Question: Some people, when they finish making the dua after the prayer wipe their face after they have made the dua. Is that a bid'ah; is there any contextual evidence from the sunna for its permissibility.

Answer:

No, this is not a bid'ah; rather, it is an established sunna and recommended to wipe one’s face after supplicating. It is reported in authentic hadiths, such as the one Imam Tirmidhi reports, that Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) use to wipe his hands over his face after completing the du`a.

This is mentioned as being recommended by:

• Imam Nawawi (Adhkar, Majmu` 4.451), and others
• (Al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya 3.19)
• Imam Shurunbulali (Shurunbulaliyya)
• Imam Haskafi (Durr al-Mukhtar)
• Imam Ibn Abidin (Radd al-Muhtar)

Answered by Shaykh Abu Usamah and Sidi Faraz Rabbani of the Hanafi fiqh list.