Is it forbidden to eat onions before prayer?
Question
Is it forbidden to eat onions before prayer?
Answer
No, it is not forbidden. A hadith gives us the following instruction: "Whoever eats garlic or onions should not come near our mosque." This is because these two vegetables cause bad breath. To avoid irritating other worshippers, a person who has just eaten onions or garlic is instructed not to join group prayers in the mosque and pray them at home.
According to scholars, this ruling applies to anything that causes any foul smell such as tobacco and some chemicals. Thus, a smoker should not go to the mosque unless he makes sure that he first changes the foul smell of tobacco. Besides, smoking is forbidden in Islam.
A worker in a plant that uses foul-smelling substances should change his clothes and wear some perfume before going to the mosque. It is important to keep the mosque a welcoming place, clean and pleasant smelling.
And God the Almighty knows best.