The First Topic: When Hajj Became Obligatory.

The Shaykh : First: When was Hajj made obligatory? The answer to this question is that the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed on whether Hajj was made obligatory in the sixth year of the Hijrah or in the ninth year of the Hijrah. The correct view is that it was in the ninth year of the Hijrah. As for the saying of Allah the Exalted: which was revealed at al-Hudaybiyyah, this is a command to complete the pilgrimage, not a command to initiate it. The command to initiate it came in the saying of Allah the Exalted: and this verse was revealed in the ninth year of the Hijrah. Also, wisdom necessitates this, because before its conquest, Makkah was a land of disbelief. It is not far-fetched that Quraysh prevented the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his companions from completing the 'Umrah, since they had prevented the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family and his companions) from completing the 'Umrah when he came as a pilgrim in the sixth year of the Hijrah. Therefore, it was not wise for Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) to make Hajj obligatory upon His servants while Quraysh were lying in wait for them. However, when Makkah was conquered and became a land of Islam in the eighth year, the wisdom of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) necessitated that He make Hajj obligatory. So it was made obligatory in the ninth year of the Hijrah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not perform Hajj in the ninth year for two reasons. The first reason is that this year was the year of the delegations, meaning that the Arabs were coming to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) in Madinah to receive the laws of Islam from him. His absence from them, while the delegations were increasing, might result in the loss of a great benefit. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) postponed Hajj to the tenth year. The second reason is that in the ninth year, the pilgrims were a mixture of Muslims and polytheists. The pilgrims were a mixture of Muslims and polytheists. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that permission be given in that year that no polytheist should perform Hajj after that year, so that the Hajj of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would be pure with a group of Muslims, with no polytheists among them. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not perform Hajj except in the tenth year of the Hijrah.