THE BOOK OF AT TABARRUJ

INTRODUCTION

In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

This article aims at elucidating the [Ruling on At Tabarruj] which is important to be discussed among the Muslim Ummah. This article principally directs its discussion to our beloved women and sisters in faith. By discussing this ruling and working towards its contents, the rate at which fitnah: calamity and irresistible temptation are happening in our societies will be minimal and eventually go into extinction.

WHAT IS AT TABARRUJ?

Tabarrujis according to the language of origin of the word from [baraja] which means something that is  visible and high. Mutabarrijah means a woman or a damsel who flaunts her body beauties. Forbidding At Tabarruj means forbidding to display "jewelry" "in a general sense that is usually not shown by a good woman, or using something unnatural to use such as dressing up excessively, or walking waddling and so on. According to the terminology of Islamic teachings, tabarruji the display of jewelry, the aurat and the beauty of his body other than to his husband 

QUR'ÃN VERSES EVIDENCING AT TABARRUJ

Concerning the verses about AT Tabarruj,the researcher are more focused on three sūroh which are: Sūrotul A'raf verse 26; Sūrotu Nūr verse 60 and Sūrotul Ahzãb verse 33.

The below are the three different Chapters and the verses of the Qur'ãn prohibiting the unlawful act of At Tabarruj.

1. “ And women of post-menstrual age who have no desire for marriage -there is no blame upon them for putting aside their outer garments [but] not displaying adornment. But too modestly refrain [from that] is better for them. And the All Allah is Hearing and Seeing." See Qur'ãn 24 verse 60.

2. "And you should remain in your house and do not expose your beauties and behave like the Jahiliyah that were before and establish prayer, give alms and obey Allah and His Messenger.Verily, Allah intends to erase sin from you, OLord, and cleanse you as clean as possible." See Qur'ãn 29 verse 33.

3.  "Son of Adam, Verily we have sent down to you clothes to cover your nakedness and beautiful clothes forjewelry and; the clothes of piety, that is the best. That is part of the signs of Allah's power, Hopefully they will always remember."

HADITHS EVIDENCING AT TABARRUJ

On the authority of Abu Huroyroh [may Allah be pleased with him] , he said: The Prophet [S.A.W] said: "There are two classes of people who are residents of hell, of whom I have never seen it before;that is, a group of people who have whips like cows that are used to hurt humans;and a woman who opens her aurat and dresses thinly stimulates and waddles her head like a hump of a camel. They cannot enter heaven and smell it. Even though the smell of heaven can be smelled from a distance and so on. 

Imãm Bukhari defined it as: " Showing the beauty or beauty of a woman's self."

According to Ibn Katheer: "Mutabarrijah is a woman who goes out of the house walking in front of men with the intention of inviting their passion." This is what is called Tabarrujal Jahiliyyal Ūla as stated in Qur'ãn 29 verse 33.

According to Sheikh Al-Maududi, the word tabarruj when linked to a woman has three meanings, namely: 

1.Appearing the beauty of the face and theparts of the body that arouse lust before men who are not their mahrom. 

2.Spread beautiful clothes and jewelry in the presence of men who are not their mahrom.

3.Showing off and walking in front of men who are not their mahrom [people not lawful for them to marry]. 

In order to appreciate this article very, we shall take a look at one of the form by which a  Muslimah can commit At Tabarruj. This is form is the most commonly committed misdeed by the sisters of this Ummah. This is seen as PERFUME

It is of no doubt that wearing perfume is part of the ways of committing At Tabarruj. Because, there are ome hyperactive perfumes if a woman sprays it on her body, she will be turning the heads of men to her direction without touching their heads.

As we know that both men and women of nowadays are using this perfume in order to be smelling good. Whether or not this is the intent of those women, it can cause fitnah to the men around her and that Muslimah herself. On this, we shall understand it better in the short story towards the end of this article. The below is the Hadith clarifying the use of perfume by both genders.

ITS DIFFERENCE BETWEN MEN & WOMEN 

On the authority of Imran bin Husayn, with a chain of transmission traceable back to the Prophet: (The best perfume for a man is that whose scent is evident but whose color is hidden, and the best perfume for women is that which has a clear color and whose scent is hidden. It is forbidden to wear purple mitres.)

The rationale behind the above Hadith is that a Muslimah is not expected to be wearing perfume whereby the scent will be causing fitnah by tempting other men. 

MEN'S PERFUME

As regarding the use of perfume by men, it is permissible. Allah and His Prophet [S.A.W] alongside the Sunni Scholars unanimously agreed on the position of its permissibility. The permissibility of this perfume has been stated in an authentic Hadith. 

On the authority of Abu Ayūb Al Ansaryy, he said, the Prophet [S.A.W] said: "Four things are part of the practice of the companions [men], namely: Shyness; Perfume; Chewing Stick and Nikkah. Narrated by Imãm Dawūd.

As regarding that of men, it said that it should not be a perfume prepared with forbidden things as its ingredients. Although, this is a common type of perfume because some are these perfumes are having ingredients of intoxicants, it is prohibited in Islãm. But there are still permissible ones like the ones sold by Hausa people, provided that it is not adulterated. A good example is a perfume called [Alhãji Abdullahi] among others.

WOMEN & PERFUME

As regarding our esteemed sisters in faith, it is high time the women and sisters wearing perfumes stopped such an ungraceful and detestable act in the eye of their Lord; His Messenger and the Sunni Scholars.

Dear sister, as an assumption, let me ask you this: Won't you be so much pained when you found out that you have no rewards of praying the[5 daily prayers] by the reason of wearing perfumes? Ask and answer yourself.

EVIDENCE: This is in the basis of the Hadith of the Rosuul [S.A.W], he said: "Any woman who wears perfume and then goes to masjid, her prayer will NEVER be accepted."
Students of knowledge, the above Hadith can be supported by another Hadith on the authority of Zainab Athaqofy, the wife of Abdullohi bn Mas'ūd. She said that the Rosuul [S.A.W] said [directly to the women]: "Whenever anyone amongst you is going to masjid, NEVER get closed to perfume. "

The latter Hadith here shows that the use of perfume is totally prohibited and if is used by them, their prayer will NEVER be accepted. Also, the word Laa taqrobanna as used in the latter Hadith is showing and proving the high degree of prohibition of perfume.The intention of the word as used in this Hadith is also similar to how it was used in Qur'ãn 17 verse 32 where the word Wala taqrobuu Zina is used. This show the prohibition of Zina [unlawful sexual intercourse]. Generally, under Shari'ah Law, whenever Taqrobu  with an Arabic letter [لا: Lã] are used alongside each other in a statement, it means that the next verb or action that will follow is totally forbidden. Although, sometimes, Shari'ah might give a relief depending on the circumstances. This will be explained at the below discussion of this [Ruling on Perfume]. So, it shows that whoever does that act after the word Lã Taqrobu, the consequence of doing it will cause *[FITNAH]* which is known as calamity and temptation.

Also, the Rosuul [S.A.W] further said: "Any woman who wears perfume and goes around a congregation [men] for the purpose of making them smell and feel her bewitching perfume, such a woman is an [Adulterer]." In another narration, "such a woman is adulterer and all the people looking at her."

Also, one of the greatest Sunni Scholars, Shaykh Nãsirudeen ALBÃNY, he said in his commentary that: "Going out of a woman from her house wearing perfume and ornaments all over her body is one of the grave offences even if her husband permit her to dress in a that way."

As regarding the general rule of inhibiting the use of perfume by women or sisters in Islãm, there are two main exceptions.

EXCEPTIONS:

1. When such a muslimah is within her fellow sisters in faith, she is permitted. Why, because, [no fitnah will be caused by using it].

2. When she is with her legal husband, she is allowed to wear any type of perfume she likes in order to please her man and appear scintillating and appeasing to him.

The below is a short story to support the position taken on this article. Gently read through it line by line and gain.

Title: The Tempting Perfume

There was a young  Muslimah lived in the city of Ibadan, her name was Lateefah. She was a damsel of reservedness among her peers who were so comfortable with there flamboyant life. These friends of hers sometimes made fun of her as there was no gallant men chasing as man do chase money. She was an exemplary of an introvert life. 

One day, one of her buddies, Habeebah, who was a fragrance dealer. She was a lady whose presence sends an irresistible signals to men.Although, she had been making advances on how to get her to her shop. Another reason for calling her apart from joining them as Gallant Sisters or Maa Sha'a Allah Sisters as they nicknamed themselves was that, she was financially buoyant, she was just naturally not a person who will be spending money on ornaments unnecessarily in order to be seen by the whole world.

After succeeding in convincing her, she followed to her emporium of fragrance which she named; Queen Beebah's Perfume Empire. Getting there, they had a gist for some minutes. Later, she showed her some hyperactive perfumes. The appeasing scent to aura she perceived also got her more convinced. After agreeing on buying and using the perfumes, Habeebah said to her:

"Begin to use these Beebah's perfumes and see how much men and women will be showing you love and care and even money." With this manipulative statement, she was more convinced. But corrected her wordings and said to her: "If it should be on the basis of getting giveaways or money, then these perfumes are not meant for me. Habeebah later calm her down with sweet words. 

On the first day of using it, she went out in her dazzling maroon khimar with nice shoes. She went to the masjid. As she about to reach masjid, the brothers and some sisters stopped performing ablution for a while. This means that her perfume was turning heads.

 With this happening at this moment, it could be said that there would be a probability of those brothers or men thinking about her while performing Solah. Subhãnalloh! Sisters!!!

After the prayer, some brothers couldn't wait to do the necessary supplications as demanded in the Sunnah of the Prophet [S.A.W]. Three different brothers approached her by expressing their love at first sight for her. She turned down their offer. 

It was just the next day, as she was about to enter one big supermarket to get some of her needs, some two gallant men with steeze  perceived this same perfume. Abruptly, they were attracted to her. After exchanging pleasantries and getting the things she needed, they insisted on paying for her bills but she refused countless times. She said: "I really appreciate your kindness and love but I have my money sufficiently." Then, she walked away. 

In the next day, the two men approached Habeebah to know whether Lateefah was her acquaintance. The latter confirmed her to be her close friend after describing her to her, Habeebah. After some minutes of secret discussion, they dispersed. 

Later in the night, Lateefah was about to sleep and she suddenly received a huge amount of [#1 million]. She was so astounded. She told her friend friend about and the latter said: "That is giveaway from a secret admirer, continue enjoying it." She was completed discombobulated. This unknown secret and credit alert kept on enter from two different gallant men. 

H1. When such a muslimah is within her fellow sisters in faith, she is permitted. Why, because, [no fitnah will be caused by using it].

2. When she is with her legal husband, she is allowed to wear any type of perfume she likes in order to please her man and appear scintillating and appeasing to him.

The below is a short story to support the position taken on this article. Gently read through it line by line and gain.

Title: The Tempting Perfume

There was a young  Muslimah lived in the city of Ibadan, her name was Lateefah. She was a damsel of reservedness among her peers who were so comfortable with there flamboyant life. These friends of hers sometimes made fun of her as there was no gallant men chasing as man do chase money. She was an exemplary of an introvert life. 

One day, one of her buddies, Habeebah, who was a fragrance dealer. She was a lady whose presence sends an irresistible signals to men.Although, she had been making advances on how to get her to her shop. Another reason for calling her apart from joining them as Gallant Sisters or Maa Sha'a Allah Sisters as they nicknamed themselves was that, she was financially buoyant, she was just naturally not a person who will be spending money on ornaments unnecessarily in order to be seen by the whole world.

After succeeding in convincing her, she followed to her emporium of fragrance which she named; Queen Beebah's Perfume Empire. Getting there, they had a gist for some minutes. Later, she showed her some hyperactive perfumes. The appeasing scent to aura she perceived also got her more convinced. After agreeing on buying and using the perfumes, Habeebah said to her:

"Begin to use these Beebah's perfumes and see how much men and women will be showing you love and care and even money." With this manipulative statement, she was more convinced. But corrected her wordings and said to her: "If it should be on the basis of getting giveaways or money, then these perfumes are not meant for me. Habeebah later calm her down with sweet words. 

On the first day of using it, she went out in her dazzling maroon khimar with nice shoes. She went to the masjid. As she about to reach masjid, the brothers and some sisters stopped performing ablution for a while. This means that her perfume was turning heads.

 With this happening at this moment, it could be said that there would be a probability of those brothers or men thinking about her while performing Solah. Subhãnalloh! Sisters!!!

After the prayer, some brothers couldn't wait to do the necessary supplications as demanded in the Sunnah of the Prophet [S.A.W]. Three different brothers approached her by expressing their love at first sight for her. She turned down their offer. 

It was just the next day, as she was about to enter one big supermarket to get some of her needs, some two gallant men with steeze  perceived this same perfume. Abruptly, they were attracted to her. After exchanging pleasantries and getting the things she needed, they insisted on paying for her bills but she refused countless times. She said: "I really appreciate your kindness and love but I have my money sufficiently." Then, she walked away. 

In the next day, the two men approached Habeebah to know whether Lateefah was her acquaintance. The latter confirmed her to be her close friend after describing her to her, Habeebah. After some minutes of secret discussion, they dispersed. 

Later in the night, Lateefah was about to sleep and she suddenly received a huge amount of [#1 million]. She was so astounded. She told her friend friend about and the latter said: "That is giveaway from a secret admirer, continue enjoying it." She was completed discombobulated. This unknown secret and credit alert kept on entering from two different gallant men.

Habeebah later advised her to call them in order to find out their true identity and to appreciate them. She did exactly the she was told by her. 

In short, they gave her their address to show up on different days. She got to the first man's mansion. He entertained her by of alcoholic drinks of which she rejected as it is forbidden for Muslims. He later gave her a Non Alcoholic drink but it had been laced, unknowingly to her. As she drank half of it, she dozed off. Suddenly, he rang up his friend. After some minutes, she woke up to see herself in a naked state. She felt so pained and mad at them. There, they said to her: "We've been seeing you so far but you were not that attracted to us. But, the moment you began using that tempting perfume, you became attracted to us. In short, your tempting perfume tempted us to tracked you down here and tasted your tempting body. Besides, we've  assisted you indirectly as your secret admirer by sending you millions of naira. So, you can use the money to flush it out, if you don't need a child  now. Or you go for the option to keep the pregnancy, in case of that."

After they had left her, she began ululating like gnome. 

[Aside] 

"See the fitnah of not not listen to the words of Allah and His Prophet's sayings I have brought upon myself. My dear readers, kindly and humbly follow their words to live a peaceful life. If not, you will be on earth to live a terrible and miserable life."

May Allah give us the blessing of understanding his priceless words and putting it into actions.

~ Written by: Adejumo Fawaz [Abu Faozaan]