The ruling on taking leave from work to perform 'Umrah

Question : The questioner says: After saying "Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings," he asks: What is your opinion if I absent myself from work and perform 'Umrah in Ramadan? I asked my supervisor for leave to perform 'Umrah, but he refused. I was absent from work and performed 'Umrah. What is your opinion on this? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer : Our view is that it is forbidden (haram) for him to perform 'Umrah without his supervisor's consent, because 'Umrah is a recommended practice (sunnah), while performing the duty of work is obligatory (wajib). This man abandoned an obligation and performed a recommended act, so he fell into disobedience to Allah. He may even be sinful in this 'Umrah, gaining no benefit from it.
On this occasion, I say that worship of Allah is not based on taste or desire, but on the Shari'ah and guidance. Not everyone who thinks something is good worships Allah with it; rather, one must look to see if he is correct in that or not. Everyone knows that performing an obligation is better than performing a recommended act, and no one disputes this. If I did not fear sin, I would say that this 'Umrah is invalid (batil) because it was performed during time that was usurped, for the employee's time is owned by his job. How can he cut out this portion of time for a matter that is not obligatory upon him?
So I warn my brothers, whether in the National Guard or elsewhere, not to abandon the duty of their job to perform 'Umrah. I say that in most jobs, a person can easily perform 'Umrah during his leave; on Thursday and Friday, he can go by plane and return.
However, I say that whoever does this and has a debt has made a mistake, because he spent money on a recommended matter and neglected spending it on an obligatory matter, which is paying off the debt. If the obligatory Hajj is waived for a debtor until he pays his debt, what about voluntary acts? Let him know that the matter of debt is not light, contrary to what some ignorant people imagine.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when a funeral was brought to him and they said, "He has a debt that he cannot pay," he would leave off praying over him. He would leave off praying over him. Until one day a funeral of a man from the Ansar was brought to him. He stepped forward a few steps to pray, then asked, "Does he have any debt?" They said, "Yes, he has two dinars." He turned back and said, "Pray over your companion," and he did not pray over him. Then Abu Qatadah stood up and said, "O Messenger of Allah, the two dinars are on me." He said, "The right of the creditor is valid, and the deceased is free of them." [This was said] with emphasis: "The right of the creditor is valid, and the deceased is free of them?" He said, "Yes." So he stepped forward and prayed over him as well.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed that martyrdom in the cause of Allah, if a person is killed in the cause of Allah, that Allah will forgive all his sins. When the questioner left, he called him back and said to him, "Except for debt. Jibril informed me of this just now: martyrdom forgives everything, all sins, but it does not forgive debt." This indicates the greatness of debt, which some people today have taken lightly. Imagine, people, a person who can buy a car for thirty thousand to meet his needs and his family's needs, but he goes and buys one for one hundred and twenty thousand. Is this not foolishness? And he is not able to afford it. He is not able to afford it. If he were rich, we would say the matter is easy, but he is not able to afford it. He will buy this car on debt. This is foolishness and a mistake. And who knows, perhaps the debt will come due, and the merchant will demand the value and detain him for it. So beware of debt. It was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that when a person dies, his soul is suspended by his debt until it is paid off for him.