Discussion of the conditions for the obligation of Hajj.

The Shaykh : Then know, my Muslim brother, that among the wisdom of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is that when the season of fasting ends, the season of Hajj begins. There is no interval between them, because from the moment the sun sets on the last day of Ramadan, what ends? Fasting ends, a pillar of Islam. And in that very moment, the time for Hajj begins. Its first is Shawwal and its last is Dhu al-Hijjah. This is part of the wisdom of Allah and the mercy of Allah, so that a person is always engaged in the obedience of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). For this reason, people in the early times would prepare their journeys from now, meaning from Shawwal. Therefore, we find that authors who wrote about the duties of the year discuss Hajj and the conditions of Hajj from, from Shawwal, because at that time people would perform Hajj on camels or on foot. What? Meaning on their feet and they would come on every lean camel . So now, as we are preparing for Hajj, we must know something about the conditions for its obligation. Among the conditions for the obligation of Hajj, and this is one of the most important, is that a person must be able, meaning he has financial capacity and physical capacity. If he is unable, Hajj is not obligatory upon him. The evidence for this is the saying of the Exalted: . If we assume that a person has a job worth five thousand riyals, but it does not exceed his needs and the needs of his dependents, is Hajj obligatory upon him? No. Hajj is not obligatory upon him, even if his salary is high. As long as this salary does not suffice for him and his family, meaning it does not exceed his needs and his family's needs, then Hajj is not upon him. Similarly, if we assume that a person has ten thousand riyals, but he has a debt of ten thousand riyals. Is Hajj obligatory upon him? No. It is not obligatory. He pays the debt first, and then if something remains, he performs Hajj with it; otherwise, nothing is upon him. Meaning, such a man meets Allah (Mighty and Majestic) without his Islam being deficient, meaning his Islam is complete with no deficiency. Why? Because he was unable, like the poor person who has no money. Is Zakah obligatory upon him? No. And if he does not pay Zakah, do we say his faith is deficient? Or his Islam is deficient? No. For this reason, we reassure our brothers who are unable to perform Hajj, reassuring them that there is no deficiency in that for them, because their Lord (Mighty and Majestic), who holds all matters in His hand and is the Judge between His servants, did not make Hajj obligatory upon people except when they have the means to it. So they should not be anxious. Some people are found to be anxious. Perhaps they go to borrow a loan or otherwise to perform Hajj. We say this is a mistake. It should never be done. As long as Allah has made things easy for you, make things easy for yourself. If you perform Hajj, you borrow from a person and perform Hajj, your financial responsibility remains occupied. With what? With the loan you borrowed, which is the right of a human being. But if you do not borrow and do not perform Hajj, does your financial responsibility remain occupied? No, because Hajj was not obligatory upon you at that time. Similarly, regarding women, if a woman does not have a mahram, she says, for example, to her brother: "Take me for Hajj and I will give you the maintenance." He says: "No." And she says to all her mahrams and they refuse. Then she should not be anxious or frustrated, because Hajj is not upon her. Why? Due to the lack of ability. If a person says: "She is able, her body is strong and she has much money." We say: Yes, this is physical ability. But she is not able according to the Shari'ah. Because she is prohibited by the Shari'ah from performing Hajj without, without a mahram. If Allah wills that she dies before she performs Hajj and she did not find a mahram, will she meet her Lord with her Islam deficient? No, because she is unable. If she disobeyed Allah and went without a mahram, she would be a sinner. But if she remained in her country and was unable to find a mahram, she would not be a sinner and she would meet her Lord with no deficiency in her religion. However, in this case, if her heirs wanted to perform Hajj on her behalf from the money she left behind. Would they be rewarded for that or not? The answer: Yes, they are rewarded for that. Meaning, if her heirs inherited a lot of money from her, and she did not perform Hajj because she had no mahram, and one of them wanted to volunteer to perform Hajj for her from her money, and the righteous heirs agreed on that, there is no harm and it is from the good. Then it is recommended for whoever wants to perform Hajj to choose a good, knowledgeable group. Mere goodness is not sufficient. But knowledge is necessary, because the issues of Hajj are among the most problematic. Meaning, even the great scholars are sometimes perplexed by them. For this reason, if you want to travel for Hajj, be with a group of people of goodness and people of knowledge. People of goodness help you in worship and doing good. People of knowledge guide you and direct you to follow the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). And strive to have with you money that exceeds your needs, because perhaps matters will arise during the journey that require money. For example, if you estimate that five thousand will suffice you and Allah has made you wealthy, take how much? Take ten thousand. There is no obstacle. Perhaps you or your companion will need it. If, for example, something happens to the mount and you have no money, you are delayed. But if you have money, you can pay what is needed and proceed on your way. And we stop here because the time for questions has come. And we ask Allah the Exalted to grant us and you beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds. Indeed, He is capable of all things.
The student: May Allah reward our Shaykh and our father with the best reward for these words and benefit us with his knowledge. And now we present these questions.