The Ruling on the Use of Perfume by the Mourning Woman
Question :
I am a woman whose husband has died recently and I am now in the mourning period; is it correct for me to wash with soap which has a pleasant perfumed odor, or
should I clean my children with it?
Answer:
Mourning means that a woman must avoid everything which calls to sexual intercourse or encourages (men) to look at her, such as perfume and wearing Kuhl and jewelry - whether she wears the jewelry around her neck or on her ears or hands. Likewise, all attractive clothes that are worn for beautification. She must remain in the house in which she was living when her husband died, according to the Words of Allah, Most High:
"And those of you who die and leave wives behind them, they (the wives) shall wait (as regards their marriage) for four months and ten days, then when they have fulfilled their term, there is no sin on you if they (the wives) dispose of themselves in a just and honourable manner (i.e. they can marry). And Allah is Well- Acquainted with what you do."
His saying: "then when they have fulfilled their terms" prove that they are forbidden before this time to do what they are allowed to do after it, and the Sunnah has made this clear.
Based upon this, it is not permissible for the mourning widow to use soap which has a perfumed odor. And since there is soap without perfume, there is no need for it.
Source:
Ibn 'Uthaimin
Fatawa Islamiyah, Vol. 6 Pages 108-109
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