Ask an Alim

8. Use of Perfume

Rule 237: It is forbidden for a person, in ihram, to use perfume, be it by way of wearing, smelling, applying, or eating it. Not permissible, too, is wearing any garment that had come into contact with it. By perfume we mean every substance intended for one’s body, clothes, and food, such as musk, oud, waras, amber, saffron and the like. However, it is evident that, one must also refrain from all kinds of scent and perfume, like rose and jasmine. There is one exception, though, which is ‘Khalooq-ul-Ka’ba’, which is extracted from saffron and other materials, and is applied on the Holy Ka’ba.

Rule 238: It is not forbidden for a pilgrim in a state of ihram to smell sweet plants, be they used for perfumes, such as jasmine, or others. fragrant wild flowers, such as wormwood, are apparently exempt.Fruits which have a scent in them, like apples and quinces, one must refrain from smelling them while eating them, as a matter of precaution. The same applies to aromatic oils; it is permissible to use for food the edible ones among them, yet it is advisable not to smell the aroma while eating them, as a matter of ihtiyat.

Rule 239: A pilgrim in a state of ihram, performing sa’y does not have to hold his nose in a bid to avoid smelling the aroma which may exude from a vendor of perfumery. However, he must do so in situations other than this. Khalooq-ul-Ka’ba is exempt.

Rule 240: If a person, in ihram, deliberately consumes an item of perfumery, or wears clothes that have traces of scent on them, he should, as a matter of obligatory precaution (al ahwat luzuman [wujuban]), bear a kaffarah of a sheep. There is no kaffarah for using perfume in situations other than those discussed, although, as a matter of precaution, one must pay the penalty.

Rule 241: It is forbidden for a pilgrim, in the state of ihram, to close his nose to bad smell, although there is no objection to moving away quickly from the smell.