❖ Detailed Ruling on Wiping the Face After Duʿāʾ ❖
Source: Fatāwā al-Dīn al-Khāliṣ, Volume 1, Page 230
What is the ruling on wiping the face after making duʿāʾ?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
A narration from Sāʾib ibn Yazīd (رضي الله عنه) reports:
“The Prophet ﷺ would raise his hands in duʿāʾ and then wipe them over his face.”
Sources: Abu Dāwūd (1/209), Hadith 1497; al-Bayhaqī; Mishkāt (1/205), Hadith 2255
Commentary: This chain contains Ibn Lahīʿah, who is weak, and Ḥafṣ ibn Hāshim, who is unknown (majhūl).
Another narration from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما) states:
“When the Prophet ﷺ raised his hands in duʿāʾ, he would not lower them until he wiped them over his face.”
Source: al-Tirmidhī
Commentary: The chain contains Ḥammād ibn ʿĪsā, who is very weak.
Imām al-Ḥākim narrated this in al-Mustadrak (1/536) but did not authenticate nor comment further.
A narration from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما) states that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“When you make duʿāʾ to Allah, do so with the palms (inner side) of your hands, not with the backs; and after duʿāʾ, wipe your face with them.”
Sources: Abu Dāwūd (1/209); Ibn Mājah (1/181), Hadith 866; al-Ḥākim (1/536); al-Ṭabarānī al-Kabīr (3/98); Ibn Naṣr – Qiyām al-Layl, p. 327
Commentary: The narrator Ibn Ḥassān al-Rāsī is rejected in ḥadīth (munkar al-ḥadīth), thus weakening the narration.
Similar weak reports are found in al-Bayhaqī (2/212) and al-Ḥākim (4/270), as referenced in Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl (2/179–180).
Imām al-Bukhārī in al-Adab al-Mufrad (p. 159), Hadith 609, narrates from Ibrāhīm ibn Mundhir, Muḥammad ibn Falīḥ, from his father, from Abū Nuʿaym (Wahb):
“I saw Ibn ʿUmar and Ibn al-Zubayr (رضي الله عنهما) making duʿāʾ and wiping their palms over their faces.”
Commentary: The chain is ṣaḥīḥ or ḥasan, and this supports the weak marfūʿ narrations.
In Sunan al-Kubrā (2/212), he states:
“I do not recall any of the Salaf wiping their hands over their face after the duʿāʾ of Qunūt.”
This act of wiping the face outside of ṣalāh has been narrated from some individuals, and there are marfūʿ (Prophetic) narrations, although all are weak.
In the context of ṣalāh (formal prayer), wiping the face after duʿāʾ has no valid support from authentic hadith, from Companions, or through qiyās (analogy).
Therefore, it is better to refrain from this practice during ṣalāh and follow the Salaf’s method — i.e., raising hands only without wiping the face.
Ibn Naṣr narrates:
“I saw Abū Kaʿb wiping his hands over his face after duʿāʾ. I asked him who he saw doing this.
He said: Al-Ḥasan (al-Baṣrī).”
Muḥammad ibn Naṣr states:
“I saw Isḥāq (ibn Rāhawayh) approving this practice due to the presence of ḥadīths (even if weak).”
Although the narrations are mostly weak, they indicate the permissibility (ibāḥah) of wiping the face after duʿāʾ.
However, some scholars viewed it as makrūh (discouraged) due to the weakness of all marfūʿ narrations.
Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (رحمه الله) was asked about wiping the face after Qunūt in Witr.
He replied:
“I have heard nothing about it.”
Abū Dāwūd reports:
“I saw Imām Aḥmad, and he did not do this act.”
Narrations from ʿĪsā ibn Maymūn and Ṣāliḥ ibn Ḥassān are also too weak to be cited as proof.
Imām Mālik (رحمه الله), when asked, said:
“I have no knowledge of this.”
ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mubārak (رحمه الله) was asked:
“A man raises his hands in duʿāʾ and wipes them over his face?”
He replied:
“Sufyān (al-Thawrī) regarded it as makrūh.”
Source: Qiyām al-Layl, p. 367; al-Ṣaḥīḥah (2/146), Hadith 595
al-ʿIzz ibn ʿAbd al-Salām (رحمه الله) said:
“Only an ignorant person does this.”
Imām al-Nawawī (رحمه الله) wrote in al-Majmūʿ:
“This act is not recommended (mandūb).”
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله) said in Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā (22/519):
“One or two ḥadīths are reported about wiping the face with the hands after duʿāʾ, but they are not strong enough to establish a proof.”
✔ Wiping the face after duʿāʾ is not supported by any strong authentic narration from the Prophet ﷺ.
✔ Some Companions and Tābiʿīn practiced it, which makes the act permissible but not preferred.
✔ Scholars have differed, with some calling it makrūh, and others permitting it due to weak ḥadīths.
✔ In ṣalāh, especially after Qunūt, the practice should be avoided due to lack of any clear Sharʿī basis.
✔ The best approach is to raise the hands in duʿāʾ without wiping the face, in line with the practice of the Salaf.
هذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
Source: Fatāwā al-Dīn al-Khāliṣ, Volume 1, Page 230
❖ Question:
What is the ruling on wiping the face after making duʿāʾ?
❖ Answer:
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
❖ Aḥādīth Regarding Wiping the Face After Duʿāʾ
A narration from Sāʾib ibn Yazīd (رضي الله عنه) reports:
“The Prophet ﷺ would raise his hands in duʿāʾ and then wipe them over his face.”
Sources: Abu Dāwūd (1/209), Hadith 1497; al-Bayhaqī; Mishkāt (1/205), Hadith 2255
Commentary: This chain contains Ibn Lahīʿah, who is weak, and Ḥafṣ ibn Hāshim, who is unknown (majhūl).
Another narration from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما) states:
“When the Prophet ﷺ raised his hands in duʿāʾ, he would not lower them until he wiped them over his face.”
Source: al-Tirmidhī
Commentary: The chain contains Ḥammād ibn ʿĪsā, who is very weak.
Imām al-Ḥākim narrated this in al-Mustadrak (1/536) but did not authenticate nor comment further.
❖ Etiquette of Duʿāʾ and Using the Palms
A narration from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما) states that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“When you make duʿāʾ to Allah, do so with the palms (inner side) of your hands, not with the backs; and after duʿāʾ, wipe your face with them.”
Sources: Abu Dāwūd (1/209); Ibn Mājah (1/181), Hadith 866; al-Ḥākim (1/536); al-Ṭabarānī al-Kabīr (3/98); Ibn Naṣr – Qiyām al-Layl, p. 327
Commentary: The narrator Ibn Ḥassān al-Rāsī is rejected in ḥadīth (munkar al-ḥadīth), thus weakening the narration.
Similar weak reports are found in al-Bayhaqī (2/212) and al-Ḥākim (4/270), as referenced in Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl (2/179–180).
❖ Practice of the Companions (Ṣaḥābah):
Imām al-Bukhārī in al-Adab al-Mufrad (p. 159), Hadith 609, narrates from Ibrāhīm ibn Mundhir, Muḥammad ibn Falīḥ, from his father, from Abū Nuʿaym (Wahb):
“I saw Ibn ʿUmar and Ibn al-Zubayr (رضي الله عنهما) making duʿāʾ and wiping their palms over their faces.”
Commentary: The chain is ṣaḥīḥ or ḥasan, and this supports the weak marfūʿ narrations.
❖ View of Imām al-Bayhaqī (رحمه الله):
In Sunan al-Kubrā (2/212), he states:
“I do not recall any of the Salaf wiping their hands over their face after the duʿāʾ of Qunūt.”
❖ Practice Outside of Ṣalāh:
This act of wiping the face outside of ṣalāh has been narrated from some individuals, and there are marfūʿ (Prophetic) narrations, although all are weak.
In the context of ṣalāh (formal prayer), wiping the face after duʿāʾ has no valid support from authentic hadith, from Companions, or through qiyās (analogy). Therefore, it is better to refrain from this practice during ṣalāh and follow the Salaf’s method — i.e., raising hands only without wiping the face.❖ Practice of Tābiʿīn and Early Scholars:
Ibn Naṣr narrates:
“I saw Abū Kaʿb wiping his hands over his face after duʿāʾ. I asked him who he saw doing this.
He said: Al-Ḥasan (al-Baṣrī).”
Muḥammad ibn Naṣr states:
“I saw Isḥāq (ibn Rāhawayh) approving this practice due to the presence of ḥadīths (even if weak).”
❖ Opinions of the Scholars (Muḥaddithīn):
Although the narrations are mostly weak, they indicate the permissibility (ibāḥah) of wiping the face after duʿāʾ.
However, some scholars viewed it as makrūh (discouraged) due to the weakness of all marfūʿ narrations.
❖ Statements of Imāms:
Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (رحمه الله) was asked about wiping the face after Qunūt in Witr.He replied:
“I have heard nothing about it.”
Abū Dāwūd reports:
“I saw Imām Aḥmad, and he did not do this act.”
Narrations from ʿĪsā ibn Maymūn and Ṣāliḥ ibn Ḥassān are also too weak to be cited as proof. Imām Mālik (رحمه الله), when asked, said:“I have no knowledge of this.”
ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mubārak (رحمه الله) was asked:“A man raises his hands in duʿāʾ and wipes them over his face?”
He replied:
“Sufyān (al-Thawrī) regarded it as makrūh.”
Source: Qiyām al-Layl, p. 367; al-Ṣaḥīḥah (2/146), Hadith 595
al-ʿIzz ibn ʿAbd al-Salām (رحمه الله) said:“Only an ignorant person does this.”
Imām al-Nawawī (رحمه الله) wrote in al-Majmūʿ:“This act is not recommended (mandūb).”
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله) said in Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā (22/519):“One or two ḥadīths are reported about wiping the face with the hands after duʿāʾ, but they are not strong enough to establish a proof.”
❖ Conclusion:
✔ Wiping the face after duʿāʾ is not supported by any strong authentic narration from the Prophet ﷺ.
✔ Some Companions and Tābiʿīn practiced it, which makes the act permissible but not preferred.
✔ Scholars have differed, with some calling it makrūh, and others permitting it due to weak ḥadīths.
✔ In ṣalāh, especially after Qunūt, the practice should be avoided due to lack of any clear Sharʿī basis.
✔ The best approach is to raise the hands in duʿāʾ without wiping the face, in line with the practice of the Salaf.
هذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
