Wiping the Face with the Hands after Du‘ā’ in Light of Authentic Aḥādīth
This excerpt is taken from Hudiyyat al-Muslimeen – Important Issues Regarding Salah with Complete Description of the Prophetic Prayer ﷺ by Shaykh Zubair Ali Zai رحمه الله.
Imām al-Bukhārī said:
حدثنا إبراهيم بن المنذر قال: حدثنا محمد بن فليح قال أخبرني أبى عن أبى نعيم، وهو وهب، قال: رأيت ابن عمر وابن الزبير يدعوان يديران بالراحتين على الوجه
Abū Nu‘aym Wahb ibn Kaysān رحمه الله said:
“I saw ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar رضي الله عنهما and ‘Abdullāh ibn al-Zubayr رضي الله عنهما making du‘ā’ and then passing both their palms over their faces.”
[Al-Adab al-Mufrad by al-Bukhārī, p. 214, Ḥadīth 609, Bāb 276]
The chain of this narration is ḥasan, and the criticism of some people against it is rejected.
① Raising both hands in du‘ā’ is established through mutawātir aḥādīth.
[Dhamm al-Mutanāthir min al-Ḥadīth al-Mutawātir by al-Hindī, p. 190]
From the above narration, wiping the face with the hands after du‘ā’ is proven.
② There is no evidence for congregational du‘ā’ after obligatory prayers. However, if done occasionally without making it a regular practice or obligation, there is no harm.
③ Individual du‘ā’ after obligatory prayers is established in several aḥādīth. From one narration of ‘Abdullāh ibn al-Zubayr رضي الله عنهما, it is known that he would raise his hands individually.
[Majma‘ al-Zawā’id, vol. 10, p. 169]
Ḥāfiẓ al-Haythamī declared its narrators trustworthy, but we have not found its chain in order to verify his statement.
④ Making du‘ā’ upon request is established from authentic aḥādīth.
⑤ The narration in Majma‘ al-Zawā’id is found in Ṭabarānī’s chain in Ibn Kathīr’s Jāmi‘ al-Masānīd (8/529). Among its narrators, the status of Sulaymān ibn al-Ḥasan al-‘Aṭṭār needs investigation.
Note: Sulaymān ibn al-Ḥasan al-‘Aṭṭār, according to the stronger opinion, is ṣadūq. However, Faḍīl ibn Sulaymān is considered weak by the majority of ḥadīth scholars.
[See: Al-Silsilah al-Ṣaḥīḥah by Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله, vol. 6, p. 56, Ḥadīth 2544]
Respected Mawlānā Irshād al-Ḥaqq al-Atharī حفظه الله has quoted in Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb regarding Faḍīl: صدوق وله خطاء كثير — meaning, he is truthful but makes many mistakes.
[See: Al-‘Ilal al-Mutanāhiyah by Ibn al-Jawzī, vol. 2, p. 366, Ḥadīth 1419, footnote no. 3]
And whoever makes many mistakes is considered a weak narrator. As for his narrations in the Ṣaḥīḥayn, they are authentic because they appear there in the context of mutāba‘āt (supporting narrations) and shawāhid (corroborating reports). Al-ḥamdu lillāh.
This excerpt is taken from Hudiyyat al-Muslimeen – Important Issues Regarding Salah with Complete Description of the Prophetic Prayer ﷺ by Shaykh Zubair Ali Zai رحمه الله.
Wiping the Face after Du‘ā’
Imām al-Bukhārī said:
حدثنا إبراهيم بن المنذر قال: حدثنا محمد بن فليح قال أخبرني أبى عن أبى نعيم، وهو وهب، قال: رأيت ابن عمر وابن الزبير يدعوان يديران بالراحتين على الوجه
Abū Nu‘aym Wahb ibn Kaysān رحمه الله said:
“I saw ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar رضي الله عنهما and ‘Abdullāh ibn al-Zubayr رضي الله عنهما making du‘ā’ and then passing both their palms over their faces.”
[Al-Adab al-Mufrad by al-Bukhārī, p. 214, Ḥadīth 609, Bāb 276]
The chain of this narration is ḥasan, and the criticism of some people against it is rejected.
Benefits
① Raising both hands in du‘ā’ is established through mutawātir aḥādīth.
[Dhamm al-Mutanāthir min al-Ḥadīth al-Mutawātir by al-Hindī, p. 190]
From the above narration, wiping the face with the hands after du‘ā’ is proven.
② There is no evidence for congregational du‘ā’ after obligatory prayers. However, if done occasionally without making it a regular practice or obligation, there is no harm.
③ Individual du‘ā’ after obligatory prayers is established in several aḥādīth. From one narration of ‘Abdullāh ibn al-Zubayr رضي الله عنهما, it is known that he would raise his hands individually.
[Majma‘ al-Zawā’id, vol. 10, p. 169]
Ḥāfiẓ al-Haythamī declared its narrators trustworthy, but we have not found its chain in order to verify his statement.
④ Making du‘ā’ upon request is established from authentic aḥādīth.
⑤ The narration in Majma‘ al-Zawā’id is found in Ṭabarānī’s chain in Ibn Kathīr’s Jāmi‘ al-Masānīd (8/529). Among its narrators, the status of Sulaymān ibn al-Ḥasan al-‘Aṭṭār needs investigation.
Note: Sulaymān ibn al-Ḥasan al-‘Aṭṭār, according to the stronger opinion, is ṣadūq. However, Faḍīl ibn Sulaymān is considered weak by the majority of ḥadīth scholars.
[See: Al-Silsilah al-Ṣaḥīḥah by Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله, vol. 6, p. 56, Ḥadīth 2544]
Respected Mawlānā Irshād al-Ḥaqq al-Atharī حفظه الله has quoted in Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb regarding Faḍīl: صدوق وله خطاء كثير — meaning, he is truthful but makes many mistakes.
[See: Al-‘Ilal al-Mutanāhiyah by Ibn al-Jawzī, vol. 2, p. 366, Ḥadīth 1419, footnote no. 3]
And whoever makes many mistakes is considered a weak narrator. As for his narrations in the Ṣaḥīḥayn, they are authentic because they appear there in the context of mutāba‘āt (supporting narrations) and shawāhid (corroborating reports). Al-ḥamdu lillāh.
