Praise be to Allah.
It is not prescribed to wipe the face after making Du`a . There are many Hadiths which describe how the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) called upon his Lord in Du`a, and there is no proven report that he used to wipe his face after making Du`a .
Those who say that the face should be wiped quoted some Hadiths as evidence, but upon further examination they are not authentic, and do not support one another.
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 (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It is not known that anyone used to wipe his face after making Du`a except Al-Hasan. (Al-`Ilal Al-Mutanahiyah, 2/840, 841)
- Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “With regard to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) raising his hands when saying Du`a , there are many authentic Hadiths concerning this. However, regarding wiping his face with his hands, there are only one or two Hadiths concerning that, and they cannot be taken as evidence.” (Majmu` Al-Fatawa, 22/519)
- Al-`Izz ibn `Abd As-Salam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: No one wipes his face with his hands after saying Du`a except one who is ignorant. (Fatawa Al-`Izz ibn `Abd As-Salam, p. 47)
If it is not permitted to wipe the face after making Du`a , it is more likely that the person who says Du`a should not be allowed to wipe his body either, or to kiss his eyes.
Rather the scholars stated that kissing the thumbs and placing them on the eyes is a Bid`ah that was introduced by some of the Sufi Orders, and there is a Hadith concerning that which is falsely attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
Shaykh Muhammad ibn `Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about the ruling on wiping the face with the hands after making Du`a.
He replied:
“Wiping the face with the hands after making Du`a is more likely to be not prescribed in Islam, because the Hadiths that have been narrated concerning that are weak. Shaykh Al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: They cannot be used as evidence. If we are not certain or we think it most likely that this is not prescribed, then it is better not to do it, because Islamic rulings cannot be proven on the basis of mere conjecture, unless we believe it to be mostly likely to be the case.
What I think about wiping the face with the hands after Du`a is that it is not Sunnah. As is well known, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) 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 Hadiths it says that the Prophet raised his hands, but there is no proof that he wiped his face.” (Majmu` Fatawa Ibn `Uthaymin, 14/question no. 781)
And Allah knows best.
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