sweet basil, let him not refuse it, for it is light to carry and pleasant in fragrance.” Narrated by Muslim.

1796 – Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ would never turn down perfume. Narrated by al-Bukhārī.

360 – Chapter: The disapproval of praising a person to his face when there is a fear that it may lead him to self-admiration or the like, and its permissibility when such harm is not feared in his case.

1797 – Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet ﷺ heard a man extolling another and being carried away in praise. He said, “You have ruined—or broken—the man’s back.” Agreed upon.

“The term al-itrāʾ denotes exaggerated praise.”

1798 – Abū Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: A man was mentioned before the Prophet ﷺ, and another spoke well of him. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Woe to you! You have cut your companion’s neck,” and he repeated it several times. Then he added, “If one of you must praise someone, let him say, ‘I think he is such-and-such, if he believes him to be so; Allah is his reckoner, and no one should pronounce another absolutely pure before Allah.’” Agreed upon.

1799 – Hammām ibn al-Hārith narrated that al-Miqdād (may Allah be pleased with him) once heard a man praising ʿUthmān (may Allah be pleased with him). Al-Miqdād went up, knelt down (1) on his knees, and began throwing pebbles in the man’s face. ʿUthmān said to him, “What is the matter with you?” He replied, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘When you see those who are given to excessive praise, throw dust in their faces.’” Narrated by Muslim.

These narrations concern the prohibition, while many other sound hadiths speak of permissibility.

The scholars said: The method of reconciling the reports is to say that if the person praised