Prerequisite for perfection of iman

The blessed scent of the bodies of the Prophets

نودنفتنا الولفسويحيردجالینامهوبالاقريعلاتلصفاملو

‘And when the caravan departed (from Egypt), their father (Yaqub) said, “I’d be sure I got a scent of Yusuf, if you didn’t think me senile” ’ (Surah Yusuf, verse 94).

According to the Holy Qur’an, the shirt of the Prophet Yusuf �, which was at a

distance of eight days, was enough for his father Sayyidina Yaqub �, to get his

scent. Not only does this verse tell us about the possession of miraculous powers

by the Prophets of Allah, but it also lays open another characteristic of how the

Prophets are different from ordinary people by virtue of the distinct scent of their

bodies.

In Sahih Buhkari, Sayyidina Anas bin Malik � narrated: I never touched a cloth

weaved of pure wool and silk that was softer and velvety than the palms of the Holy

Prophet ﷺ, – neither did I discover a musk or ambergris with a better fragrance

than that of the Holy Prophet ﷺ (Bukhari, hadith 1973).

Jabir bin Samura � reported: I offered the zuhr prayer along with Allah's

Messenger, may peace be upon him. He then went to his family and I also went

along with him when he met some children [on the way]. He began to pat the cheeks

of each one of them. On my turn [to my delight] he patted both my cheeks and I

experienced coolness or a fragrance of his hand as if it had been brought out from

Such was the fragrance emitted by the body of the Holy Prophet ﷺ that the path

he walked at would continue to be redolent of his fragrance to enable the

companions to recognise that the Messenger of Allah had been through that route

long after he had gone.

Sayyidina Abu Huraira � narrates: a man went to the Holy Prophet ﷺ, and asked

him for assistance for the marriage of his daughter. The Holy Prophet ﷺ, told him

to bring a wide-mouthed bottle. He then (miraculously) filled up the bottle with the

sweat from his arms and advised the man to tell his daughter to use that as a

perfume. So overwhelming was the scent of the sweat of the Messenger of Allah

that the people named their house ‘the House of Fragrance’ as every time his daughter used that it would perfume the entire city of Madina.

ں ےدبساچےکوں ےدچلہارجس ں ےدکھلا غنچے کے لد نے مہک کی نا

Buds in the heart with his fragrance bloomed,

On the path he treaded, cities plumed.