May a female pilgrim clean her infant with perfumed wipes?

7-9-2015 | IslamWeb

Question:

My daughter is one year old. If I use baby wipes, partially scented, to clean her while I am in Hajj, will this invalidate my ihram (state of ritual consecration)?

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

Scholars unanimously agreed that using perfume is forbidden for a person in the state of ihram, as related in a hadith that informs of a man whose riding animal crushed his neck while he was in a state of ihram; the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, "And do not perfume him." [Al-Bukhari] So, a person in a state of ihram is forbidden from using perfume, whether on his body, clothes, belongings and so on.

If a person in a state of ihram uses perfume or something similar to it, knowing that its use is prohibited, then he is required to offer a fidyah (compensation)  for this by fasting for three days, feeding six poor people, or slaughtering one sheep – he can choose any of these. However, if he is ignorant of the prohibition or acted out of forgetfulness or coercion, then there is no sin on him, and he is not required to offer a fidyah. This opinion was adopted by the Shaafi‘i and Hanbali schools of Fiqh and favored by Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah.

Accordingly, if the wipes used for cleaning the baby contain perfume that sticks to one's hand, then it is not permissible to touch them or intentionally smell them. If a person in a state of ihram touches them, then he will be subject to the ruling mentioned above.

We clarify to the questioner that even though the use of perfume is forbidden for a person in ihram, it does not invalidate it; it only makes one liable to offering a fidyah. 

Allaah Knows best.