Short answer
Yes. Musk is pure and lawful to use as perfume in all four schools, even though it comes from a gland of the musk deer. The Prophet ﷺ called it the best of perfumes. Synthetic white musk and plant musks are also fine.
Natural musk is pure (tahir) and halal. The Hanafi texts explain that although it begins as blood in the deer's gland, it changes completely into a new substance (istihalah), so it takes a new ruling. Its pod is pure too.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
The Prophet ﷺ described musk as the best of perfumes, and he compared a good companion to a man carrying musk: either he gives you some, or you buy from him, or at least you enjoy its scent. Aisha said she perfumed him with the best scent she could find. So the four schools agree that musk is pure and may be worn.
Why it is pure. Musk forms in a gland of the male musk deer and starts as a kind of blood. The scholars explain that it then changes completely in colour, smell and nature into something else. In the Hanafi school a substance that has transformed like this takes the ruling of what it has become, so musk and its pod are pure.
- Deer musk: pure. It is rare today, and its trade is restricted in many countries to protect the deer.
- White musk and musk oils in shops: almost always synthetic or plant-based, and fine.
- Ambergris: also pure and lawful as perfume.
- Alcohol-based musk sprays: see is perfume with alcohol haram.
Avoid all perfume in ihram; see perfume in ihram. Women going out should follow the rules on women and perfume. For the Sunnah of scent, see is wearing perfume sunnah.
The evidence
Sahih Muslim 2252
Sahih... والمسك أطيب الطيب ...
"Musk is the best of perfumes."
The Prophet ﷺ praised musk, which shows it is pure and lawful.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5534
Sahih... كحامل المسك ونافخ الكير ...
"...like the one who carries musk and the one who blows the blacksmith's bellows."
He used musk as the example of something good to be near.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on impurities. Musk and its pod are pure, as a substance transformed from blood.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on impurities. The agreement that musk is pure.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.