CHAPTER 11 – Applying Perfume When Entering Ihram
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) related:
I used to scent the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) before he put on his ihram, and before performing the tawaf of the Ka’bah for exiting from the ihram. [527]
COMMENTARY:
To perfume oneself before entering into ihram is among the recommended practices preceding it. However, to perfume oneself while in ihram is forbidden, and requires expiation. On the first day of Eid, after the Jamarat al-Aqaba at Mina, if performing Qiran or Ifrad pilgrimage, one slaughters the sacrificial animal and shaves (or clips) the hair. One may put on clothes and perfume before completing the obligatory tawaf, and everything forbidden in ihram becomes permissible to him except for intimacy with his spouse. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) had perfumed the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) before the obligatory tawaf.
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said:
I can almost see the faint sheen of musk in the parting of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, while he was in ihram. [528]
COMMENTARY:
*Vebis* means brightness or whiteness. The faint sheen of musk in the parting of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was a remnant of the musk he had used before entering ihram. The persistence of this trace of musk after entering ihram is not problematic; this is the opinion of most companions. This is also the position of the Shafi’i school and Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Imam Malik says that it is disliked for one in ihram to have a fragrance. According to Abu Hanifa, if a trace of perfume applied before ihram remains on a limb, then a penalty is required if it is rubbed or spread by hand to other limbs after the ihram. (Mealim-us-Sunan)