Abdullaah ibn ‘Umar (a Companion) said:
‘ “One of the wives of ‘Umar (his father) used to attend the dawn and night prayers at the mosque with the congregation. I asked her, ‘Why do you go to the mosque when you know that ‘Umar hates this and is jealous?’ She replied: ‘What prevents him from stopping me from going?’ I said: ‘ What stops him is the saying of the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam: “Do not prevent your women from going to the mosque when they seek your permission.”’1
He, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, forbade women from applying
perfume when going out:
Abu Hurayrah (a Companion) narrated that the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:
“Do not prevent your women from go- ing to the mosque, but let them not perfume themselves before going out.”2
Al-’Atheem Abaadi (a scholar) said: “They were forbidden from that lest they arouse men by the smell of their perfume. This ruling applies to anything else that would have the same effect that a perfume has in arousing men, such as the way they dress and adorning themselves.”3
Zaynab the wife of ‘Abdullaah ibn Mas’ood (a narrated that the Mes- senger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said to us:
“When any one of you comes to the mosque, she should not apply perfume.”4
Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:
“Whoever [woman] perfumes herself should not join us in the night prayer.”5
In the history of aphrodisiacs, a considerable space is occupied by fragrances that are believed to enhance sexual desire in both men and women.
This may owe to the fact that the part of the human brain that is responsible for processing smells is directly connected to the limbic brain, which is the part that influences emotions, including those related to de- sire and sex.
It has been scientifically proven that the human mind responds differ- ently to different scents and we can categorize the effects of various scents on people and that certain scents sexually arouse men even in passing.
The human brain is hardwired to size up potential mates simply based on scent according to Jeannette Haviland-Jones, PhD, professor of psy- chology at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey. The body actu- cally emits odors that spur us to pursue fertile partners.
This clearly shows the wisdom behind forbidding women from walk- ing outside the house wearing perfume. It is yet another preventive mea- sure established by Islam to protect people from falling into the trap of Satan who traps humanity to follow their low desires.
Abdullaah ibn ‘Umar (a Companion) narrated that the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:
‘“Do not prevent your women from going to the mosque, yet praying at their homes is more rewarding for them.”6
bn Hajar (a scholar) said:
“The reason why their prayer at home is more rewarding is that they are safe from temptation. This is more confirmed after the change that occurred in women’s dress, wherein they began dressing improperly and adorning themselves when going out. This is why ‘Aa’ishah said (after the death of the Prophet) that had the Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, seen how women had changed, he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would have for- bidden them from going out to the mosque.”7