وَجْه

وَجْه

Wajh in the lexical sense comes from confronting; it is the front of anything, and in a person it runs from the hairline down to the chin and across between the earlobes. ¹ Washing the face is required in ablution, and wiping it is a pillar of tayammum by agreement. ^{1 2} Most jurists hold that a free adult woman's face is not an intimate part, while some Hanbalis hold it is; looking at a woman's face with desire, or where temptation is feared, is forbidden. ^{1 2} Jurists rebuke a young woman who uncovers her face before unrelated men out of fear of temptation; some Shafi'is and Hanbalis hold that the men must lower their gaze and the woman is not obliged to cover her face in the street. ^{2 3} Striking or branding the face is forbidden, in man or beast, by the Prophet's prohibition. ³ The Hanafis and Malikis forbid a pilgrim in ihram from covering his face, while the Shafi'is and Hanbalis allow it. ^{3 4} The Hanafis and, in the accepted view, the Shafi'is allow wiping the face with the hands after supplication, and the Shafi'is recommend it. ⁴