Musk Attar and Islam

As a young boy, I always loved musk perfumes and musk attar. Back then, only budget-friendly, entry-level perfumes were affordable and accessible. Regardless, musk attar and perfumes always smelled wonderful. Musk was my first love of perfumery.

In every listing of aromatics in Medieval Arabic literature, musk is mentioned first and is the first to be discussed in every book dealing with perfumes. The Symbolic Importance of Musk in Islamic Culture, Anya H. King.

Musk holds deep significance in Islam. It is associated with all things sacred, pure, and holy, including prayer, Hajj rituals, good friendships, jihad, martyrdom, paradise, and even prophetic medicine.

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Musk and the Messenger (ﷺ)

The greatest connection with Musk is the shared love with the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) praised musk.

Al-Tirmizi and Abu Dawood narrated from Abu Sa’id (may Allaah be pleased with him) that Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said about musk:
“It is the purest of all your perfumes.”
(Sunan an-Nasa’i 1905, Book 21, Hadith 88)

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Prayer

‘Umar reported God’s Messenger as saying:
“Three will be on mounds of musk on the Day of Resurrection: a man who gives God and his patron their due, a man who leads people in prayer to their satisfaction, and a man who summons people to the five times of prayer every day and night.”
(Mishkat al-Masabih 666, Book 4, Hadith 98)

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Hajj

Aishah (RA), the noble wife of the Messenger (ﷺ), narrated:
“I put perfume with musk in it on the Messenger of Allah before he assumed Ihram, and on the Day of An-Nahr before he performed Tawaf around the House.”
(Jami` at-Tirmidhi 917, Book 9, Hadith 110)

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Qur’an Recitation

Abu Huraira (RA), one of the great companions, reported:
“Learn and recite the Qur’ān. For one who learns, recites, and uses it in prayer at night, it is like a bag filled with musk whose fragrance diffuses everywhere. He who learns it and goes to sleep with it within him is like a bag of musk tied up.”
(Mishkat al-Masabih 2143, Book 8, Hadith 34)

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Fasting

Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
(Allah said), “Every good deed of Adam’s son is for him except fasting; it is for Me, and I shall reward [the fasting person] for it. Verily, the smell of the mouth of a fasting person is better to Allah than the smell of musk.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari 5927, Book 77, Hadith 142)

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Companionship

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) also said:
“The example of a good companion (who sits with you) in comparison with a bad one is like that of the musk seller and the blacksmith’s bellows (or furnace). From the first, you would either buy musk or enjoy its good smell, while the bellows would either burn your clothes or your house, or give a bad, nasty smell.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari 2101, Book 34, Hadith 54)

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Musk and Purification

Musk is also used in Islamic practices of purification. Aisha (RA) narrated:
“A woman asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about the bath which is taken after finishing from the menses. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, ‘Take a piece of cloth perfumed with musk and clean the private parts with it.'”
(Sahih al-Bukhari 314, Book 6, Hadith 19)

This highlights musk’s symbolic association with cleanliness and spiritual purification.

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Jihad and Martyrdom

It was narrated from Anas bin Malik that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
“Whoever goes out in the cause of Allah will have the equivalent of the dust that got on him, in musk, on the Day of Resurrection.”
(Sunan Ibn Majah 2775, Book 24, Hadith 23)

Prophetic traditions further state:
“None is wounded in Allah’s Cause but will come on the Day of Resurrection with his wound bleeding. The thing that will come out of his wound will be the color of blood, but its smell will be the smell of musk.”
(Hadith Number 5533, Bukhari)

Martyrdom is the highest honor, and in the world of scent, musk is similarly honored.

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Paradise (Jannah)

Musk is inseparably connected to paradise. Ibn Sayyad (RA) narrated that he asked the Prophet about the soil of paradise, and the Prophet replied:
“It was white, sifted flour and pure musk.”
(Mishkat al-Masabih 5496, Book 27, Hadith 117)

Abu Sa’id reported that Ibn Sayyad asked Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) about the earth of Paradise, and he replied:
“It is like white, shining pure musk.”
(Sahih Muslim, Book 54, Hadith 11)

Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah’s Apostle said:
“The first group (of people) who will enter Paradise will be (glittering) like the moon when it is full… Their sweat will smell like musk.”
(Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book 54, Hadith 468)

The Qur’an states about the drink of the people of paradise:
“They will be given to drink [pure] wine [which was] sealed. The last of it is musk. So for this let the competitors compete.”
(Chapter 83, verses 25–26)

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The Trade and Medicine of Musk

Historically, musk was a sought-after commodity in Islamic lands, especially in trade through the Silk Road, where it came from Tibet and China. It was not only used for perfumery but also as a medicinal and ritual ingredient. Ibn Sina (Avicenna) in The Canon of Medicine recommended musk as a tonic for the heart and to improve mood, showcasing its broad significance.

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In conclusion, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah wrote in his book Al-Ṭibb al-Nabawī:
“It [musk] is the king of the varieties of aromatics, their noblest and sweetest. It is that about which proverbs are coined, and other things are compared to, while it is not compared to anything else. It is the sand-dunes of the Garden [of Paradise].”