Sisters, don't wear perfume! - Hadith

Narrated Abu Musa: The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘“Every eye commits adultery, and if a woman applies perfume and passes by a gathering, then she is such and such,’ meaning: ‘a adulteress.’”

Sunan al-Tirmidhi (2786).

Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah said in Sunan al-Nasa'i (5126): “Sound (Hasan).”

Al-Albani said in Sahih al-Tirmidhi (2786): “Sound (Hasan).”

Bashshar Awwad Marouf said in Al-Jami’ al-Kabir (2786): “Sound, authentic (Hasan Sahih).”

Zubair Ali Zai said in Sunan al-Tirmidhi (2786): “Sound (Hasan).”

[Commentary]

“Every eye commits adultery,” meaning when a man looks at a woman whom he shouldn’t, and it was said, “with desire.” So this act is considered adultery of the eyes. “And if a woman applies perfume,” meaning if a woman puts on perfume or any fragrance which can be smelled. “And passes by a gathering,” meaning she passes by a gathering or a place where men are present.

“Then she is such and such,” meaning she is considered an adulteress. There are two interpretations about this. The first is that it means that the woman who wears perfume and passes by men is an adulteress as she is intentionally creating sinful desires and thoughts among the men. The second is that her actions are like the actions of an adulteress. So when she applies perfume and passes by a gathering that has men, she will make the men look at her, and so she becomes a cause for men to look at her. Thus, she is considered like an adulteress. So it can mean “She is an adulteress” or “As if she were an adulteress.” Allah Knows Best.

Abd al-Rauf al-Manawi said: “Meaning she is exposing herself to the temptation of sin, encouraging its causes, and inviting others to seek it. She is metaphorically called an adulteress for this reason. Gatherings of men are rarely free of those who have intense desires for women, especially when they are wearing perfume. It is possible that the desire overtakes them, and with determined intent, the actual sin of adultery may occur.” [Fayd al-Qadeer 428, 1/276]

So what is the reason it’s prohibited or disliked, at the least, for a woman to apply perfume when going out and passing by men? The answer to that is when a woman wears perfume, and then she passes by men, the men will have desires to turn around and look at who’s passing due to the fragrance, which will make them look at her. So as a result, they commit adultery with their eyes, and she will no doubt share the sin as she was the cause for their adultery of the eyes!

Ibn al-Malik said: “This is because she becomes a cause for the adultery of men’s eyes by drawing their gaze toward her. She disturbs their hearts and provokes their desires with her perfume, thereby leading them to look at her. This hadith contains a stern warning and emphasizes the prohibition of women leaving their homes while wearing perfume. However, it also recognizes that some eyes are protected by Allah from committing adultery by gazing at such women.” [Sharh al-Masabih 767, 2/98]

Ibn Hajar al-Haytami said: These ahadith clearly mention this ruling. It should be understood to apply when there is certainty of temptation (fitnah). If there is only a fear of it, then it is disliked (makruh). If temptation is likely, it is forbidden (haram) but not considered a major sin, as this is apparent. [Al-Zawajir ‘an Iqtiraf al-Kaba'ir 2/72]

There are narrations in which the Prophet ﷺ told women not to apply perfume when going to the Masjid. This shows that if it’s wrong to wear perfume in the Masjid, which is the house of Allah, as it will cause temptation to men, how can it be permitted to wear outside?

The Prophet ﷺ said: “If one of you (women) attends the Isha prayer, she must not apply perfume that night.” [Sahih Muslim 443]

The scholars pointed out that the prohibition applies to all prayers, but Isha was mentioned specifically due to the risk at nighttime as it’s much greater than during the day. It was also said it was due to the fact that women used to apply perfume at night for their husbands.

Al-Nawawi said: “The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘If one of you attends the ‘Isha prayer, she should not wear perfume that night.’ This means if she intends to attend the prayer, but if she attends and then returns home, she is not prohibited from using perfume afterward. Similarly, the saying of the Prophet ﷺ: ‘If one of you attends the mosque, she should not apply perfume,’ means if she intends to go to the mosque.” [Sharh al-Nawawi 'ala Muslim 4/163]

So, a woman can indeed apply perfume if she's going out and will not pass by non-mahram men. However, if she will pass by men, then this will come under the warning of this hadith

And Allah Knows Best.

[Sharh Majmu' al-Ahadith al-Sahihah li Muhammad ibn Javed 127]