❖ Question
What is the ruling on wiping the face with hands after supplication (duʿā)?
Source: Fatāwā ʿUlamāʾ-e-Ahl al-Ḥadīth – Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, Volume 1❖ Answer
Making duʿā is a legislated form of worship, and raising the hands in duʿā symbolizes humility and submission. However, wiping the face after duʿā is not established through any authentic (ṣaḥīḥ) Hadith. All the reported narrations on this practice are weak (ḍaʿīf) and have been classified as such by renowned scholars, including Imām al-Albānī.◈ Weak Narrations and Their Critique
✿ Hadith ①: ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (RA)
The Prophet ﷺ would not lower his hands after duʿā until he wiped them over his face.Critique:
This narration is weak due to the presence of Ḥammād bin ʿĪsā al-Juhani, a weak narrator. Declared weak by Imām Abū Ḥātim, Abū Dāwūd, al-Ḥākim, and others.
Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl 1/598, Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb 3/1918✿ Hadith ②: Sāʾib bin Yazīd (RA)
The Prophet ﷺ would wipe his face with his hands after making duʿā.Critique:
Also weak. Contains Ḥafṣ bin Hāshim, a majhūl (unknown) narrator, and ʿAbdullāh bin Laḥīʿah, a weak narrator.
Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb 2/420–421, Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl 1/569✿ Hadith ③: ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās (RA)
“When you make duʿā, do so with your palms, and then wipe your face with them.”Critique:
This is a fabricated (mawḍūʿ) narration. It includes Ṣāliḥ bin Ḥassān, a rejected (matrūk) narrator.
Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb 4/385, Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl 2/291–292✿ Hadith ④: ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās (RA)
“Do not lower your hands after duʿā until you wipe them over your face.”Critique:
Also fabricated. Includes ʿĪsā bin Maymūn al-Qurashī, labeled a liar (waḍḍāʿ) by scholars like Imām al-Bukhārī and Ibn Maʿīn.
Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl 3/325–326, Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb 8/236✿ Hadith ⑤: Reported by Abū Dāwūd
“When making duʿā, do so with your palms and wipe them over your face afterward.”Critique:
Chain includes ʿAbd al-Malik bin Muḥammad bin Ayman and an unknown narrator, both classified as weak or unrecognized.
Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb 6/418–419, Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl 4/18❖ Summary and Final Ruling
✔ All narrations regarding wiping the face after duʿā are weak or fabricated.✔ No ṣaḥīḥ or ḥasan hadith exists that validates this practice.
✔ None of the Companions (RA) are authentically reported to have done this.
✔ Therefore, wiping the face after duʿā should be avoided as it lacks legitimate Sharʿī evidence.
وَاللهُ أَعْلَم، وَعِلْمُهُ أَحْكَم!
