The Ruling on Buying 'Umrah and Hajj Visas from Agencies
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, in his second question he says: In our country, during the 'Umrah seasons, especially in Ramadan and Hajj, private travel agencies sell visas for about one hundred dinars for 'Umrah, and sometimes up to four hundred dinars, even though the Saudi embassy provides them for free. Some foreign workers at the embassy do the same thing. The question is: What is the ruling on buying these visas from them? And what is the ruling on paying them these amounts? Especially since we have no choice but to adhere to these visas and their schedules.
Answer:
If the visas are provided for free by the government, it is not permissible to sell them. Whoever sells them and takes the price, it is forbidden (haram) for him, because the state provided them for the eligible pilgrims for Hajj and 'Umrah who meet the regulations, so they are given to them for free as the state has determined. The one who sells them is considered an oppressor and one who consumes wealth unjustly. So do not help them in this matter by giving them money, which encourages them to sell and creates a market for it. Rather, it is obligatory for you to report them to the authorities, because they are selling visas to people and not following the regulations the government established for issuing visas. Report them to the authorities who issued these visas.
As for if you buy them, you have encouraged them in this action, encouraged them in selling and manipulation, and it becomes so that only the one who can buy can perform Hajj, and this is injustice.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you
Honorable Shaykh, in his second question he says: In our country, during the 'Umrah seasons, especially in Ramadan and Hajj, private travel agencies sell visas for about one hundred dinars for 'Umrah, and sometimes up to four hundred dinars, even though the Saudi embassy provides them for free. Some foreign workers at the embassy do the same thing. The question is: What is the ruling on buying these visas from them? And what is the ruling on paying them these amounts? Especially since we have no choice but to adhere to these visas and their schedules.
Answer:
If the visas are provided for free by the government, it is not permissible to sell them. Whoever sells them and takes the price, it is forbidden (haram) for him, because the state provided them for the eligible pilgrims for Hajj and 'Umrah who meet the regulations, so they are given to them for free as the state has determined. The one who sells them is considered an oppressor and one who consumes wealth unjustly. So do not help them in this matter by giving them money, which encourages them to sell and creates a market for it. Rather, it is obligatory for you to report them to the authorities, because they are selling visas to people and not following the regulations the government established for issuing visas. Report them to the authorities who issued these visas.
As for if you buy them, you have encouraged them in this action, encouraged them in selling and manipulation, and it becomes so that only the one who can buy can perform Hajj, and this is injustice.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you
Source
75-اللقاء الأسبوعي مع الشيخ صالح الفوزان - 25 — archive.org (51:30)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.