Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
What is the ruling on wiping the face with the hands after making duʿāʾ (supplication)?
Among the etiquettes (ādāb) of duʿāʾ is that it should be made with raised hands, and after completing the supplication, one should wipe his face with his hands.
This practice is established from the actions of the Companions and the early generations.
1. Abū Naʿīm Wahb ibn Kaysān رضي الله عنه narrated:
رأيت ابن عمر وابن الزبير يدعوان، يديران بالراحتين على الوجه.
“I saw ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar and ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr رضي الله عنهما making duʿāʾ, and after it, they would move their palms over their faces.”
(al-Adab al-Mufrad by al-Bukhārī, no. 609 – chain ḥasan)
This shows that the Companions practiced wiping the face after completing their supplications.
2. Al-Muʿtamar ibn Sulaymān رحمه الله said:
“I saw Abū Kaʿb ʿAbd Rabbih ibn ʿUbayd رحمه الله raising his hands in duʿāʾ, and when he finished, he would wipe his face with his hands.
I asked him: ‘Have you seen anyone else doing this?’
He replied: ‘Yes, I saw al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī رحمه الله doing so.’”
(Faḍl al-Duʿāʾ fī Aḥādīth Rafʿ al-Yadayn bi-Duʿāʾ by al-Suyūṭī, p. 59 – chain ṣaḥīḥ)
Imām al-Suyūṭī رحمه الله graded this narration as ḥasan (sound).
These authentic and sound narrations from the Companions and Tābiʿīn prove that wiping the face after duʿāʾ is a correct and established practice.
The early generations (Khayr al-Qurūn) did not abandon it; rather, it was their consistent habit after raising the hands in supplication.
❖ Question:
What is the ruling on wiping the face with the hands after making duʿāʾ (supplication)?
✿ Answer:
Among the etiquettes (ādāb) of duʿāʾ is that it should be made with raised hands, and after completing the supplication, one should wipe his face with his hands.
This practice is established from the actions of the Companions and the early generations.
❀ Evidence from the Companions:
1. Abū Naʿīm Wahb ibn Kaysān رضي الله عنه narrated:
رأيت ابن عمر وابن الزبير يدعوان، يديران بالراحتين على الوجه.
“I saw ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar and ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr رضي الله عنهما making duʿāʾ, and after it, they would move their palms over their faces.”
(al-Adab al-Mufrad by al-Bukhārī, no. 609 – chain ḥasan)
This shows that the Companions practiced wiping the face after completing their supplications.
❀ Evidence from the Followers (Tābiʿīn):
2. Al-Muʿtamar ibn Sulaymān رحمه الله said:
“I saw Abū Kaʿb ʿAbd Rabbih ibn ʿUbayd رحمه الله raising his hands in duʿāʾ, and when he finished, he would wipe his face with his hands.
I asked him: ‘Have you seen anyone else doing this?’
He replied: ‘Yes, I saw al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī رحمه الله doing so.’”
(Faḍl al-Duʿāʾ fī Aḥādīth Rafʿ al-Yadayn bi-Duʿāʾ by al-Suyūṭī, p. 59 – chain ṣaḥīḥ)
Imām al-Suyūṭī رحمه الله graded this narration as ḥasan (sound).
❀ Scholarly Conclusion:
These authentic and sound narrations from the Companions and Tābiʿīn prove that wiping the face after duʿāʾ is a correct and established practice.
The early generations (Khayr al-Qurūn) did not abandon it; rather, it was their consistent habit after raising the hands in supplication.
Summary:
- Raising the hands while making duʿāʾ is from the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.
- Wiping the face after duʿāʾ is permissible and established from the practice of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar, ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr, and al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī رضي الله عنهم.
- Hence, it is recommended (mustaḥabb) to wipe the face after completing the supplication.
