What is the ruling in the Shari'ah regarding applying cologne to the body? Is it impure?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : What is the ruling in your view, O honorable Shaykh, regarding applying cologne to the body? Is it impure or not? We ask for your guidance on this question.
The Shaykh : Yes. Cologne is not impure, nor is any other alcohol impure. This is because the view that it is impure is based on the view that khamr (intoxicants) is impure. The stronger position, indicated by the evidence, is that khamr is not physically impure; rather, its impurity is conceptual. The first proof of this is that when khamr was prohibited, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) poured it out in the markets. If it had been physically impure, it would not have been permissible for them to pour it out in the markets, because a person is not permitted to pour out anything impure in the markets of Muslims.
Second, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order them to wash the vessels from it, even though when donkeys were prohibited in Khaybar, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the vessels to be washed from them.
Third, a man gifted the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) a wineskin of khamr. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: A man spoke to him, meaning the owner of the wineskin, in secret, telling him: Sell it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the man: He said: I said, "Sell it, O Messenger of Allah!" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Ibn Hibban 26:35 The man opened the mouth of the wineskin and poured out the khamr from it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order him to wash it. If khamr had been impure, he would have ordered him to wash it, because he would use it for his drinking water and for his purification.
These are positive proofs indicating that khamr is not impure. Then there is a negative proof, based on the presumption of original permissibility, which is that the original state of things is purity until evidence establishes their impurity, just as the original state of things is permissibility until evidence establishes their prohibition. It is known that there is no necessary connection between prohibition and impurity, meaning that not everything that is forbidden is impure. For example, poison is forbidden but not impure. Yes, everything that is impure is forbidden, but the converse is not true, because one must purify oneself from what is impure. If contact with impurity is forbidden, it must be removed. It is even more necessary to avoid eating and drinking it. If someone says: Allah the Exalted says:[Al-Ma'idah 5:90] He said: And "rajis" (abomination) means impure, based on His saying: [Al-An'am 6:145] meaning: impure. The answer to the verse is that the intended meaning of His saying: is practical abomination, so it is a conceptual impurity. For this reason, He said: [Al-Ma'idah 5:90] Then He associated it with gambling, sacrificial stones, and divining arrows, which are not physically impure by consensus. Thus, it is known that the intended meaning of "rajasiyyah" (abomination) in His saying "rajis" is conceptual abomination, not physical abomination.
But the question remains: Is it permissible to use these perfumes that contain some alcohol? The answer to this is to say: If the amount is small and consumed in what it is mixed with, there is no blame in using them, because if a pure thing is mixed with something impure and does not change because of it, it remains pure. However, if the mixture of alcohol is so much that it would intoxicate a person if he drank it, it should not be used or applied as perfume. But if a person needs to use it for a wound medicine or something similar, there is nothing wrong with it.
The questioner : Very well.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh, and magnify your reward for what you have clarified for us in this week's session.
The Shaykh : Yes. Cologne is not impure, nor is any other alcohol impure. This is because the view that it is impure is based on the view that khamr (intoxicants) is impure. The stronger position, indicated by the evidence, is that khamr is not physically impure; rather, its impurity is conceptual. The first proof of this is that when khamr was prohibited, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) poured it out in the markets. If it had been physically impure, it would not have been permissible for them to pour it out in the markets, because a person is not permitted to pour out anything impure in the markets of Muslims.
Second, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order them to wash the vessels from it, even though when donkeys were prohibited in Khaybar, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the vessels to be washed from them.
Third, a man gifted the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) a wineskin of khamr. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
It is forbidden
إنها حرمتWhat did he whisper to you?
بم ساررته؟Indeed, when Allah forbids something, He forbids its price
إن الله إذا حرّم شيئاً حرّم ثمنهThese are positive proofs indicating that khamr is not impure. Then there is a negative proof, based on the presumption of original permissibility, which is that the original state of things is purity until evidence establishes their impurity, just as the original state of things is permissibility until evidence establishes their prohibition. It is known that there is no necessary connection between prohibition and impurity, meaning that not everything that is forbidden is impure. For example, poison is forbidden but not impure. Yes, everything that is impure is forbidden, but the converse is not true, because one must purify oneself from what is impure. If contact with impurity is forbidden, it must be removed. It is even more necessary to avoid eating and drinking it. If someone says: Allah the Exalted says:
O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءامَنُوا إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالأَنصَابُ وَالأَزْلامُ رِجْسٌ مِنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُdefilement
رجسSay, "I do not find within that which was revealed to me [anything] forbidden to one who would eat it unless it be a dead animal or blood spilled out or the flesh of swine - for indeed, it is impure
قُلْ لا أَجِدُ فِي مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ مُحَرَّمًا عَلَى طَاعِمٍ يَطْعَمُهُ إِلَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ مَيْتَةً أَوْ دَمًا مَسْفُوحًا أَوْ لَحْمَ خِنزِيرٍ فَإِنَّهُ رِجْسٌdefilement
رجسdefilement from the work of Satan
رِجْسٌ مِنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِBut the question remains: Is it permissible to use these perfumes that contain some alcohol? The answer to this is to say: If the amount is small and consumed in what it is mixed with, there is no blame in using them, because if a pure thing is mixed with something impure and does not change because of it, it remains pure. However, if the mixture of alcohol is so much that it would intoxicate a person if he drank it, it should not be used or applied as perfume. But if a person needs to use it for a wound medicine or something similar, there is nothing wrong with it.
The questioner : Very well.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh, and magnify your reward for what you have clarified for us in this week's session.