Why You Should Smell Good, A Sunnah Perspective.
This article is more directed towards brothers and it’s not the most important of topics. However being clean is half of your deen and the topic is definitely a fundamental issue in that we are all portraying an image of Islam by the way we walk, talk, eat, smell, you name it. 
So anyways let me start off by quoting a hadith which is official. You ready? I don’t think you are, just playing.
Anas b. Malik relates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
“Women and fragrance have been made dear to my affections, but prayer was made the sweetness of my eyes.”
For all of you who want the stamp of approval.
This hadith is related in Musnad Ahmad and Sunan al-Nasai al-Kubra, among other sources. It is an authentic hadith. It has been authenticated by al-Hâkim in al-Mustadrak and by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani in Fath al-Bârî. (Must get this book, if you haven’t already)
One rapper said I don’t need cologne I smell like fresh money, haha. Well you’ll get your money and your fresh bills if you spend in the way of Allah swt and I don’t care what you smell like, just make sure you smell good insh’Allah.
A lot of times we often forget practicing simple things that our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to do. I have emphasized before on brushing your teeth, using the miswak and wearing clean socks in general, especially to the masjid but I also wanted to touch upon one aspect of what the hadith above highlights, which is fragrance.
I was just reading an article on the effects of fragrance and their was a study which showed the subjective and physiological effects of aromas and fragrances on emotions. The study was trying to prove how scents can effect major mood dimensions of happiness, stimulation, relaxation and sensuality and what they found was that consumers who had positive reactions to fragrances they smelled became less stress, this was evident in from their blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, etc.
Pretty cool right? So whether you use basic scents and use anything from body wash to deodorant, cologne, oils, it’s important you use it as this was recommended by our beloved Prophet.
Especially on Fridays when we go to Jumu’ah, one hadith states that “A person who has a bath on Friday, cleanses himself fully, uses oil and perfume; then goes to the mosque early in the afternoon and takes his place quietly without pushing or disturbing people; then he prays (optional prayer as much as he was able to pray) then sits quietly listening to the khutbah, he will be forgiven his sins between this jumu’ah and the next Jumu’ah.” (bukhari).
The hadith when translated uses the word “perfume”, but this used interchangeable with attar, essence and scents in general.
Right out of the dictionary, perfume means: a substance, extract, or preparation for diffusing or imparting an agreeable or attractive smell, esp. a fluid containing fragrant natural oils extracted from flowers, woods, etc., or similar synthetic oils.
See that, so that hadith is reflective of why we should fragrance. We all need to remember that living Islam must be understand in it’s totality and we must manifest it in our life, and until we make a sincere commitment to strive as being complete Muslims then we can’t be representatives of this religion.
Now obviously your intentions need to be pure, you can wear scents to attract people for the wrong reasons but I think you all know what I mean what I’ve mentioned above.
Tips and reminders for all of us:
- Take a shower daily, use soap, apply deodorant
- Do your laundry and try to keep your clothes clean at all times, especially when you pray.
- You might ask how do I know if something is clean? Well by certain properties such as look, smell, etc.
- Don’t be afraid to take constructive criticism on cleanliness from your fellow brother or if your a sister from another sister.
- Lastly, imagine if we give dawah with wisdom, good attitude while smelling and looking good. Wouldn’t that be more effective? The answer is YES.
Well there you have it. I smells good, I use dryer sheets and everything, =)