Short answer
Not after you enter ihram. Before the intention it is sunnah to apply perfume to your body, and the scent that stays afterwards is fine. Do not put it on the ihram sheets. In the Hanafi school, perfume used in ihram on a whole limb or more requires a dam; on less, sadaqah.
Applying perfume to the body before ihram is sunnah, and its lingering scent does no harm. Once in ihram, using perfume is haram: on a full limb or more it requires a dam, and on less than a limb it requires sadaqah. This applies even if done by mistake.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Any amount of perfume used knowingly in ihram requires fidyah; used out of forgetfulness or ignorance, it carries no penalty.
- Maliki
- Perfume before ihram whose scent will remain afterwards is makruh.
- Hanbali
- Any amount of perfume used knowingly in ihram requires fidyah; used out of forgetfulness or ignorance, it carries no penalty.
Explanation
A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said she used to perfume the Prophet ﷺ for his ihram before he entered it. Based on this, Hanafi, Shafi'i and Hanbali scholars hold that perfuming the body before the intention is sunnah, even if the scent and shine remain. The Maliki school dislikes it when the scent will remain.
Once you have made the intention and said the talbiyah, perfume becomes forbidden. The Prophet ﷺ said of a pilgrim who died in ihram that he should not be given perfume, because he would be raised on the Day of Judgement saying the talbiyah.
- Ihram sheets: do not apply perfume to them. Wearing a sheet that still carries perfume applied to it is not allowed.
- Scented products: perfumed deodorant, scented wet wipes, scented lip balm and perfumed creams all count. Use unscented versions.
- Smelling a fragrance: passing a perfume shop or smelling the Kaaba's scent without touching it is no violation, though avoiding touching the perfumed Black Stone and Kaaba cover is better.
- Food: food cooked with saffron or spices is fine. Raw perfume mixed into drink or eaten as it is can bring a penalty.
If you touched perfume by accident, wash it off at once. If it covered a whole limb (such as a full hand or the whole face), a dam (a sheep or goat slaughtered in the Haram) is due; if less, sadaqah, the amount of sadaqat al-fitr. See dam and sadaqah.
The evidence
Sahih al-Bukhari 1539
Sahih... كنت أطيب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لإحرامه ...
"A'ishah said: I used to perfume the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for his ihram before he entered it."
Perfuming the body before ihram is sunnah.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1265
Sahih... اغسلوه بماء وسدر وكفنوه في ثوبين ولا تحنطوه ...
"Wash him with water and lote leaves, shroud him in two garments and do not perfume him."
Perfume was kept from this pilgrim because he would be raised still in ihram, which shows that perfume is forbidden to the muhrim.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Hajj, bab al-jinayat, on perfume. Dam for perfuming a full limb, sadaqah for less.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Hajj, chapter on ihram, sunnahs before ihram. Perfume on the body before ihram is sunnah, not on the garment.
- Mukhtasar Khalil with al-Sharh al-Kabir, Bab al-Hajj, on perfume before ihram. The Maliki dislike of lasting perfume before ihram.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.