Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Islamic Rulings on Perfume and Fragrance During Iḥrām

Question 6:

If the Muḥrim is wearing a bag or belt with a bottle of fragrance in its pocket before he has made the intention of Iḥrām, is it necessary for him to take the bottle out after he has made the intention of Iḥrām? If the fragrance from the bottle of fragrance comes into contact with the hand, will expiation be due in this case?

Answer:

It is not necessary to take the bottle out of the bag or the belt after he has made the intention of Iḥrām. If this fragrance comes into contact with the hand etc. after the intention of Iḥrām, expiation will be due as it is not the fragrance applied to the body or clothes before the intention of Iḥrām.

Question 7:

Before making the intention of Iḥrām, if someone is wearing a perfumed bag around his neck with a perfumed handkerchief and a perfumed rosary of Ṭawāf in the bag, can he use these things after the intention of Iḥrām?

Answer:

To smell the smell of these things deliberately is Makrūh. However, it is allowed to use them provided the fragrance applied to them would not come into contact with the Iḥrām or the body but it is obviously very difficult to protect the body or the Iḥrām from fragrance when using rosary or handkerchief. Therefore, it is safer to avoid using these things.

Question 8:

Before making the intention of Iḥrām, if someone puts fragrance-applied two or three extra shawls onto his lap or wears them and, after making the intention of Iḥrām, removes the extra ones; can he use those shawls in the state of that Iḥrām?

Answer:

If the liquid form of the fragrance still exists, those shawls cannot be used. However, if no liquid form exists, only fragrance emanates from them, one can use them in this case but it is still Makrūh Tanzīhī. Ṣadr-ush-Sharī'ah رَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ تَعَالٰی عَلَيْهِ has stated: If someone has applied fragrance to shawls etc. before the intention of Iḥrām and has used them in the state of Iḥrām, it is Makrūh to do so but no expiation will be due.

(ibid, pp. 1165)

Question 9:

If one or both the shawls of Iḥrām become unclean out of nocturnal emission or any other reason, two other shawls are available, but fragrance had been applied to them before, can Muḥrim use them?

Answer:

If the liquid form of the fragrance or its coating still exists, Muḥrim cannot wear those shawls. If he wears them expiation will be due. However, if no coating of fragrance exists, Muḥrim can use them even if fragrance is emanating from them. However, it is still Makrūh Tanzīhī to use such shawls without a Shar'ī reason. Islamic jurists have stated: It is impermissible in the state of Iḥrām to wear a piece of cloth that has a coating of fragrance on it.

('Ālamgīrī, vol. 1, pp. 222)

It is stated in Bahār-e-Sharī'at: If someone has applied fragrance to shawls etc. before the intention of Iḥrām and has used them in the state of Iḥrām, it is Makrūh to do so but no expiation will be due.

(Bahār-e-Sharī'at, vol. 1, pp. 1165)

Question 10:

If fragrance comes into contact with a Muḥrim whilst he was kissing Ḥajar-ul-Aswad, what should he do?

Answer:

If a significant amount of fragrance has come into contact, Dam will have to be paid. If small amount of fragrance has come into contact, Ṣadaqah will have to be given¹.

(Bahār-e-Sharī'at, vol. 1, pp. 1164)

Question 11:

Can a Muḥrim deliberately smell a fragrant flower or not?

Answer:

No. For a Muḥrim to smell fragrance or a fragrant flower deliberately is Makrūh Tanzīhī but no expiation will be due.

(Bahār-e-Sharī'at, vol. 1, pp. 1163)

Question 12:

Can a Muḥrim eat uncooked cardamom?

Answer:

No. It is Ḥarām. If the Muḥrim eats pure fragrance such as cardamom, clove or cinnamon in so much amount that it comes into contact with most part of the mouth, Dam will be Wājib. If the fragrance comes into contact with lesser part of the mouth, Ṣadaqah will be Wājib.

(Bahār-e-Sharī'at, vol. 1, pp. 1164)

Question 13:

Can a Muḥrim eat fragrant food, aniseed, betel nuts, creamy biscuits, toffees, etc.?

¹ Muḥrim should make someone else judge whether much amount or small amount of fragrance has come into contact with him. As there is the expiation of Dam in case of much amount of fragrance coming into contact, Muḥrim's Nafs may well declare much amount as small amount.

Answer:

There is no harm in eating the fragrance cooked in food even if fragrance is still emanating from it. Similarly, if fragrance is not added at the time of cooking but after the cooking, and the fragrance has vanished, eating that meal is also permissible. If uncooked fragrance is mixed into food or medicine, and the amount of fragrance exceeds that of odourless food or medicine, the ruling for pure fragrance will apply in this case. If such fragrance comes into contact with most part of the mouth, Dam will be Wājib. If it comes into contact with lesser part of the mouth, Ṣadaqah will be Wājib. If the amount of grain etc. exceeds that of pure fragrance, there will be no expiation. If pure fragrance emanates from such food, it is Makrūh Tanzīhī to eat it.

Question 14:

How is it to have soft drinks, fragrance-added beverages, fruit-juices, etc.?

Answer:

If sandal fragrance is added to the beverage, it is allowed to drink it because sandal fragrance is cooked before being added to the beverage. If an essence is also added to the beverage to make it fragrant, it is usually added to the cooked beverage after it has been cooled. The essence is obviously added to the beverage in small amount. The ruling on this type of essence-added beverage is that if a Muḥrim has drunk it three times or more, Dam will be due otherwise Ṣadaqah.

It is stated in Bahār-e-Sharī'at: If a Muḥrim has drunk a fragrance-added beverage, Dam will be due provided fragrance is in large amount. If the fragrance is in small amount but the Muḥrim has drunk such a beverage three times or more, Dam will be due otherwise Ṣadaqah.

(Bahār-e-Sharī'at, vol. 1, pp. 1165)

Question 15:

Can a Muḥrim apply coconut oil to his head etc.?

Answer:

There is no harm in it. Even so, the rulings of pure fragrance will apply in case of applying sesame and olive oil. They cannot be applied to the body even if they are odourless. However, expiation will not be Wājib in case of eating them, sniffing them, applying them to a wound or dropping them into the ear.

(Bahār-e-Sharī'at, vol. 1, pp. 1166)

Question 16:

How is it to apply fragrant kohl into eyes in the state of Iḥrām?

Answer:

It is Ḥarām. Ṣadr-ush-Sharī'ah Badr-uṭ-Ṭarīqah 'Allāmah Maulānā Muftī Muhammad Amjad 'Alī A'zamī عَلَيْہِ رَحْمَةُ اللّٰہِ الْقَوِی has stated: In case of applying fragrant kohl once or twice, Ṣadaqah will be Wājib. In case of applying it thrice or more, Dam will be Wājib. There is no harm in using the kohl that has no fragrance in it provided it is necessary. To use even such odourless kohl unnecessarily is Makrūh.

(Bahār-e-Sharī'at, vol. 1, pp. 1164)

Question 17:

Is it necessary to remove fragrance for the one who has paid the expiation for using it?

Answer:

As the use of fragrance is an offence in the state of Iḥrām, removing fragrance from the body or cloth is Wājib. If fragrance is not removed after paying expiation, Dam will be Wājib again.

(Bahār-e-Sharī'at, vol. 1, pp. 1166)

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