Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

My questions are,  

1. Can we apply perfume and perform Salah, coz I heard from people that we can perform, the alcohol in it gets evaporated and the fragrance stays on the cloths.  

2. Can we eat till the end of Fajr Azan in Ramadan or we have to stop as soon we listen to the Azan.  

3. If one sneezes in the middle of prayer can we say Yarahmakumulla in the middle of prayer or after completing the prayer we have to tell. Please help me in this matter.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Perfume in prayer

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: Can we apply perfume and perform Salah, coz I heard from people that we can perform, the alcohol in it gets evaporated and the fragrance stays on the cloths.  

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 1.24

Anas reported the Messenger of Allah (saws) as saying, "Among the things of this world, I love women and perfume, and the coolness of my eyes is prayer."

Related by Ahmad and an-Nasa'i.

Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said, "If someone offers perfume, do not reject it, for it is light to carry and has a sweet scent."

Related by Muslim, an-Nasa'i and Abu Dawud.

Not only is the applying of perfume permissible for the believing men and women in Islam, it is a highly encouraged act and a preferred Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

Allah Subhanah has absolutely forbidden the consumption of all types of intoxicants for the believers.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 90:

O you who have believed! ‘Khamr’ (all types of intoxicants), gambling, (ungodly) shrines, and divining devices are all abominable works of Shaitaan; therefore, refrain from these so that you may attain true success!

The thing that invalidates prayer is the presence of impurities on one’s body or clothes. But not all ‘haraam’ (forbidden) things in Islam are impure… for example: gold and silk are declared ‘haraam’ for the believing men, but gold and silk in their essence are not impure substances. Similarly, the majority of the scholars and jurists in Islam are of the opinion that although the consumption of alcohol is ‘haraam’ and absolutely forbidden for the believers, alcohol by itself is not an impure substance. Thus there is no harm if one uses perfumes and the alcohol used in making these perfume touches the clothes or some parts of the body; as long as it is not consumed and entered into the body. The prayer of such a person, if Allah Wills and Pleases, would be acceptable to Him.

The absolute safest and purest and closest to piety would be if the believers change their alcohol based perfumes with the many available ‘ittr’ or perfumes which do not contain any alcohol; and thus absolutely remove any doubts which may exist.

Your Question: Can we eat till the end of Fajr Azan in Ramadan or we have to stop as soon we listen to the Azan.  

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 187:

187 Permitted to you on the night of the fasts is the approach to your wives. They are your garments. And ye are their garments. Allah knoweth what ye used to do secretly among yourselves; but He turned to you and forgave you; so now associate with them and seek what Allah hath ordained for you and eat and drink until the white thread of dawn appear to you distinct from its black thread; then complete your fast till the night appears; but do not associate with your wives while ye are in retreat in the mosques. Those are limits (set by) Allah; approach not nigh thereto. Thus doth Allah make clear His signs to men that they may learn self-restraint.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 6.36 Narrated by Ash Shabi

'Adi took a white rope (or thread) and a black one, and when some part of the night had passed, he looked at them but he could not distinguish one from the other. The next morning he went to the Prophet (saws) and said, "O Allah's Messenger (saws)! I put (a white thread and a black thread) underneath my pillow." The Prophet (saws) said, "Then your pillow is too wide if the white thread (of dawn) and the black thread (of the night) are underneath your pillow!"

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 3.140 Narrated by Adi bin Hatim

When the above verses were revealed: "Until the white thread appears to you, distinct from the black thread..”, I took two (hair) strings, one black and the other white, and kept them under my pillow and went on looking at them throughout the night but could not make anything out of it. So, the next morning I went to Allah's Messenger (saws) and told him the whole story. He (saws) explained to me, "That verse means the darkness of the night and the whiteness of the dawn."

In light of the above Verse of the Glorious Quran and the guidance of the Messenger of Allah (saws), the fast time starts just before the absolute first break of dawn until the sun has completely set and first sign of darkness appears on the horizon.

In most nations the ‘fajr’ ‘adhaan’ is declared at the first break of dawn, and one should stop eating and drinking a little before the ‘fajr’ ‘adhaan’ has been declared.

Your Question: If one sneezes in the middle of prayer can we say Yarahmakumulla in the middle of prayer or after completing the prayer we have to tell.

Mu'awiyyah ibn al-Hakam said: "I was praying behind the Messenger of Allah (saws) and someone in the congregation sneezed. I said [to him]: 'May Allah have mercy upon you.(Yarhamkumulaah)' The people then stared at me, showing their disapproval of my act. I said: 'Woe to me, why do you stare at me so?' They started to strike their hands on their thighs and when I saw that they wanted me to become silent, I was angered but said nothing. When the Messenger of Allah (saws) finished the prayer - and may my father and mother be ransomed for him, I found no teacher better than him, either before or after him – he (saws) did not scold, beat, or revile me but he simply said: 'Talking to others is not seemly during the ‘salaah’, for the ‘salaah is for glorifying Allah, extolling His Greatness, and reciting the Qur'an.'"

Related by Ahmad, Muslim, Abu Dawud, and an-Nasa'i

Although it is a preferred Sunnah to make supplication for one who happens to sneeze, it is not befitting the prayer of a believer that one talk during one’s ‘salaah’….thus it would be best if the person supplicated for his brother who sneezed only after the ‘salaah’ has been completed.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan