✅Answer: Please pay attention to the following narrations:

1 عَنْ زُرَارَةَ بْنِ أَعْيَنَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ لِأَبِي جَعْفَرٍ الْبَاقِر أَخْبِرْنِي عَنْ حَدِّ الْوَجْهِ الَّذِي يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يُوَضَّأَ الَّذِي قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ فَقَالَ الْوَجْهُ الَّذِي قَالَ اللَّهُ وَ أَمَرَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ بِغَسْلِهِ الَّذِي لَا يَنْبَغِي لِأَحَدٍ أَنْ يَزِيدَ عَلَيْهِ وَ لَا يَنْقُصَ مِنْهُ إِنْ زَادَ عَلَيْهِ لَمْ يُؤْجَرْ وَ إِنْ نَقَصَ مِنْهُ أَثِمَ مَا دَارَتْ عَلَيْهِ الْوُسْطَى وَ الْإِبْهَامُ مِنْ قُصَاصِ شَعْرِ الرَّأْسِ إِلَى الذَّقَنِ وَ مَا جَرَتْ [حَوَتْ] عَلَيْهِ الْإِصْبَعَانِ مُسْتَدِيراً فَهُوَ مِنَ الْوَجْهِ وَ مَا سِوَى ذَلِكَ فَلَيْسَ مِنَ الْوَجْهِ

📚 Al-Faqih Vol. 1, p. 44

Zurarah said to Imam al-Baqir (peace be upon him): Tell me about the extent of the face that Allah, the Almighty, has said should be washed!

The Imam said: The face that Allah has mentioned and commanded to be washed, which it is not proper for anyone to add to or subtract from—for if one adds to it, they receive no reward, and if they subtract from it, they have sinned—is that which is encompassed by the middle finger and the thumb, from the place where the hair of the head begins to grow down to the chin. Whatever these two fingers enclose in a circle is part of the face, and what is outside of that is not!

2 عَنْ زُرَارَةَ قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِأَبِي جَعْفَرٍ أَ لَا تُخْبِرُنِي مِنْ أَيْنَ عَلِمْتَ وَ قُلْتَ أَنَّ الْمَسْحَ بِبَعْضِ الرَّأْسِ وَ بَعْضِ الرِّجْلَيْنِ فَضَحِكَ فَقَالَ يَا زُرَارَةُ قَالَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَ نَزَلَ بِهِ الْكِتَابُ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ قَالَ فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ فَعَرَفْنَا أَنَّ الْوَجْهَ كُلَّهُ يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يُغْسَلَ

📚 Al-Faqih Vol. 1, p. 103

Zurarah said: I said to Imam al-Baqir (peace be upon him): Won't you tell me how you knew and said that the 'mas'h' (wiping) is on a part of the head and a part of the two feet?

The Imam smiled and said: O Zurarah! The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said it, and the book from Allah, the Almighty, has been revealed with it, for Allah, the Almighty (in Surah Al-Ma'idah, verse 6), said: 'then wash your faces'!

Therefore, we knew that the entire face is proper to be washed!

3 عَنْ زُرَارَةَ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ قَالَ: قُلْتُ لَهُ أَ رَأَيْتَ مَا أَحَاطَ بِهِ الشَّعْرُ فَقَالَ كُلُّ مَا أَحَاطَ بِهِ مِنَ الشَّعْرِ فَلَيْسَ عَلَى الْعِبَادِ أَنْ يَطْلُبُوهُ وَ لَا يَبْحَثُوا عَنْهُ وَ لَكِنْ يُجْرَى عَلَيْهِ الْمَاءُ.

📚 Al-Faqih Vol. 1, p. 44

Zurarah said: I said to Imam al-Baqir (peace be upon him): Tell me about what is surrounded by hair (for ablution)?

The Imam said: Whatever is surrounded (covered) by hair (like a beard), it is not obligatory for the servants to seek it out and search for it, but rather water is made to flow over it (i.e., over the same covering hair)!

4 عَنْ زُرَارَةَ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ في حديث قَالَ: إِنَّمَا عَلَيْكَ أَنْ تَغْسِلَ مَا ظَهَرَ.

📚 Al-Tahdhib Vol. 1, p. 78

Zurarah narrated from Imam al-Baqir (peace be upon him) that he said: Indeed, it is your responsibility to wash what is apparent (during ablution)!

✅ Based on the above narrations and others, it is clear that for ablution, the entire area of the face specified in narration 1 must be washed. From the area of the face, only the inner parts, such as the inside of the eyes, the inside of the nose, and the inside of the mouth, as well as what is surrounded and covered by hair, are excluded from washing. The outer part of the face must be washed, and eyelashes are within the area of the face and are part of the outer face, and washing them in ablution is obligatory.

Therefore, women who apply decorative materials like mascara to their eyelashes must ensure that there is no barrier preventing water from reaching the eyelashes, and since it prevents water from reaching the eyelashes for ablution, they must remove that barrier before performing ablution.

✅ All the hadiths in this post are from the narration of Zurarah ibn A'yan

While dedicating the reward of sharing this post to Zurarah ibn A'yan, we present the following hadith on the virtue of Zurarah to our respected readers:

5 عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْحَمِيدِ وَ غَيْرِهِ قَالُوا قَالَ أَبُو عَبْداللَّه رَحِمَ اللَّهُ زُرَارَةَ بْنَ أَعْيَنَ لَوْ لَا زُرَارَةُ وَ نُظَرَاؤُهُ لَانْدَرَسَتْ أَحَادِيثُ أَبِي

📚 Rijal al-Kashshi Vol. 1, p. 136

Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: May Allah have mercy on Zurarah ibn A'yan! If it were not for Zurarah and his likes, the signs and traces of my father's hadiths would be wiped out and would disappear!