Question # 580: The following is the transcript of the video I saw on YouTube: “do you rub your face after making Dua do you know this is not a part of Islam. Prophet Muhammad please be upon him and their companions peace be upon all of them never did this there is no Hadith or a verse that says that it is a part of Islam to do it and if you do something that is not a part of Islam and says that it was followed by Muhammad peace be upon him it is called bidah and it is a major sin so if you are doing this stop it today” Can you please help us on this above video; some knowledge about this.

Bismi-llahi r-raḥmani r-raḥīm,

Assalamu ‘laikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

All praise and thanks are due to Allah (سبحانه و تعالى), and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم).

Dear questioner,

First of all, we implore Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) to help us serve His cause and render our work for His sake.

Shorter Answer: There is no authentic evidence from the Sunnah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم), whether in his words or actions, that supports wiping the face after making dua`a or after obligatory prayers. Since the basic rule concerning acts of worship is that they are Tawqifiy (bound by a religious text and not amenable to personal opinion), and Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) is only to be worshipped in the manner that He ordained, such action is considered a bid’ah (innovation).

Long Answer: It is not prescribed to wipe the face after making dua`a [or after obligatory prayers]. There are many ahadith that describe how the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) called upon his Lord in dua`a, and there is no proven report that he used to wipe his face after making dua`a [or after obligatory prayers]. The best of guidance is the guidance of our Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم). When he said the salaam (at the end of prayer), he would pray for forgiveness three times, but he did not wipe his face with his hands after saying the salaam or after saying dua`a.

As for the views of the scholars who say that it is not allowed to wipe the face, they include the following:

  • Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: It is not known that anyone used to wipe his face after making dua`a except Al-Hasan. (Al-`Ilal Al-Mutanahiyah)
  • Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said: “With regard to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) raising his hands when saying dua`a, there are many authentic ahadith concerning this. However, regarding wiping his face with his hands, there are only one or two hadith concerning that, and they cannot be taken as evidence.” (Majmu` Al-Fatawa)
  • Al-`Izz ibn `Abd As-Salam said: No one wipes his face with his hands after saying dua`a except one who is ignorant. (Fatawa Al-`Izz ibn `Abd As-Salam)
  • Shaykh Muhammad ibn `Uthaymin [said]: …What I think about wiping the face with the hands after dua`a is that it is not Sunnah. As is well known, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) prayed for rain during his Friday khutbah and raised his hands, but it is not narrated that he wiped his face with them. Similarly, in a number of ahadith, it says that the Prophet raised his hands, but there is no proof that he wiped his face.” (Majmu` Fatawa Ibn `Uthaymin)

Those who say that the face should be wiped quoted some ahadith as evidence, but upon further examination, they are not authentic and do not support one another. The following are some of those weak ahadith:

Hadith # 1: “The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم), when he raised his hands in dua`a, he would not put them down until he had wiped his face with them.” (Transmitted by Tirmidhi & Ibn ‘Asakir via: Hammad ibn ‘Isa al-Juhani from Hanzalah ibn Abi Sufyan al-Jamhi from Salim ibn ‘Abdullah from his father from ‘Uman ibn al-Khattab)

Analysis: This is da’eef (weak) hadith.  Tirmidhi said after it, “This is a sahih gharib hadith [(a Hadith with a single narrator usually at the beginning of the chain of narration)]. We only know it as a hadith of Hammad ibn ‘Esa; for he is alone in reporting it; he has few ahadith, but the people have reported from him.” However, this reporter is weak… Abu Hatim said, ‘Weak in hadith’. Abu Dawood said, ‘Weak, he reports munkar ahadith.’ Hakim and Naqqash said, ‘He reports fabricated ahadith from lbn Juraij and Ja’far as-Sadiq.’ He is declared to be weak by Daraqutni. Ibn Hibban said, ‘He reports things which are the wrong way round on the authority of Ibn Juraij and ‘Abdul-‘Aziz ibn ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul-‘Aziz, such that it seems to those whose field this is that it is deliberate. It is not permissible to use him as proof.’ Ibn Makoola said, ‘They declare his ahadith to be weak.’”

Hadith # 2: “When the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) made dua`a and raised his hands, he would wipe his face with his hands.” (Reported by Abu Dawood from Ibn Lahi’ah from Hafs ibn Hisham ibn ‘Utbah ibn Abi Waqqas from Sa’ib ibn Yazid from his father)

Analysis: This is da’eef (weak) hadith. This is a weak sanad (chain) due to Hafs ibn Hisham being unknown and the weakness of Ibn Lahi’ah (per Taqrib at-Tahdhib). This hadith cannot be strengthened by the two routes of narration together due to the severity in weakness of the first one [above].

Hadith # 3: “When you call upon Allah, then supplicate with the palms of your hands, and do not supplicate with their backs, and when you finish, wipe your face with them.” (Related by Ibn Majah, Ibn Nasr in Qiyam al-Lail, Tabarani in Al-Mu’jam al-Kabir and Hakim, from Salih ibn Hassan from Muhammad ibn Ka’b from Ibn ‘Abbas (رضي الله عنه) as marfoo’)

Analysis: The narration is da’eef (weak). This is a weak sanad (chain) due to Ibn Hassan, who is munkar in hadith, as Bukhari stated. Nasa’i said, “He is abandoned in Hadith.” [He was classified as a weak narrator by Ahmad, Ibn Ma`in, Abu Hatim, and Al-Daraqutny. Abu Nu`aym Al-Asbahany said that his (Salih’s) ahadith are rejected, and he is Matruk (a narrator whose hadith transmission was discarded due to unreliability).] Ibn Hibban said, “He used to have female singers and listen to music, and he used to narrate fabricated reports on the authority of trustworthy narrators.” Ibn Abi Hatim said in Kitab al-‘Ilal: “I asked my father (i.e., Abu Hatim al-Razi) about this hadith, to which he said: it is Munkar.” Ibn Hassan has been backed up by ‘Isa ibn Maimoon, who also reported it from Muhammad ibn Ka’b, as related by Ibn Nasr. However, this does not alter anything since Ibn Maimoon is similarly weak. Ibn Hibban said, “He reports ahadith, all of which are fabricated.” Nasa’i said, “He is not reliable.” [It is also said by Ibn Al-Jawzy concerning this hadith, it is unauthentic because of the presence of Salih ibn Hassan.]

Hadith # 4: “Do not cover the walls. He who looks into the letter of his brother without his permission, verily he looks into the Fire. Ask Allah with the palms of your hands, and do not ask him with their backs, and when you finish, wipe your faces with them.” (This hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas is also related by Abu Dawood, and from him Baihaqi, via ‘Abdul Malik ibn Muhammad ibn Aiman from ‘Abdullah ibn Ya’qoob ibn Ishaq from someone who narrated to him from Muhammad ibn Ka’b)

Analysis: The narration is da’eef (weak). This is a weak sanad (chain): ‘Abdul Malik is declared weak by Abu Dawood. It also contains the Shaikh of ‘Abdullah ibn Ya’qoob, who is unnamed and therefore unknown – it is possible that he may be Ibn Hassan or Ibn Maimoon, both of whom are mentioned above. The hadith is also transmitted by Hakim via Muhammad ibn Mu’awiyah, who said that Masadif ibn Ziyad al-Madini narrated to him that he heard it from Muhammad ibn Ka’b al-Qurazi. Dhahabi followed this up by pointing out that Ibn Mu’awiyah was declared to be a liar by Daraqutni, so the hadith is falsified. Abu Dawood said about this hadith, “This hadith has been narrated via more than one route on the authority of Muhammad ibn Ka’b. All of them are feeble.”

The basic rule concerning acts of worship is that they are Tawqifiy (bound by a religious text and not amenable to personal opinion), and Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) is only to be worshipped in the manner that He ordained.

Finally, wiping the face after supplication or prayer is not a major sin but is considered a bid’ah (innovation). It is better to avoid this practice unless one follows an opinion, allowing it based on weak ahadith.

(Other than the use of some authentic internet sources, the above reply is based on the following resources:

  • abukhadeejah.com
  • Islamqa.info
  • alifta.net (from abdurrahman.org))

Allahu A’lam (Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) knows best) and all Perfections belong to Allah, and all mistakes belong to me alone. May Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) forgive me, Ameen.

Wassalaam