Is Wiping the Face after Supplication (Dua) Considered a Sunna?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul Sami‘ al-Yaqti

Question

Is wiping the face after supplication (dua) considered a sunna?

Answer

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Blessings and peace be upon the Master of the Messengers, his Family, and all his Companions.

Supplication (dua) is the essence of worship, holding great virtue and a clear impact on the believer’s life. Thus, the Sacred Law guides us towards it, commands us to practice it, and has legislated many sunna acts and etiquettes for it, including wiping the face with the hands after supplication outside of prayer.

This is due to the collection of hadiths that reach the level of Hasan (good), as well as the practice of the righteous predecessors, including the Companions and those who followed them. May Allah be pleased with them all, and Allah knows best.

Detailed Answer

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Supplication is the core of worship.” [Tirmidhi; Abu Dawud]

In another narration, “Supplication is worship itself.”

Therefore, Allah commanded His believing servants to supplicate and promised to respond, as He (Most High) said:

“When My servants ask you (O Prophet) about Me: I am truly near. I respond to one’s prayer when they call upon Me. So let them respond (with obedience) to Me and believe in Me, perhaps they will be guided (to the Right Way).” [Quran, 2:186]

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) has prescribed us a great number of etiquette and sunna acts for supplication, including wiping the face with the hands after supplication outside of prayer. [Shirbini, Mughni al-Muhtaj]

Imam Nawawi says:

“Among the etiquettes of supplication are doing so at times, places, and states that are noble, facing the Qibla, raising one’s hands, wiping one’s face after completion, and lowering one’s voice to a level between loudness and whispering, and not rhyming intentionally…” [Nawawi, al-Majmu‘]

Hadith

Many hadith recommend wiping the face with the hands after supplication outside of prayer, which is acted upon in this matter.

Ibn ‘Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “When you supplicate to Allah, do so with the palms of your hands, not their backs. And once you have finished, wipe your face with them.” [Abu Dawud; Ibn Maja; Hakim]

Yazid ibn Sa‘id ibn Thamama (Allah be pleased with him) reported: “Whenever the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) made a supplication and raised his hands, he would wipe his face with his hands.” [Ahmad; Abu Dawud]

‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (Allah be pleased with him) said: “When the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) extended his hands in supplication, he did not retract them until he wiped his face with them.” [Tirmidhi and others]
After mentioning this hadith in his book Bulugh al-Maram, Ibn Hajar said: “It has supporting narrations, among them the hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas reported by Abu Dawud, and collectively, they indicate that it is a good (Hasan) hadith.”

‘Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) said: “When the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) went to his bed every night, he would join his palms, then blow into them, and recite in them: Surat al-Ikhlas, Surat al-Falaq, and Surat al-Nas, then he would wipe over whatever he could of his body, starting with his head and face and the front parts of his body, doing this three times.” [Bukhari; Muslim]

These chapters undoubtedly contain a great number of supplications, praises of Allah (Most High), and prayers seeking His refuge from all evils, including the harm of Satan and his whispers.

Way of the Companions (Allah Be Pleased with Them)

Regarding the Companions (Allah be pleased with them) wiping their faces with their hands after raising them for supplication:

In his book al-Adab al-Mufrad, in the chapter “Raising the Hands in Supplication,” Imam Bukhari narrates the action of Ibn ‘Umar and Ibn Zubayr in wiping their faces with their hands after supplication (Allah be pleased with them).

Abu Nu‘aym, who is Wahb, said: I saw Ibn ‘Umar and Ibn Zubayr making supplication and then wiping their faces with their palms. [Bukhari, al-Adab al-Mufrad]

Imam Suyuti also mentioned in his book “Fad al-Wi‘a’” the action of Hasan al-Basri wiping his face with his hands after supplication.

This relates to the ruling on wiping the face with the hands after supplication outside of prayer. As for the ruling on wiping the face with the hands after supplication during prayer, it is not legislated according to the correct opinion in the Shafi‘i School. And Allah knows best.

Imam Nawawi says: “As for wiping the face with the hands after finishing the supplication (Qunut), if we say one does not raise the hands, then wiping is not legislated without disagreement. And if we say one raises (the hands), there are two opinions: (The most famous) is that it is recommended, and among those who decisively said so are Qadi Abu al-Tayyib and Shaykh Abu Muhammad al-Juwayni…, (The second opinion) is not to wipe, and this is the correct (opinion), authenticated by Bayhaqi, Rafi‘i, and other scholars…” [Nawawi, al-Majmu‘]

Summary

Supplication is the essence of worship, and it has a real impact on a believer’s life, especially if we adhere to the etiquettes and sunna acts related to it. Among these acts is wiping the face with the hands after supplication, as detailed above. It suffices us to follow the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and the righteous predecessors (Allah be pleased with them).

May Allah grant us and you the grace of following well, making good supplications, and receiving good responses, amin.

And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
[Shaykh] Abdul Sami‘ al-Yaqti

Shaykh Abdul Sami‘ al-Yaqti is a Syrian scholar born in Aleppo in 1977. He obtained his degree in Shari‘a from the Shari‘a Faculty of Damascus University, a Diploma in Educational Qualification from the Faculty of Education at Aleppo University, and a Diploma in Shari‘a and a Master’s in Shari‘a from the Faculty of Sharia, and Law at Omdurman University in Sudan. He is currently writing his doctoral thesis.

He studied under esteemed scholars such as Shaykh Abdul Rahman al-Shaghouri, Shaykh Mustafa al-Turkmani, and Shaykh Dr. Nur al-Din Itr, among others. Shaykh al-Yakti has worked in teaching and cultural guidance in orphanages and high schools in Aleppo. He served as an Imam, Khatib, and reciter at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi and as a certified trainer for Khatibs in Abu Dhabi’s Khatib Qualification Program.

He is involved in developing and teaching a youth education program at Seekers Arabic for Islamic Sciences.

Among Shaykh al-Yaqti’s significant works are “Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni: Bayna Ilm al-Kalam Wa Usul al-Fiqh” and the program “The Messenger of Allah Among Us (Allah bless him and give him peace).”