According to the following Bukhari hadith, the black stone does not need to be kissed, and it is only done so since it was considered as a lawful and harmless practice of the messenger of Allah :saws: even though this was simply done for show at the time.
Volume 2, Book 26, Number 677:Narrated Ibn Abbas.:In his Last Hajj the Prophet performed Tawaf of the Ka'ba riding a camel and pointed a bent-headed stick towards the Corner (Black Stone).
http://www.iupui.edu/~msaiupui/026.sbt.html
Book 007, Number 2904:
Ibn ‘Abbas (At lab be pleased with them) reported: Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) and his Companions came to Mecca and the fever in Medina had weakened them. Thereupon the polytheists (of Mecca) said: There would come to you a people whom the fever has made weak and they have suffered severely from it. They sat in Hatim.
Thereupon Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) commanded them to walk quickly ift three circuits and walk (in four) between the two corners.
so that the polytheists should. see their endurance. The polytheists then said (to one anothery You were under the impression that fever had emaciated them. whereas they are stronger than so and so. Ibn Abbas said: He (the Holy Prophet) did not command them (the Muslims) to walk quickly in all the circuits out of kindness to them.
Book 007, Number 2905:
Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with them) reported: Allah. ‘s Messenger (peace be upon him) observed Sa’i and walked quickly round the House with a view to showing his strength to the polytheists.---------Book 26: Pilgrimmage (Hajj)
Hadith 675 (Volume 2)
Narrated Zaid bin Aslam from his father who said:"Umar bin Al-Khattab addressed the Corner (Black Stone) saying, 'By Allah! I know that you are a stone and can neither benefit nor harm. Had I not seen the Prophet touching (and kissing) you, I would never have touched (and kissed) you.' Then he kissed it and said,
'There is no reason for us to do Ramal (in Tawaf) except that we wanted to show off before the pagans, and now Allah has destroyed them.' 'Umar added, '(Nevertheless), the Prophet did that and we do not want to leave it (i.e. Ramal).'
http://www.iupui.edu/~msaiupui/026.sbt.html
Hadith no: 650
Narrated / Authority Of: Abu Said Al-Khudri
While the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) was leading his Companions in prayer, he took off his sandals and laid them on his left side; so when the people saw this, they removed their sandals.
When the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) finished his prayer, he asked: What made you remove your sandals?
They replied: We saw you remove your sandals, so we removed our sandals.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) then said:
Gabriel came to me and informed me that there was filth in them. When any of you comes to the mosque, he should see; if he finds filth on his sandals, he should wipe it off and pray in them.
http://mobile.ahadith.co.uk/chapter.php?page=10&cid=66
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----In light of the above ahadith, it's probably better to avoid kissing the stone as this does not appear to have been from amongst the manaasik shown to Ibrahim :saws: and was only a reactionary measure of the Prophet :saws: to an issue of jaahiliyyah that is no longer present - and it carries the risk of disease and harm. And Allah :swt: knows best.----
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Book 007, Number 2900:
Abu Tufail reported: I said to Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with them): Do you think that walking swiftly round the House in three circuits, and just walking in four circuits is the Sunnah (of the Holy Prophet), for your people say that it is Sunnah?
Thereupon he (Ibn 'Abbas) said: They have told the truth and the lie (too).
I said: What do your words" They have told the truth and the lie (too)" imply?
Thereupon he said: Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) came to Mecca and the polytheists said that Muhammad and his Companions had emaciated and would, therefore, be unable to circumambulate the House; and they felt jealous of him (the Holy Prophet). (It was due to this) that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) commanded them to walk swiftly in three (circuits) and walk (normally) in four.
I said to him: Inform me if it is Sunnah to observe Tawaf between al-Safa and al-Marwa while riding, for your people look upon it as Sunnah.
He (Ibn Abbas) said: They have told the truth and the lie too.
I said: What do your words" They have told the truth and the lie too, imply?
He said: as Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) had come to Mecca, there was such a large gathering of people around him that even the virgins had come out of their houses (to catch a glimpse of his face). and they were saying: He is Muhammad; He is Muhammad. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) (was so gentle and kind) that the people were not beaten back (to make way) in front of him. When there was a; throng (of people) around him, he rode (the she-camel) but walking and trotting is, however, better.
Book 007, Number 2901:
This hadith has been narrated on the authority of jurairi with the same chain of transmitters but with a slight variation of words (and this is) that he (the narrator) did not say:" They felt jealous of him. but said:
The people of Mecca were jealous people."
http://www.iupui.edu/~msaiupui/007.smt.html
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The Prophet :saws: knew their jealousy well, and he had even had to stop them from killing each other in an inter-tribal annihilation during jaahiliyyah when they had dipped their hands in blood vowing fight to the death for the honour of placing the black stone in it's place.
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Book 007, Number 2902:
Abu Tufail reported: I said to Ibn 'Abbas (Allah be pleased with them): People are of the view that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) moved quickly round the House and between al-Safa and al-Marwa, and (thus) it is Sunnah. He said: They told the truth and they told the lie.
http://www.iupui.edu/~msaiupui/007.smt.html
Hadith no: 654
Narrated / Authority Of: AishaI asked the Prophet whether the round wall (near Ka'ba) was part of the Ka'ba. The Prophet replied in the affirmative. I further said, "What is wrong with them, why have they not included it in the building of the Ka'ba?"
He said, "Don't you see that your people (Quraish) ran short of money (so they could not include it inside the building of Ka'ba)?"
I asked, "What about its gate? Why is it so high?"
He replied, "Your people did this so as to admit into it whomever they liked and prevent whomever they liked.
Were your people not close to the Pre-lslamic Period of ignorance (i.e. they have recently embraced Islam) and were I not afraid that they would dislike it, surely I would have included the (area of the) wall inside the building of the Ka'ba and I would have lowered its gate to the level of the ground."
Hadith no: 655
Narrated / Authority Of: Aisha
Allah's Apostle said to me, "Were your people not close to the Pre-lslamic period of ignorance, I would have demolished the Kaaba and would have rebuilt it on its original foundations laid by Abraham (for Quraish had curtailed its building), and I would have built a back door (too)."
Hadith no: 656
Narrated / Authority Of: Yazid bin Ruman from Urwa, Aisha said that the Prophet said to her, "O Aisha! Were your nation not close to the Pre-lslamic Period of Ignorance, I would have had the Ka'ba demolished and would have included in it the portion which had been left, and would have made it at a level with the ground and would have made two doors for it, one towards the east and the other towards the west, and then by doing this it would have been built on the foundations laid by Abraham."
That was what urged Ibn-Az-Zubair to demolish the Ka'ba. Jazz said, "I saw Ibn-Az-Zubair when he demolished and rebuilt the Ka'ba and included in it a portion of Al-Hijr (the unroofed portion of Ka'ba which is at present in the form of a compound towards the north-west of the Ka'ba).
I saw the original foundations of Abraham which were of stones resembling the humps of camels." So Jarir asked Yazid, "Where was the place of those stones?" Jazz said, "I will just now show it to you." So Jarir accompanied Yazid and entered Al-Hijr, and Jazz pointed to a place and said, "Here it is." Jarir said, "It appeared to me about six cubits from Al-Hijr or so."
http://mobile.ahadith.co.uk/chapter.php?page=7&cid=112
Narrated Al-Miswar bin Makhrama and Marwan:
(whose narrations attest each other) Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) set out at the time of Al-Hudaibiya (treaty), and when they proceeded for a distance, he said, "Khalid bin Al-Walid leading the cavalry of Quraish constituting the front of the army, is at a place called Al-Ghamim, so take the way on the right." By Allah, Khalid did not perceive the arrival of the Muslims till the dust arising from the march of the Muslim army reached him, and then he turned back hurriedly to inform Quraish. The Prophet (ﷺ) went on advancing till he reached the Thaniya (i.e. a mountainous way) through which one would go to them (i.e. people of Quraish).
The she-camel of the Prophet (ﷺ) sat down. The people tried their best to cause the she-camel to get up but in vain, so they said, "Al-Qaswa' (i.e. the she-camel's name) has become stubborn! Al-Qaswa' has become stubborn!" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Al-Qaswa' has not become stubborn, for stubbornness is not her habit, but she was stopped by Him Who stopped the elephant." Then he said, "By the Name of Him in Whose Hands my soul is, if they (i.e. the Quraish infidels) ask me anything which will respect the ordinances of Allah, I will grant it to them." The Prophet (ﷺ) then rebuked the she-camel and she got up. The Prophet (ﷺ) changed his way till he dismounted at the farthest end of Al-Hudaibiya at a pit (i.e. well) containing a little water which the people used in small amounts, and in a short while the people used up all its water and complained to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ); of thirst.
The Prophet (ﷺ) took an arrow out of his arrow-case and ordered them to put the arrow in that pit. By Allah, the water started and continued sprouting out till all the people quenched their thirst and returned with satisfaction. While they were still in that state, Budail bin Warqa-al- Khuza`i came with some persons from his tribe Khuza`a and they were the advisers of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) who would keep no secret from him and were from the people of Tihama. Budail said, "I left Ka`b bin Luai and 'Amir bin Luai residing at the profuse water of Al-Hudaibiya and they had milch camels (or their women and children) with them, and will wage war against you, and will prevent you from visiting the Ka`ba."
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "We have not come to fight anyone, but to perform the `Umra. No doubt, the war has weakened Quraish and they have suffered great losses, so if they wish, I will conclude a truce with them, during which they should refrain from interfering between me and the people (i.e. the 'Arab infidels other than Quraish), and if I have victory over those infidels, Quraish will have the option to embrace Islam as the other people do, if they wish; they will at least get strong enough to fight. But if they do not accept the truce, by Allah in Whose Hands my life is, I will fight with them defending my Cause till I get killed, but (I am sure) Allah will definitely make His Cause victorious." Budail said, "I will inform them of what you have said." So, he set off till he reached Quraish and said, "We have come from that man (i.e. Muhammad) whom we heard saying something which we will disclose to you if you should like." Some of the fools among Quraish shouted that they were not in need of this information, but the wiser among them said, "Relate what you heard him saying." Budail said, "I heard him saying so-and-so," relating what the Prophet (ﷺ) had told him.
`Urwa bin Mas`ud got up and said, "O people! Aren't you the sons? They said, "Yes." He added, "Am I not the father?" They said, "Yes." He said, "Do you mistrust me?" They said, "No." He said, "Don't you know that I invited the people of `Ukaz for your help, and when they refused I brought my relatives and children and those who obeyed me (to help you)?" They said, "Yes." He said, "Well, this man (i.e. the Prophet) has offered you a reasonable proposal, you'd better accept it and allow me to meet him." They said, "You may meet him."
So, he went to the Prophet (ﷺ) and started talking to him. The Prophet (ﷺ) told him almost the same as he had told Budail. Then `Urwa said, "O Muhammad! Won't you feel any scruple in extirpating your relations? Have you ever heard of anyone amongst the Arabs extirpating his relatives before you? On the other hand, if the reverse should happen, (nobody will aid you, for) by Allah, I do not see (with you) dignified people, but people from various tribes who would run away leaving you alone." Hearing that, Abu Bakr abused him and said, "Do you say we would run and leave the Prophet (ﷺ) alone?" `Urwa said, "Who is that man?" They said, "He is Abu Bakr." `Urwa said to Abu Bakr, "By Him in Whose Hands my life is, were it not for the favor which you did to me and which I did not compensate, I would retort on you." `Urwa kept on talking to the Prophet (ﷺ) and seizing the Prophet's beard as he was talking while Al-Mughira bin Shu`ba was standing near the head of the Prophet, holding a sword and wearing a helmet. Whenever `Urwa stretched his hand towards the beard of the Prophet, Al-Mughira would hit his hand with the handle of the sword and say (to `Urwa), "Remove your hand from the beard of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)." `Urwa raised his head and asked, "Who is that?" The people said, "He is Al-Mughira bin Shu`ba." `Urwa said, "O treacherous! Am I not doing my best to prevent evil consequences of your treachery?" Before embracing Islam Al-Mughira was in the company of some people. He killed them and took their property and came (to Medina) to embrace Islam. The Prophet (ﷺ) said (to him, "As regards your Islam, I accept it, but as for the property I do not take anything of it. (As it was taken through treason). `Urwa then started looking at the Companions of the Prophet. By Allah, whenever Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) spat, the spittle would fall in the hand of one of them (i.e. the Prophet's companions) who would rub it on his face and skin; if he ordered them they would carry his orders immediately; if he performed ablution, they would struggle to take the remaining water; and when they spoke to him, they would lower their voices and would not look at his face constantly out of respect.
`Urwa returned to his people and said, "O people! By Allah, I have been to the kings and to Caesar, Khosrau and An- Najashi, yet I have never seen any of them respected by his courtiers as much as Muhammad is respected by his companions. By Allah, if he spat, the spittle would fall in the hand of one of them (i.e. the Prophet's companions) who would rub it on his face and skin; if he ordered them, they would carry out his order immediately; if he performed ablution, they would struggle to take the remaining water; and when they spoke, they would lower their voices and would not look at his face constantly out of respect." `Urwa added, "No doubt, he has presented to you a good reasonable offer, so please accept it."
A man from the tribe of Bani Kinana said, "Allow me to go to him," and they allowed him, and when he approached the Prophet and his companions,
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "He is so-and-so who belongs to the tribe that respects the Budn (i.e. camels of the sacrifice). So, bring the Budn in front of him." So, the Budn were brought before him and the people received him while they were reciting Talbiya. When he saw that scene, he said, "Glorified be Allah! It is not fair to prevent these people from visiting the Ka`ba." When he returned to his people, he said, 'I saw the Budn garlanded (with colored knotted ropes) and marked (with stabs on their backs). I do not think it is advisable to prevent them from visiting the Ka`ba."
Another person called Mikraz bin Hafs got up and sought their permission to go to Muhammad, and they allowed him, too. When he approached the Muslims, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Here is Mikraz and he is a vicious man." Mikraz started talking to the Prophet and as he was talking, Suhail bin `Amr came. When Suhail bin `Amr came, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Now the matter has become easy." Suhail said to the Prophet "Please conclude a peace treaty with us." So, the Prophet (ﷺ) called the clerk and said to him, "Write: By the Name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful." Suhail said, "As for 'Beneficent,' by Allah, I do not know what it means. So write: By Your Name O Allah, as you used to write previously." The Muslims said, "By Allah, we will not write except: By the Name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Write: By Your Name O Allah." Then he dictated, "This is the peace treaty which Muhammad, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) has concluded." Suhail said, "By Allah, if we knew that you are Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) we would not prevent you from visiting the Ka`ba, and would not fight with you. So, write: "Muhammad bin `Abdullah." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "By Allah! I am Apostle of Allah even if you people do not believe me. Write: Muhammad bin `Abdullah." (Az-Zuhri said, "The Prophet (ﷺ) accepted all those things, as he had already said that he would accept everything they would demand if it respects the ordinance of Allah, (i.e. by letting him and his companions perform `Umra.)" The Prophet (ﷺ) said to Suhail, "On the condition that you allow us to visit the House (i.e. Ka`ba) so that we may perform Tawaf around it." Suhail said, "By Allah, we will not (allow you this year) so as not to give chance to the 'Arabs to say that we have yielded to you, but we will allow you next year." So, the Prophet (ﷺ) got that written. Then Suhail said, "We also stipulate that you should return to us whoever comes to you from us, even if he embraced your religion." The Muslims said, "Glorified be Allah! How will such a person be returned to the pagans after he has become a Muslim? While they were in this state Abu- Jandal bin Suhail bin `Amr came from the valley of Mecca staggering with his fetters and fell down amongst the Muslims. Suhail said, "O Muhammad! This is the very first term with which we make peace with you, i.e. you shall return Abu Jandal to me." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The peace treaty has not been written yet." Suhail said, "I will never allow you to keep him." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Yes, do." He said, "I won't do.: Mikraz said, "We allow you (to keep him)." Abu Jandal said, "O Muslims! Will I be returned to the pagans though I have come as a Muslim? Don't you see how much I have suffered?" (continued...) (continuing... 1): -3.891:... ...
Abu Jandal had been tortured severely for the Cause of Allah. `Umar bin Al-Khattab said, "I went to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, 'Aren't you truly the Messenger of Allah?' The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'Yes, indeed.' I said, 'Isn't our Cause just and the cause of the enemy unjust?' He said, 'Yes.' I said, 'Then why should we be humble in our religion?' He said, 'I am Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and I do not disobey Him, and He will make me victorious.' I said, 'Didn't you tell us that we would go to the Ka`ba and perform Tawaf around it?' He said, 'Yes, but did I tell you that we would visit the Ka`ba this year?' I said, 'No.' He said, 'So you will visit it and perform Tawaf around it?' " `Umar further said, "I went to Abu Bakr and said, 'O Abu Bakr! Isn't he truly Allah's Prophet?' He replied, 'Yes.' I said, 'Then why should we be humble in our religion?' He said, 'Indeed, he is Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and he does not disobey his Lord, and He will make him victorious. Adhere to him as, by Allah, he is on the right.' I said, 'Was he not telling us that we would go to the Ka`ba and perform Tawaf around it?' He said, 'Yes, but did he tell you that you would go to the Ka`ba this year?' I said, 'No.' He said, "You will go to Ka`ba and perform Tawaf around it." (Az-Zuhri said, " `Umar said, 'I performed many good deeds as expiation for the improper questions I asked them.' ") When the writing of the peace treaty was concluded, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said to his companions, "Get up and' slaughter your sacrifices and get your head shaved." By Allah none of them got up, and the Prophet repeated his order thrice. When none of them got up, he left them and went to Um Salama and told her of the people's attitudes towards him. Um Salama said, "O the Prophet (ﷺ) of Allah! Do you want your order to be carried out? Go out and don't say a word to anybody till you have slaughtered your sacrifice and call your barber to shave your head." So, the Prophet (ﷺ) went out and did not talk to anyone of them till he did that, i.e. slaughtered the sacrifice and called his barber who shaved his head. Seeing that, the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) got up, slaughtered their sacrifices, and started shaving the heads of one another, and there was so much rush that there was a danger of killing each other. Then some believing women came (to the Prophet (ﷺ) ); and Allah revealed the following Divine Verses:-- "O you who believe, when the believing women come to you as emigrants examine them . . ." (60.10) `Umar then divorced two wives of his who were infidels. Later on Muawiya bin Abu Sufyan married one of them, and Safwan bin Umaiya married the other. When the Prophet (ﷺ) returned to Medina, Abu Basir, a new Muslim convert from Quraish came to him.
The Infidels sent in his pursuit two men who said (to the Prophet (ﷺ) ), "Abide by the promise you gave us." So, the Prophet (ﷺ) handed him over to them. They took him out (of the City) till they reached Dhul-Hulaifa where they dismounted to eat some dates they had with them. Abu Basir said to one of them, "By Allah, O so-and-so, I see you have a fine sword." The other drew it out (of the scabbard) and said, "By Allah, it is very fine and I have tried it many times." Abu Basir said, "Let me have a look at it." When the other gave it to him, he hit him with it till he died, and his companion ran away till he came to Medina and entered the Mosque running. When Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saw him he said, "This man appears to have been frightened." When he reached the Prophet (ﷺ) he said, "My companion has been murdered and I would have been murdered too." Abu Basir came and said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), by Allah, Allah has made you fulfill your obligations by your returning me to them (i.e. the Infidels), but Allah has saved me from them." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Woe to his mother! what excellent war kindler he would be, should he only have supporters." When Abu Basir heard that he understood that the Prophet (ﷺ) would return him to them again, so he set off till he reached the seashore. Abu Jandal bin Suhail got himself released from them (i.e. infidels) and joined Abu Basir. So, whenever a man from Quraish embraced Islam he would follow Abu Basir till they formed a strong group. By Allah, whenever they heard about a caravan of Quraish heading towards Sham, they stopped it and attacked and killed them (i.e. infidels) and took their properties. The people of Quraish sent a message to the Prophet (ﷺ) requesting him for the Sake of Allah and Kith and kin to send for (i.e. Abu Basir and his companions) promising that whoever (amongst them) came to the Prophet (ﷺ) would be secure. So the Prophet (ﷺ) sent for them (i.e. Abu Basir's companions) and Allah I revealed the following Divine Verses: "And it is He Who Has withheld their hands from you and your hands From them in the midst of Mecca, After He made you the victorious over them. ... the unbelievers had pride and haughtiness, in their hearts ... the pride and haughtiness of the time of ignorance." (48.24-26)
And their pride and haughtiness was that they did not confess (write in the treaty) that he (i.e. Muhammad) was the Prophet of Allah and refused to write: "In the Name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the Most Merciful," and they (the mushriks) prevented them (the Muslims) from visiting the House (the Ka`bah).
https://sunnah.com/bukhari/54/19
Im still learning :embarrass 
