الآس
An aromatic evergreen shrub referenced in secondary Prophetic-medicine texts for its cleansing scent and mild topical use.
مَنْ أُهْدِيَ إِلَيْهِ رَيْحَانٌ فَلَا يَرُدَّهُ
“Whoever is offered a fragrant plant [as a gift] should not refuse it.” (meaning, not a literal translation)
Worth reading precisely: the sahih grading applies to the general hadith about accepting a gift of fragrant plants, not to a specific claim about myrtle's medicinal properties — that more specific discussion comes from later commentators building on this general principle, a distinction this entry aims to keep clear.
Al-Dhahabi and later writers describe myrtle as cooling and mildly antiseptic, historically used in washes for minor skin irritation and as a hair rinse. They group it with sidr and henna as part of a broader set of plant-based washes used for hair and scalp care across the classical Prophetic-medicine literature.
Myrtle essential oil has been studied in modern research for mild antimicrobial properties, consistent with its traditional topical use, though it remains a less-studied botanical compared to more heavily researched entries on this site like ginger or black seed.