Use of fragrant soap in the state of Iḥrām | Muḥrim and rose-garlands

Question 18:

Fragrant soaps, shampoo and powder are usually available in the hotels of Makkah and Madinah and Muḥrims freely wash their hands etc. with these things. Similarly, fragrant soaps are provided to Muḥrims at the airport and in the aeroplane. Furthermore, fragrant powder is provided to Muḥrims in the hotels of Makkah and Madīnah to wash clothes and pots. What is the Shar'ī ruling on using such things?

Answer:

If those in the state of Iḥrām use these things, no expiation will be due. (However, it is Makrūh to use them with the intention of using fragrance.)¹

¹ For the guidance of Ummah, Dawat-e-Islami's Majlis Taḥqīqāt Sharī'yyah has issued this Fatwā with mutual agreement, and has obtained endorsement from three erudite scholars of Ahl-us-Sunnah: (1) Muftī A'ẓam Pakistan 'Allāmah 'Abdul Qayyūm Hazarvī (2) Sharaf-e-Millat 'Allāmah Muhammad 'Abdul Ḥakīm Sharaf Qādirī (3) Fayz-e-Millat 'Allāmah Fayz Aḥmad Owaysī. Maktaba-tul-Madīnah has issued a detailed booklet entitled 'Iḥrām and Fragrant Soap'.

Question 19:

Can a pilgrim wear a rose-made garland at the airport after he has made the intention of Iḥrām?

Answer:

He cannot wear a rose-made garland after making the intention of Iḥrām because rose is a pure fragrance-smelling flower and can cause the body or clothes to have its fragrance. If a larger portion of the cloth is having rose-fragrance and Muḥrim had that cloth on for 12 hours, Dam will be due; otherwise Ṣadaqah. If a little fragrance has come into contact with as much portion of the cloth as a hand-span or less than it, and the Muḥrim had it on for 12 hours, Ṣadaqah is due. If he had it on for less than 12 hours, it is Wājib to give a handful of wheat to a Shar'ī Faqīr. If the fragrance is in small quantity but has come into contact with more than a hand-span portion of the cloth, the ruling of fragrance coming into contact with a larger portion will apply in this case, i.e. if Muḥrim has worn this cloth for 12 hours, Dam is due, and if he had it on for less than 12 hours, Ṣadaqah is due. If clothes have had no fragrance in them despite Muḥrim wearing the garland, no expiation will be due.

(Iḥrām and Fragrant Soap, pp. 35-36)

Question 20:

If a Muḥrim has shaken hands with someone, resulting in the latter's hand fragrance coming into contact with that of Muḥrim, what is the ruling?

Answer:

If pure fragrance has come into contact with Muḥrim's hand, expiation will be due. If pure fragrance has not come into contact and it has only caused the hand to have fragrance, no expiation will be due because Muḥrim has not benefitted from pure fragrance. However, it is still advisable to remove this fragrance by washing the hand.

(Iḥrām and Fragrant Soap, pp. 35)

Question 21:

Can a Muḥrim wash his head or beard with a fragrant shampoo?

Answer:

Here is the translation of some excerpts from pages 25 to 28 of the booklet, 'Iḥrām and Fragrant Soap': If the cause of the use of fragrance being forbidden is taken into consideration, it seems rationally justified to prohibit applying fragrant shampoo to the head or the beard. And expiation should also be declared due, as is the ruling on washing the head and the beard with Khiṭmī (a fragrant herb). The use of this fragrant herb softens hair, killing lice and is therefore impermissible for Muḥrim. It is stated in Durr-e-Mukhtār: To wash the head or the beard with Khiṭmī is Ḥarām as it is a type of fragrance or kills lice.

(Durr-e-Mukhtār, vol. 3, pp. 570)

Since Imām Abū Yūsuf and Imām Muhammad رَحِمَهُمَا اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی have not declared it fragrance, its use will be considered to be a partial offence and will result in Ṣadaqah being Wājib. To wash the head with fragrant shampoo also seems to be a partial offence as the fragrance added to shampoo is heated, negating the ruling of fragrance. However, two other causes, i.e. softening hair and killing lice are still found. Therefore, Ṣadaqah should be Wājib.

It is also noteworthy to know whether the same ruling applies if a beardless and bald Muḥrim has used the shampoo. Apparently, the verdict of expiation should not be made in this case as the causes of prohibition, i.e. softening hair and killing lice are not found. And if the causes do not exist, the ruling will not also apply. However, if dirt is removed, the use of shampoo will be Makrūh even for such a beardless and bald person. As for using it for washing hands, the ruling for soap will apply in this case as shampoo is also a type of soap in liquid form that is pasteurized [i.e. heated with a special process].

Question 22:

In Masjid-ul-Ḥarām and Masjid-un-Nabawī, a type of scented solution is used to clean the floor which comes into contact with the feet of millions of Muḥrims. What is the ruling?

Answer:

No expiation will be due because it is not fragrance. Even if it were pure fragrance, no expiation would still be Wājib because this solution is mixed into water before being used for cleaning the floor. Obviously, the amount of water is much more than that of the solution. The ruling is that no expiation will be due if liquid fragrance is mixed into any other liquid that is in greater amount.

As for the general ruling regarding beverages described in the books of Islamic jurisprudence, it refers to the act of mixing solid fragrance into some liquid. 'Allāmah Ḥusayn Bin Muhammad 'Abdul Ghanī Makkī رَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَىٰ عَلَيْهِ has stated on page 316 of the book 'Irshād-us-Sārī': If rose-water is mixed with sugar-added water (i.e. a type of beverage) and the amount of rose-water is less than that of sugar-added water, as usually is, no expiation will be due in this case. Favouring the very same viewpoint, 'Allāmah 'Alī Qārī رَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ تَعَالَىٰ عَلَيْهِ has stated a similar ruling in the book 'Ṭarābulusī' and it has its basis in the book 'Muḥīṭ'.

(ibid, pp. 28-29)

Question 23:

If Muḥrim has used toothpaste, what is the expiation?

Answer:

If fragrance added to toothpaste is heated, as it is usually done, expiation will not be due in this case as stated in the foregoing details. (ibid, pp. 33) However, if Muḥrim used toothpaste with the intention of removing smell from the mouth or having fragrance, then it is Makrūh. A'lā Ḥaḍrat رَحْمَةُاللّٰهِتَعَالٰیعَلَیْہِ has stated: If fragrance is being added to the ingredients of tobacco, then it is permissible to eat it even if fragrance is emanating from it. However, it is Makrūh to use it with the intention of having fragrance.

(Fatāwā Razawiyyah, vol. 10, pp. 716)