Will you give information about the sunnah and manners of wearing perfume?

- We know that the Prophet (pbuh) wore perfume/nice scents. How did he wear perfume? Where did he apply it (with which hand, which parts of his body and how)? What kind of perfumes did he wear more often?

Dear Brother / Sister,

It is necessary to explain briefly the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) wearing perfume, his advice regarding the issue and his natural scent. 

Tirmidhi recorded six documents regarding the issue. Documents explaining and complementing the issue exist in some other basic resources.

The word that we can translate as "wearing perfume" is "ta'attur" (l). The root of the word "'itr" means scent, perfume. Everything that has a scent is included in it. As a matter of fact, the place where they are sold is called itriyat shop (perfumery).

The Messenger of Allah was naturally clean. He smelt nice even when he did not wear perfume. However, he did not reveal the gifts of God granted to him by God Almighty and he acted like an ordinary person would act. Wearing perfume was a deed that would serve as an example to people.

Hz. Aisha was among the wives of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) who took care of his clothes and way of dressing the most. She always made the Messenger of Allah wear "the most aromatic perfume that she could find". As a matter of fact, she says she helped the Prophet wear his ihram by spreading a scent called dharira on him (2).

The Prophet (pbuh) always had a small box of scent called "sukka" with him; he used that scent when it was necessary (3). When he went on a journey, he always had a perfume bottle among his possessions (4).

All of those documents show that perfume and nice scents had a special place in the Prophet’s lifestyle.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) had spiritual guests whose arrival was not known beforehand and who could come anytime and anywhere. Hz. Jibril, the angel of revelation, was the most frequent visitor. It is stated that angels like scents and nice clothes. 

On the other hand, the Prophet (pbuh) had numerous visitors, from diplomats of foreign countries to tribal chiefs, from people in charge of state affairs to ignorant nomads, whom he met and talked every day. He always dressed in a proper way and wore clean clothes.

Acting upon probably this dressing way of the Prophet (pbuh), most of the Islamic scholars say, "What befits man is to eat as he wishes but to dress in a way that will please people." (5)

One of the attitudes of the Prophet (pbuh) about scents was that he never rejected the scents that were offered to him (6). Along with liking scents, the state of the person who offered the scent played an important role in his attitude. The reason behind this attitude is expressed in hadiths:

"For, scent is an offer without cost." (7)

On another occasion, he said,

"Three things are not rejected: Pillow, scent and milk." (8)

It has the same wisdom behind.

It was a rule of good manners that did not change and should not be ignored for the Prophet (pbuh) not to despise a gift that is given and a treat that is offered and to appreciate even a simple treat. The things mentioned above are symbols. It does not mean that scent is not rejected and that others can be rejected. The treats that have no alternatives should definitely not be rejected; the person who treats should not be put into a difficult position. 

The saying, "mastic resin, a shepherd’s gift (a small gift)" in Turkish shows the same fineness. The shepherd brings mastic resin as a gift and this gift is not despised. It is appreciated and everybody is entertained based on his state.

There is a hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) that includes the phrase "nice smell (scent)". This hadith, which expresses three different points in integrity, is actually known by those who are familiar with Islamic culture. He said:

"Women and nice smells were made lovable to me from the world; prayer was made the apple of my eye" (9).

In Islamic resources, there is a lot of information about the natural smell of the Prophet (pbuh). Qadi Iyad put all of this information together in one place (10). This aspect of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) does not interest Shamail directly but we found it appropriate to include some documents here acting upon the thought that it would help the issue to be put together:

When the Prophet (pbuh) went out, the beauty of his smell peculiar to him would immediately be noticed by the people around. Anas b. Malik expresses this issue as follows:

"When the Messenger of Allah walked through one of the streets of Madinah, his nice smell would be felt and people would say that the Prophet passed through that street. We understood the arrival of the Prophet (pbuh) from the beauty of his scent" (11).

Hz Prophet (pbuh) was naturally clean; what came out of his body did not smell bad, unlike other people. The expression of Süleyman Çelebi "If he sweated, his sweat would turn into roses" in Mevlid was stated by many of his Companions. As a matter of fact, the names of the female Companions who collected his sweat in glass bottles when they could reached us (12).

On the other hand, the scent coming from the children whose heads and faces the Messenger of Allah patted was noticed by the people around; it is also stated that the lucky people like that kept this scent throughout their lives. It is remarkable that some Companions who maintained their fitness and youth despite their old age stated that they are indebted to the Messenger of Allah for it (13).

Narrations regarding the issue:

1) Anas b. Malik narrates: "The Prophet had a box of perfume called sukka. He used it when it as necessary."(14)

2) Sumama b. Abdullah (l5) narrates: Anas b. Malik never rejected a scent offered to him and said, "The Messenger of Allah never rejected a scent offered to him."

3) Abdullah b. Umar narrates: The Prophet said, " Three things are not rejected: Pillow, scent and milk."

4) Abu Hurayra narrates: Hz Prophet said, "The perfume that men wear needs to be the type whose scent is smelt and whose color is not seen; the perfume that women wear needs to be the type whose scent is not smelt and whose color is seen."

5) The last hadith was also narrated through a different chain and way but from Abu Hurayra again.  

6) Abu Uthman an-Nahdi (16) narrates: the Messenger of Allah said, "If basil is given to one of you, he should accept it because it came from Paradise." (17)

To wear perfume and to give perfume to others is sunnah but we could not find a detailed explanation about how it is done.

References:

(1) see an-Nihaya fi Gharibil-Hadith, III/256, 257; Qamus, II, 546.
(2) see Bukhari, VII, 60, 61.
(3) Ibn Sa'd, I, 399; Abu Dawud, IV, 107, no: 4162.
(4) Bahja, II, 256.
(5) Ajluni, Kashful-Khafa, II, 171.
(6) see Bukhari, III, 133; VII, 61; Abu Dawud, IV, 110, no: 4172; Nasai, VIII, 189; Ibn Sa'd, I, 399.
(7) Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, II, 320; Abu Dawud and Nasai, ibid.
(8) see Tabarani, Makarimul Akhlaq, h. no 152.
(9) Nasai, VII, 61, 62; Ibn Sa'd, I, 398; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, II, 160. The common form of this hadith text is as follows: Three things were made lovable to me from your world." However, the phrase “three things” is not mentioned in the sources of the first period. In the first sources, the phrase "from your world" is in the form of "from the world". In the narration of Hakim and the second narration of Nasai, the word "the world" does not exist. Ajluni put together the various technical information about this hadith. see Kashful-Khafa, I, 405-408, no: 1089.
(10) see ash-Şifa, p. 48-51.
(11) Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, I, 398-399; Majma'uz-Zawaid, VIII, 282; al-Matalibul-'Aliya, IV, 25.
(12) see ash-Shifa, ibid.
(13) There are many examples narrating this state in tabaqat books. For instance, for this characteristic of Utba b. Farqad, who was one of the successful commanders that conquered the are from Northern Iraq to Azerbaijan on behalf of Islam during the period of Hz. Umar, (18/639), see Tabarani, al-Mujamus-Saghir, I, 38-39; Usdul-Ghaba, III, 365-366; al-Isaba, II, 455; Majma'uz-Zawaid, VIII, 282.
(14) Along with Tirmidhi, this hadith was also narrated by Ibn Sa'd and Abu Dawud with chains whose first three sanads are the same.
(15) Sumama b. Abdullah is Anas b. Malik's grandson; he was the Qadi of Basra for a while. His exact date of death is not known but it is known that he was relieved of this duty in 110/728. see Tahzib, II, 28-29.
(16) Abu Uthman an-Nahdi, whose real name was Abdurrahman, lived around Kufa and Basra and is one of  Muhadramun. He became a Muslim when the Prophet (pbuh) was alive but could not see him. He died between the years of 95 H and 100 H at the age of 130.
(17) In the narration of Abu Hurayra recorded by Muslim, the phrase Abu Hurayra "it is a nice scent and an offer without cost" exists instead of the phrase “came from Paradise”. (see Muslim, IV, 1766, nu: 2253.)

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