Fragrance of Noble People
Question:
Dear Sir !
I heard from one scholar in jumma speech that a noble person have some specific fragrance from almighty ALLAH and his body remains unchanged in the grave as well. Further he said that Prophet's sweat was also used for fragrance.
Pl guide.
Answer:
There are two issues here:
1. Is it possible that a noble person’s body remains unchanged in the grave and that he would naturally smell nice?
My answer is, I do not have any evidences to prove this, while I also do not see this impossible. We have heard the stories of the grave of some noble people getting accidentally opened and the body then appear to be unchanged. I have not studied the reliability of these stories and at the same time I do not see them impossible.
2. Did people used the sweat of the prophet (pbuh) as fragrance?
There are absolutely no concrete evidences about this.
First, rationally thinking, we know that the prophet (pbuh) used to spend much of his finance on fragrance. Does this mean that he was not aware that his sweat was like a fragrance or does it mean that his sweat did not smell like a fragrance for himself?!
Looking at this from more technical, scholarly view, I have not seen any reliable hadith that suggest ‘people’ would use the sweat of the prophet (pbuh) as fragrance. What we have is some reports that suggest certain individuals considered the sweat of the prophet (pbuh) to be like a fragrance or intending to get barikah (blessing) from it:
In one report in Termezi we read:
عَنْ أَنَسٍ، قَالَ: " خَدَمْتُ النَّبِيَّ عَشْرَ سِنِينَ، فَمَا قَالَ لِي أُفٍّ قَطُّ، وَمَا قَالَ لِشَيْءٍ صَنَعْتُهُ لِمَ صَنَعْتَهُ وَلَا لِشَيْءٍ تَرَكْتُهُ لِمَ تَرَكْتَهُ، وَكَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ مِنْ أَحْسَنِ النَّاسِ خُلُقًا، وَلَا مَسَسْتُ خَزًّا قَطُّ وَلَا حَرِيرًا وَلَا شَيْئًا كَانَ أَلْيَنَ مِنْ كَفِّ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَلَا شَمَمْتُ مِسْكًا قَطُّ وَلَا عِطْرًا كَانَ أَطْيَبَ مِنْ عَرَقِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ
Anas says: I served the prophet for ten years. He never admonish me with a word, he never said about anything that I did that why you did that and for anything that I didn’t do, that why you didn’t do that. The messenger was the best of people in morals, I have never touched fur, silk or anything that is softer than the palm of the messenger and I have never smelt a musk or a that smells nicer than the sweat of the messenger.
(Jame termezi 2015)
As you can see from the above hadith, this is simply a description of Anas ibn Malik from the prophet (pbuh). The first part of the hadith till the end of the point about the prophet’s morals is literally correct, it is supported by the Qur’an (68:4) and we have many other hadiths about it. The second part is the perception of Anas which naturally is affected by his extreme love and passion for the prophet (pbuh). It may be literally true but it is not reported by many and it is certainly not addressed in the Qur’an either.
Another hadith is as follows:
عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ: دَخَلَ عَلَيْنَا النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ عِنْدَنَا، فَعَرِقَ، وَجَاءَتْ أُمِّي بِقَارُورَةٍ، فَجَعَلَتْ تَسْلِتُ الْعَرَقَ فِيهَا، فَاسْتَيْقَظَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ: «يَا أُمَّ سُلَيْمٍ مَا هَذَا الَّذِي تَصْنَعِينَ؟» قَالَتْ: هَذَا عَرَقُكَ نَجْعَلُهُ فِي طِيبِنَا، وَهُوَ مِنْ أَطْيَبِ الطِّيبِ
Anas b. Malik reported that the prophet of God (pbuh) came to us and while being (asleep) at our place he was sweating. So my mother came with a fragrance bottle and put the sweat in it. So the prophet (pbuh) woke up and asked “O Umm Sulaim, what are you doing?”, she said: I am putting this sweat of yours in our fragrance, as it (i.e. the prophet’s sweat) is from the best of fragrance.
(Muslim 2331)
Again, as you see from the above hadith, this is simply one person who out of her love for the prophet (pbuh) likes to use the sweat of the prophet (pbuh) as a fragrance.
There is a huge difference between the following statements:
- Certain individuals at an occasion used the sweat of the prophet (pbuh) as fragrance.
- The prophet’s (pbuh) sweat was used as a fragrance.
The first is an understandable act that a person may do out of passion. The second sounds like a general statement and is a claim that has no basis.
May God be satisfied with the family of the Prophet (pbuh) and his pious companions.
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July 2014
Dear Sir !
I heard from one scholar in jumma speech that a noble person have some specific fragrance from almighty ALLAH and his body remains unchanged in the grave as well. Further he said that Prophet's sweat was also used for fragrance.
Pl guide.
Answer:
There are two issues here:
1. Is it possible that a noble person’s body remains unchanged in the grave and that he would naturally smell nice?
My answer is, I do not have any evidences to prove this, while I also do not see this impossible. We have heard the stories of the grave of some noble people getting accidentally opened and the body then appear to be unchanged. I have not studied the reliability of these stories and at the same time I do not see them impossible.
2. Did people used the sweat of the prophet (pbuh) as fragrance?
There are absolutely no concrete evidences about this.
First, rationally thinking, we know that the prophet (pbuh) used to spend much of his finance on fragrance. Does this mean that he was not aware that his sweat was like a fragrance or does it mean that his sweat did not smell like a fragrance for himself?!
Looking at this from more technical, scholarly view, I have not seen any reliable hadith that suggest ‘people’ would use the sweat of the prophet (pbuh) as fragrance. What we have is some reports that suggest certain individuals considered the sweat of the prophet (pbuh) to be like a fragrance or intending to get barikah (blessing) from it:
In one report in Termezi we read:
عَنْ أَنَسٍ، قَالَ: " خَدَمْتُ النَّبِيَّ عَشْرَ سِنِينَ، فَمَا قَالَ لِي أُفٍّ قَطُّ، وَمَا قَالَ لِشَيْءٍ صَنَعْتُهُ لِمَ صَنَعْتَهُ وَلَا لِشَيْءٍ تَرَكْتُهُ لِمَ تَرَكْتَهُ، وَكَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ مِنْ أَحْسَنِ النَّاسِ خُلُقًا، وَلَا مَسَسْتُ خَزًّا قَطُّ وَلَا حَرِيرًا وَلَا شَيْئًا كَانَ أَلْيَنَ مِنْ كَفِّ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَلَا شَمَمْتُ مِسْكًا قَطُّ وَلَا عِطْرًا كَانَ أَطْيَبَ مِنْ عَرَقِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ
Anas says: I served the prophet for ten years. He never admonish me with a word, he never said about anything that I did that why you did that and for anything that I didn’t do, that why you didn’t do that. The messenger was the best of people in morals, I have never touched fur, silk or anything that is softer than the palm of the messenger and I have never smelt a musk or a that smells nicer than the sweat of the messenger.
(Jame termezi 2015)
As you can see from the above hadith, this is simply a description of Anas ibn Malik from the prophet (pbuh). The first part of the hadith till the end of the point about the prophet’s morals is literally correct, it is supported by the Qur’an (68:4) and we have many other hadiths about it. The second part is the perception of Anas which naturally is affected by his extreme love and passion for the prophet (pbuh). It may be literally true but it is not reported by many and it is certainly not addressed in the Qur’an either.
Another hadith is as follows:
عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ: دَخَلَ عَلَيْنَا النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ عِنْدَنَا، فَعَرِقَ، وَجَاءَتْ أُمِّي بِقَارُورَةٍ، فَجَعَلَتْ تَسْلِتُ الْعَرَقَ فِيهَا، فَاسْتَيْقَظَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ: «يَا أُمَّ سُلَيْمٍ مَا هَذَا الَّذِي تَصْنَعِينَ؟» قَالَتْ: هَذَا عَرَقُكَ نَجْعَلُهُ فِي طِيبِنَا، وَهُوَ مِنْ أَطْيَبِ الطِّيبِ
Anas b. Malik reported that the prophet of God (pbuh) came to us and while being (asleep) at our place he was sweating. So my mother came with a fragrance bottle and put the sweat in it. So the prophet (pbuh) woke up and asked “O Umm Sulaim, what are you doing?”, she said: I am putting this sweat of yours in our fragrance, as it (i.e. the prophet’s sweat) is from the best of fragrance.
(Muslim 2331)
Again, as you see from the above hadith, this is simply one person who out of her love for the prophet (pbuh) likes to use the sweat of the prophet (pbuh) as a fragrance.
There is a huge difference between the following statements:
- Certain individuals at an occasion used the sweat of the prophet (pbuh) as fragrance.
- The prophet’s (pbuh) sweat was used as a fragrance.
The first is an understandable act that a person may do out of passion. The second sounds like a general statement and is a claim that has no basis.
May God be satisfied with the family of the Prophet (pbuh) and his pious companions.
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July 2014
