The honorable Shaykh. . . I had allocated a sum of money for Hajj, and I have a debt, but this debt is open for repayment by the debtor.

The questioner : The honorable Shaykh, I had allocated a sum of money for Hajj, and I have a debt. But this debt is open for repayment by the debtor.

The Shaykh : But this debt.

The questioner : Is open for repayment.

The Shaykh : Meaning, does it have a guarantor?

The questioner : It is not due immediately.

The Shaykh : But does it have a guarantor?

The questioner : No, he says it is open for repayment.

The Shaykh : Ah, open for repayment, yes.

The questioner : By the debtor, and in this month, I spent the money on the assumption that I would replace it before the time of Hajj. But the amount has not become available to me now, knowing that I did not neglect my duty. Is what I did considered negligence?

The Shaykh : Yes. I say to the brother: Hajj is not obligatory upon you. Any person who has a debt, Hajj is not obligatory upon him, so let him be at ease, let his mind be at rest, and let him know that if he meets his Lord, he will not be punished, because paying off the debt is more important than Hajj. So a person should praise Allah for the dispensation and the leniency. For example, if a person has one thousand riyals with which he can perform Hajj, but he owes one thousand riyals. What do we say? Do we say: Perform Hajj with it and then pay it off? Or do we say: Pay it off with it and then perform Hajj? The second one: we say pay it off and then perform Hajj, because Hajj is not obligatory upon you now, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted: . And a person wants to clear his conscience regarding people, so accept the dispensation of Allah. And Allah the Exalted is more generous than the creditor. The creditor will hurt you and say, "Give it to me." And if he sees you closing your eyes. But the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, granted you a dispensation and permitted you not to perform Hajj, and did not make Hajj obligatory upon you. So why would you go perform Hajj and leave the debt that is upon you? If a person dies and the debt is upon him, who will pay it off? He has no money. And even if he had money, some of the heirs, may Allah protect us from that, are unjust. They do not care about the debt remaining in the deceased's estate. And it was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): . So the matter is serious. Therefore, we say to our brothers who have debts: Hajj is not obligatory upon you at all, because you are unable to do so. And Allah the Exalted only made Hajj obligatory upon whom? Upon the one who is able to find a way to it. Did you see the poor person, is zakah obligatory upon him? And if he met his Lord in this state, would he be punished? No. Likewise, a person who has a debt, Hajj is not obligatory upon him until he pays off the debt. Yes, if we suppose that a person has a debt, but the debt is deferred, becoming due, for example, after two months. And he is an employee and is confident that after the two months he will pay it off. And he has money in his hand now. Does he perform Hajj or not? He performs Hajj, because there is no harm in what is upon him. Okay, if someone says: I have a due debt, and the owner of the debt permitted me to perform Hajj. Is Hajj obligatory upon him? We say: It is not obligatory, because even if he permitted you, it will not reduce any of his debt. Okay, so if the debtor says: I want to accompany a group for free. Is Hajj obligatory upon him? Hajj is not obligatory upon him, because these groups will bestow a favor upon him in the future; the slightest thing they will say: "We performed Hajj with you, this is our reward," for example. This is one thing. The second thing: if we suppose that these groups are from his relatives, and it is not possible that they would bestow a favor upon him on any day of time, we say: We look at the situation. If this debtor is a business owner, and during the days of Hajj, he earns wages that benefit the creditors. But if he goes to perform Hajj, he does not earn wages. Do we say perform Hajj or do not perform Hajj? We say do not perform Hajj, because if you perform Hajj, you harm the creditor. For example, if we suppose that this man's daily wage is three hundred riyals, and he will perform Hajj within ten days. How much does he lose? Three thousand. Three thousand benefits the creditor. So we say: Do not perform Hajj. But if the man is unemployed. And even if he goes to perform Hajj, he is not idle, he does not harm the people of the debt. So at that time, we say perform Hajj if Allah enables you to find people who will carry you for free. And you do not fear their boasting in the future, so rely upon Allah. Yes.

The questioner : He says: If the debt is to my father or my mother, is there a difference between them?

The Shaykh : There is no difference, there is no difference between the debt to the father or the mother or a stranger, the conscience is occupied.
Yes.