The Second Section: Who is obligated to perform Hajj.

The Shaykh : The Second Issue: Who is obligated to perform Hajj? The one who is obligated to perform Hajj is the Muslim who has reached puberty, is of sound mind, and is able to afford it, based on the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He: Ability consists of two types: ability through one's body and ability through wealth. Ability through wealth is a condition for the obligation, while ability through the body is a condition for the performance. Pay attention to the difference: ability through wealth is a condition for the obligation, and ability through the body is a condition for the performance. This means that if a person is poor and has no money, Hajj is not obligatory upon him. If he needs a mount because he cannot travel, even if his body is strong, and if he has money but cannot perform Hajj because he is weak, either being old or suffering from an illness from which recovery is not expected, then he must appoint someone to perform Hajj on his behalf. So, ability through the body is a condition for what? Answer, everyone: for the performance. And ability through wealth is a condition for the obligation. Now, part of ability through wealth is that the person has no debt. If he has a debt, Hajj is not obligatory upon him, and he does not sin by leaving it. Even if he dies without having performed Hajj, he will not be punished, because he is not able to do so, since paying off the debt is more important than Hajj. Allah’s exemption of the debtor from Hajj is a mercy from Him toward him. A person should accept Allah’s dispensation, pay off his debt first, and then perform Hajj second. If he were to perform Hajj with that money, he would miss out on paying off his debt by the amount he spent on his Hajj. Let me give you an example: a man has a debt of five thousand riyals. If he performs Hajj, he will spend at least one thousand riyals. How much will be missed from paying off the debt? One thousand riyals will be missed from paying off the debt. We say: spend one thousand riyals on paying off your debt. If you spend it on paying off your debt, only four thousand riyals will remain of your debt. Accept Allah’s dispensation and do not burden yourself. If someone asks: Does this include the debt owed to the Real Estate Development Fund? The answer is: if the person is able to pay each installment when it comes due, and he currently has money in his hand—money that enables him to perform Hajj—and he knows that when the installment comes due, he will be able to pay it, then we say that this man is able, so let him perform Hajj. But if he were to spend what he has on Hajj, the installment would come due and he would have nothing in his hand, then we say: do not perform Hajj. Save the money you have for the installment. Do not think that you are sinning by doing so, because some people say, "How can I die without having performed Hajj?" We say: Praise be to Allah. Have you considered: if you were poor and did not pay zakah, would you regret dying without having paid zakah? You would not regret it. So, if a person dies poor, owning no money and having not paid zakah, he dies upon a complete religion with no deficiency in it—meaning no deficiency that would make him sinful. Similarly, if a person has a debt and does not perform Hajj, then dies, he dies upon a complete religion with no deficiency that would make him sinful. This is from the bounty of Allah.