then he is not recorded as receiving the reward of praying in congregation, because we only told him not to attend in order to prevent the harm he would cause, as the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said: “The angels are offended by that which offends the children of Adam.” (1)

Question: If a person has bad breath—that is, a foul odour in the mouth, nose, or elsewhere—which offends the worshippers, then he should not attend, in order to prevent the harm he would cause. But this is not like the case of one who has eaten onion, because the onion-eater has voluntarily done something that offends people, whereas this is not of his own choosing. We may say that this man is recorded as receiving the reward of praying in congregation, because his absence was not by his own choice, and so he is excused. Or we may say that he is not recorded as receiving the reward of praying in congregation, though he is not sinful—just as a menstruating woman abstains from prayer by Allah’s command, yet she is not recorded as receiving the reward of prayer. Indeed, the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, described her abstention from prayer as a deficiency in her religion. (2)

Question: Whoever smokes tobacco and has an unpleasant odour that offends people is not permitted to harm them. Perhaps there is a benefit in this: when the man who smokes tobacco finds himself deprived of congregational prayer, that may become a cause for his repentance from it; and this is a benefit.

Question: Whoever has foul-smelling wounds—and this was in former times, when hospitals did not exist—may stay away from the Friday prayer and the congregational prayer. However, we do not say that this is an excuse like the excuse of a sick person and the like, unless he stays away from congregational prayer out of fear that the pain of his wound will worsen, since odours sometimes affect wounds and increase their pain. In that case, he is excused and falls under the category of the sick.