People wearing perfume to make them feel fresh and have a good smell. Not only women but also men love to wear them. Commonly, perfume made by a great combination of water and special extraction from flowers or fruit that becomes alcohol.
How does Islam see this using perfume with alcohol? Is it haram to use it? Using perfume is permissible in Islam with or without alcohol. It can be a dilemmatic problem such as the Islamic law of eating fermented food.
But using a perfume with alcohol will not make any harm to you, except if you drink it. Now we have 5 points of view about using a perfume with alcohol in Islam.
1. Contain Less Than 5%
The perfume you use every day must contain at least less than 5% of the alcohol. It is the safe amount for the alcohol so it will not harm you or other people that smell your perfume. Besides, the minimum standard of using alcohol on perfume is must be less than 5%.
On the Quran surah, Al Maidah verse 90 mentions about using the alcohol that may intoxicate you.
يٰٓاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْٓا اِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالْاَنْصَابُ وَالْاَزْلَامُ رِجْسٌ مِّنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطٰنِ فَاجْتَنِبُوْهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُوْنَ – ٩٠
“O, believers! Truly Khamr (alcohol), gambling, (sacrificing for) idols, and drawing fate with arrows, are abominable deeds and include the actions of the devil. So stay away (actions) that you are lucky.” (QS 5: 90)
2. Don’t Drink The Perfume
It may sound crazy to say, but some people with addiction matter want to drink it so badly. They do not only smell it for a long time but also want to drink it, and sometimes they may drink it.
That behavior will harm you so you should avoid this. Using perfume with alcohol is only permissible for using outside such as spray it to your body or clothes.
Such as mention on the Quran surah Al Maidah verse 91, that alcohol is intoxicating you. That is why you should avoid it.
اِنَّمَا يُرِيْدُ الشَّيْطٰنُ اَنْ يُّوْقِعَ بَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغْضَاۤءَ فِى الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ وَيَصُدَّكُمْ عَنْ ذِكْرِ اللّٰهِ وَعَنِ الصَّلٰوةِ فَهَلْ اَنْتُمْ مُّنْتَهُوْنَ – ٩١
“With the liquor and gambling, Satan only intends to cause hostility and hatred between you, and prevent you from remembering Allah and performing prayers, then don’t you want to stop?” (QS 5:91)
3. Don’t Use The Perfume Too Much
Islamic culture taught us to not wearing perfume too much. It doesn’t mean that we will get drunk of it, but it can make everyone around you feel comfortable. Besides, the alcohol from the perfume can give a bad effect such as a prohibition of swine in Islam.
Alcohol can make an addiction for people who smell around you. It contains the ingredients that may harm you and everyone around you if you are using too much and avoid the importance of health in Islam.
On the Quran surah, Al Baqarah verse 219 mentions that there is no use on using too much alcohol.
يَسْـَٔلُوْنَكَ عَنِ الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِۗ قُلْ فِيْهِمَآ اِثْمٌ كَبِيْرٌ وَّمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِۖ وَاِثْمُهُمَآ اَكْبَرُ مِنْ نَّفْعِهِمَاۗ وَيَسْـَٔلُوْنَكَ مَاذَا يُنْفِقُوْنَ ەۗ قُلِ الْعَفْوَۗ كَذٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللّٰهُ لَكُمُ الْاٰيٰتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَفَكَّرُوْنَۙ – ٢١٩
“They ask you (Muhammad) about Khamar and gambling. Say, “In both of them there are grave sins and some benefits for humans. But the sins outweigh the benefits. ” And they ask you (about) what (they should) inform. Say, “Strengths (of what is needed).” Thus Allah explains His verses to you so that you think,” (QS 2:219)
4. Read The Ingredients Carefully
Every perfume that sells in the market should have some ingredients label on their box. Read carefully before you decide to buy them and ask the seller about its halal certification.
Some perfumes are made by Isoprophile alcohol which doesn’t have any halal certified. The manufacture claims that the alcohol made from the extraction of crude acetone and hydrogen.
In Islamic law, the alcohol that using for perfume should be made by the extraction of fruit or flower. On the Quran surah, An Nisa verse 43 mentions this harm such as the effect of eating or in Islam.
يٰٓاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا لَا تَقْرَبُوا الصَّلٰوةَ وَاَنْتُمْ سُكَارٰى حَتّٰى تَعْلَمُوْا مَا تَقُوْلُوْنَ وَلَا جُنُبًا اِلَّا عَابِرِيْ سَبِيْلٍ حَتّٰى تَغْتَسِلُوْا…
“O believers! Do not approach the prayer when you are drunk, until you realize what you are saying, and do not (you approach the mosque when you are) in a state of junub except just passing the road, before you take a bath (junub), …” (QS 4:43)
5. Avoid The Certain Ingredients
Such as mention above that you carefully read the ingredients of your perfume, you need to avoid some ingredients that be haram in an Islamic way. Whether using alcohol for perfume is permissible, but if it contains any harmful ingredients it becomes haram.
The ingredient is forbidden to use because it may harm you. On the Quran surah, Al A’raf verse 33 mentions about this.
قُلْ اِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ رَبِّيَ الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ وَالْاِثْمَ وَالْبَغْيَ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَاَنْ تُشْرِكُوْا بِاللّٰهِ مَا لَمْ يُنَزِّلْ بِهٖ سُلْطٰنًا وَّاَنْ تَقُوْلُوْا عَلَى اللّٰهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُوْنَ – ٣٣
“Say (Muhammad), “My Lord only forbids all visible and hidden vile deeds, acts of sin, wrongdoings without right reasons, and (forbids) you associate Allah with something, whereas He does not lower the reasons for it, and (forbids) you talk about God what you don’t know. ” (QS 7:33)
So, there is 5 point of views about using a perfume with alcohol in Islam that you should know. Is it haram or not to use, you have to think carefully while using it. Avoid the haram so may you found the way on how to become closer to Allah.