“He appoints for them a day on which they are to go out; he cleanses himself but does not apply perfume; and he goes out humble, reverent, lowly, and supplicating …

His statement, “He appoints for them a day on which they are to go out,” means that the subject pronoun refers to the imam, while the object pronoun, “them,” refers to the people. That is, he says, “We will go out on such-and-such a day.” It is also preferable for him to specify the time on that day, saying, for example, “At such-and-such an hour,” so that they may prepare in a manner that causes them no hardship. For if people were to go out early and the imam were delayed, they might suffer from the cold during a severe winter.

His statement, “He cleanses himself but does not apply perfume”: when the scholars say, “He cleanses himself,” they mean removing what ought to be removed, whether according to sacred law or natural disposition.

What should be removed according to sacred law includes the fingernails, pubic hair, and underarm hair. What should be removed by natural disposition includes sweat and unpleasant odors.

They stated that it is recommended for him to cleanse himself because this is a public gathering. If people have offensive odors, this harms some of those present. For this reason, they recommended cleansing oneself, but not applying perfume.

This may be presented as a riddle: What prayer is it inappropriate for a person to apply perfume for?

The answer is: the prayer for rain. Perfume is recommended for the Friday prayer; for other prayers, it is neither enjoined nor prohibited.

For the prayer for rain, one does not apply perfume. They explained this by saying that it is a day of meekness and humility, whereas perfume lifts the spirit and makes it more at ease. What is sought on this day is meekness and humility, for the Prophet ﷺ went out “reverent, lowly, and supplicating.” (1)