What does it mean to smell good? It indicates towards two very important points;
1: to keep oneself clean
2: to wear fragrance
There has been placed much emphasis on keeping oneself clean in islam. Both, Quran and Sunnah recommend us to be clean and remain in the state of purity. It is a well known hadith “cleanliness is half faith”,
Muslim Book 002, Number 0432:
Abu Malik at-Ash'ari reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Cleanliness is half of faith and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fills the scale, and Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah) and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fill up what is between the heavens and the earth, and prayer is a light, and charity is proof (of one's faith) and endurance is a brightness and the Holy Qur'an is a proof on your behalf or against you. All men go out early in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves.
So, keeping in mind the hadith, we should make ourselves clean and tidy. Also a dirty look and untidiness does not leave good impression on others. To wear clean clothes and to remain clean does not mean that one has to be rich or have elegant cloths. It is not what islam has ever preached us.
We perform ablution five times a day this means we are ought to be clean and tidy to offer namaz because namaz cannot be offered in dirty clothes in fact namaz should be offered in clean and good clothes.
The second point talks about wearing fragrance. Today, we are available with many deodorants and perfumes to wear. But people hesitate to wear them by saying that these products contain alcohol. This is not that much serious as it has been made serious by few closed minds. There have been given many fatwas on wearing perfumes and they are absolutely permissible to wear. It is sunnah to smell good. There are various traditions that tell us about the way prophet Muhammad saww used to look and live. The companions r.a of Muhammad s.a.w.w said that He s.a.w.w used to smell extremely good and He s.a.w.w used to live very clean and tidy.
Muslim Book 030, Number 5759:
Anas reported: I never smelt ambergris or musk as fragrant as the fragrance of the body of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and I never touched brocade or silk and found it as soft as the body of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him).
Muhammad s.a.w.w was Prophet of ALLAH swt, so it was His uniqueness that He s.a.w.w smelled good, but it also gives us a hint that since our beloved Prophet s.a.w.w smelled good, we all should smell good as following sunnah. There is no other religion on planet earth that emphasizes this much on cleanliness except islam.
Bukhari Book 030, Number 5759:
Anas reported: I never smelt ambergris or musk as fragrant as the fragrance of the body of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and I never touched brocade or silk and found it as soft as the body of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him).
So, keep yourself clean and fragrant as an act of following sunnah.
1: to keep oneself clean
2: to wear fragrance
There has been placed much emphasis on keeping oneself clean in islam. Both, Quran and Sunnah recommend us to be clean and remain in the state of purity. It is a well known hadith “cleanliness is half faith”,
Muslim Book 002, Number 0432:
Abu Malik at-Ash'ari reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Cleanliness is half of faith and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fills the scale, and Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah) and al-Hamdu Liliah (Praise be to Allah) fill up what is between the heavens and the earth, and prayer is a light, and charity is proof (of one's faith) and endurance is a brightness and the Holy Qur'an is a proof on your behalf or against you. All men go out early in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves.
So, keeping in mind the hadith, we should make ourselves clean and tidy. Also a dirty look and untidiness does not leave good impression on others. To wear clean clothes and to remain clean does not mean that one has to be rich or have elegant cloths. It is not what islam has ever preached us.
We perform ablution five times a day this means we are ought to be clean and tidy to offer namaz because namaz cannot be offered in dirty clothes in fact namaz should be offered in clean and good clothes.
The second point talks about wearing fragrance. Today, we are available with many deodorants and perfumes to wear. But people hesitate to wear them by saying that these products contain alcohol. This is not that much serious as it has been made serious by few closed minds. There have been given many fatwas on wearing perfumes and they are absolutely permissible to wear. It is sunnah to smell good. There are various traditions that tell us about the way prophet Muhammad saww used to look and live. The companions r.a of Muhammad s.a.w.w said that He s.a.w.w used to smell extremely good and He s.a.w.w used to live very clean and tidy.
Muslim Book 030, Number 5759:
Anas reported: I never smelt ambergris or musk as fragrant as the fragrance of the body of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and I never touched brocade or silk and found it as soft as the body of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him).
Muhammad s.a.w.w was Prophet of ALLAH swt, so it was His uniqueness that He s.a.w.w smelled good, but it also gives us a hint that since our beloved Prophet s.a.w.w smelled good, we all should smell good as following sunnah. There is no other religion on planet earth that emphasizes this much on cleanliness except islam.
Bukhari Book 030, Number 5759:
Anas reported: I never smelt ambergris or musk as fragrant as the fragrance of the body of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and I never touched brocade or silk and found it as soft as the body of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him).
So, keep yourself clean and fragrant as an act of following sunnah.