`Oud wood is a type of wood found mostly in Eastern India side. It is a perfumed wood that was present at the time of the beloved prophet SAW. The beloved prophet SAW used `Oud, prescribed it for some diseases and also recommended it for women.
Although the wood is found in the South East Asia, but now the retail market of `Oud are mostly in Makkah and Madinah.
Even if good `Oud is expensive, but `Oud wood is worth its price because the sunnah give a multitude of its beneficial use. Nowadays people keep savings for a lifetime to cater for emergency physical medical care and yet it was better to invest on prevention!
But still the modern muslim society uses currently expensive cosmetic superficial perfumes that has no properties or benefit as `Oud has, but still they may be more expensive than `Oud. And on top of that `Oud has medical properties.
Reported in Bukhari:
وَهِيَ أُخْتُ عُكَاشَةَ بْنِ مِحْصَنٍ أَخْبَرَتْهُ أَنَّهَا أَتَتْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِابْنٍ لَهَا قَدْ عَلَّقَتْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ الْعُذْرَةِ فَقَالَ اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ عَلَى مَا تَدْغَرُونَ أَوْلَادَكُمْ بِهَذِهِ الْأَعْلَاقِ عَلَيْكُمْ بِهَذَا الْعُودِ الْهِنْدِيِّ فَإِنَّ فِيهِ سَبْعَةَ أَشْفِيَةٍ مِنْهَا ذَاتُ الْجَنْبِ يُرِيدُ الْكُسْتَ يَعْنِي الْقُسْطَ
The sister of `Ukashah r.a. brought her son by the prophet SAW that she tied the neck of the child due to throat sickness(kind of amygdale/tonsil sickness). The beloved prophet SAW said: Fear Allah on what you strangle the neck of your children due to throat sickness. Rather use more of the `Oud of India, because there are 7 cure in that `Oud. Between them is Pleurisy(sickness of the lungs).(Bukhari)
One may find the photo of `Oud wood below:
From the Ahadiths, we find the names of these two types of cure from `Oud: sickness of the throat and sickness linked to lungs.
But the beloved prophet SAW mentioned that we would benefit from 7 cure or 7 prevention in burning the wood at home or in the room. Some traditional muslim doctors wrote several cure from `Oud wood(From An Nawawi):
1. Irregularity in menses.
2. Urinal diseases.
3. Heat in the body.
4. Boost sexual libido.
5. It kills excess of bacteria in intestines.
6. It cure complication of the stomach.
7. It cure skin disorders and appease the stomach.
8. It treats liver complications.
We have been ordered to construct a masjid in each residential place. And also to keep it clean and perfume it, at least every Friday.(Tirmizi, Ibn Majah). At the time of Umar r.a., `Oud wood was burnt to perfume Masjid An Nabawi(SAW) on Jum`ahs(Ibn Abi Shaibah). Recommended to perfume the masjid, particularly before Khutbah of Jum`ah.
Also the beloved prophet SAW recommended `Oud wood and musk perfume to be applied by women after their menses. They may burn a piece of `Oud wood in the room near their body. And also take a piece of cloth damp in Musk perfume and apply it 3 times by their private parts. (Bukhari).
Note that `Oud wood should not be burnt to expressly to breath in deeply during fasting. The fast would be broken if closely came to deeply breath in the smoke of `Oud(Shami). But permissible to burn it to perfume the house during Ramadhaan.
The beloved prophet SAW said:’’Musk is the best perfume.’’(Muslim) The Mubarak sweat of the beloved prophet SAW was a fragrance of Musk. Musk is the Ghazali Musk, the one from deer, Wallahou A`lam.
In the end, mentioned in Bukhari shareef, that in Jannah, the sweat of jannatis will smell Musk and their palace perfumes would be `Oud. So these two precious perfumes are a sunnah to be revived in our house.