Question:
Salam alaikum,
Wearing perfume during Ramadan is makruh in Shafii School. But what about going to mosque to Friday prayer in Ramadan as it is recommended having perfume on Friday prayer?
best salams,
Answer:
Alaykum Salam,
Wearing perfume during Ramadan is not makruh in the Shafi`i school, least of all for Jumu`a; however, taking pleasure in it is makruh for the person who is fasting, because, even if it does not break the fast, it contradicts the wisdom and purpose of fasting. The wording in Mughni al-Muhtaj (Shirbini’s commentary on Nawawi’s Minhaj al-Talibin) is:
(وَ) لْيَصُنْ (نَفْسَهُ) نَدْبًا (عَنْ الشَّهَوَاتِ) الَّتِي لَا تُبْطِلُ الصَّوْمَ مِنْ الْمَشْمُومَاتِ وَالْمُبْصِرَاتِ وَالْمَلْمُوسَاتِ وَالْمَسْمُوعَاتِ كَشَمِّ الرَّيَاحِينِ وَالنَّظَرِ إلَيْهَا وَلَمْسِهَا وَسَمَاعِ الْغِنَاءِ لِمَا فِي ذَلِكَ مِنْ التَّرَفُّهِ الَّذِي لَا يُنَاسِبُ حِكْمَةَ الصَّوْمِ، وَهِيَ لِتَنْكَسِرَ النَّفْسُ عَنْ الْهُوَى وَتَقْوَى عَلَى التَّقْوَى، بَلْ يُكْرَهُ لَهُ ذَلِكَ.
“(And) let one guard (himself) preferably (from pleasures) that do not invalidate the fast, including things one can smell or see or touch such as, respectively, the sniffing of fragrant plants [e.g. basil and myrtle], or looking at things [enjoyable to see], or touching things [enjoyable to touch], or listening to singing, because all of that entails self-gratification, which is not congruent with the wisdom of fasting, as the latter is for the purpose of breaking the soul from its desire and strengthening it on wariness; rather, all that is detestable for one who is fasting.”
Our late teacher Dr. Wahba al-Zuhayli (rahimahullah) said “the person who is fasting must imagine oneself inside a canopy which nothing is allowed to pierce through” unless one is aware and in control of that. So the wisdom of the careful handling of perfumes in this context is one of the consciousness and curbing of one’s senses in the context of a type of worship revolving around temporary deprivation of basic pleasures.
Hajj Gibril Haddad
