth, [[Lakshmi]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=DeBruyn|first1=Pippa|last2=Bain|first2=Keith|last3=Allardice|first3=David|last4=Joshi|first4=Shonar|publisher=Wiley|year=2010|edition=4th|title=Frommer's India|url=https://archive.org/details/frommersindia0000unse|page=[https://archive.org/details/frommersindia0000unse/page/76/mode/1up 76]|isbn=978-0-470-55610-8 }}</ref> Pranāma, or the touching of feet in Indian culture is a sign of respect. For instance, when a child greets their grandparents, they typically will touch their hands to their grandparents' feet. In Indian culture, it is believed that the feet are a source of love and power.<ref>{{cite book|last=Chatterjee|first=Gautam|year=2001|orig-year=1996|edition=2nd|isbn=8170173973|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NQ0XQHEkuIcC|url-access=limited|chapter=Namaskar or Pranam: The Sacred Posture of Hindu Salutation|title=Sacred Hindu Symbols|publisher=Abhinav|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NQ0XQHEkuIcC&q=feet 47]–48}}</ref>

In many African/West Indian descent communities and some non-African/West Indian descent communities, respect can be signified by the [[Fist bump|touching of fists]].{{cn|date=March 2020}}

Many gestures or physical acts that are common in the West can be considered disrespectful in Japan. For instance, one should not point directly at someone. When greeting someone or thanking them, it may be insulting if the person of lower status does not bow lower than the person with higher status. The duration and level of the bow depends on many factors such as age and status.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://westsidetoastmasters.com/resources/book_of_body_language/chap5.html|title=Cultural Variations In Body Language|website=Dimensions of Body Language|access-date=22 October 2017}}</ref> Some signs of physical respect apply to women only. If a woman does not wear cosmetics or a brassiere, it is possible that she will be considered unprofessional or others may think she does not care about her situation.