Question:
A hadith stating that the Prophetﷺ ﷺ, after raising his hands in supplication, would wipe his face.
The narration from Umar ibn Al-Khattab says: When the Prophetﷺ ﷺ raised his hands for supplication, he would not lower them without wiping his face with them.
This narration appears in Tirmidhi (Hadith 3386). Is it Authentic?
Answer:
Scholars’ Evaluation of the Hadith
This hadith includes a narrator named Hammad ibn Isa.
Scholars differ regarding him: Some say he is weak. Others say he is acceptable. However, several scholars declared the narration weak.
For example:
- Abu Zur‘ah said it is munkar (rejected).
- Ibn Al-Jawzi said it is not reliable.
Some people claim Tirmidhi declared it authentic, but Ibn Salah clarified that the original manuscript does not contain such authentication.
Therefore, the hadith is considered weak.
What Should Be Done After Dua?
Now consider an important point. If wiping the face is declared Sunnah, that requires authentic evidence. But is there a hadith saying the Prophetﷺ lowered his hands without wiping his face?
There is no clear narration for that either. So, after finishing dua, several possibilities exist:
- Wiping the face
- Lowering the hands
- Resting them somewhere
Once the supplication ends, the act of worship is already completed.
What happens afterward is simply natural behavior, not part of the ritual.
Therefore: Saying wiping the face is Sunnah is incorrect. But accusing someone who wipes their face of innovation (bid‘ah) is also incorrect. Because wiping the face itself is not forbidden.
Why It Cannot Be Called Bid‘ah
If wiping the face is called innovation, then what about lowering the hands?
Is there evidence for that? No. Similarly, resting the hands or folding them afterward also lacks evidence.
The point is: The worship ended with the supplication itself.
What a person does afterward is not part of the ritual.
Therefore, people should not argue about this.