Using “scent”

Question

Just as using perfumed oil is a sunna, is it likewise correct to use “scent” (European perfume) instead of perfumed oil or not? And will the sunna be fulfilled by using “scent” or not?

Answer

If there is nothing impure (najis) in “scent”, then it too has the ruling of perfumed oil. Fragrance as such was desired and beloved by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. “Scent” did not exist in that era, so it will certainly not be called a sunna: sunna, specifically, is the term for that fragrance which he ﷺ used.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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