A Word on Hajj: Its Rank, Conditions, and Manner

The Shaykh : However, given the proximity of the Hajj season, given the proximity of the Hajj season, we are speaking about Hajj, because everything is more important and more beneficial in its proper time—arrange the rows—more important and more beneficial. Speaking about Hajj, the first matter: What is the rank of Hajj in the religion of Allah, Mighty and Majestic? The answer to this is that we say: Its rank is that it is one of the five pillars of faith, one of the five pillars of Islam, by the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): And it is obligatory by the consensus of the Muslims, and its obligation is known from the religion by necessity, meaning that every person knows that Hajj is obligatory upon him if he has lived among the Muslims. For this reason, the scholars said: Whoever denies its obligation is a disbeliever if he has lived among the Muslims, because this is something known by necessity; every person knows it, even a child in the market knows that Hajj is obligatory.
Then, upon whom is Hajj obligatory? It is obligatory upon one who possesses five attributes: Islam, intellect, maturity, freedom, and ability. Five: Islam, intellect, maturity, freedom, and ability.
As for Islam, Hajj is not obligatory upon a disbeliever, and it is not valid from him, because we say to him: First, embrace Islam, then perform Hajj second, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Leave the beard, O man, do not let it be lost to you by touching it." When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Mu'adh to Yemen, he said: Based on this, if a man who does not pray performs Hajj while he is not praying, his Hajj is not valid, not accepted from him, and not sufficient for him. If he prays, he enters into Islam, and at that time we say: It is obligatory upon you to perform Hajj. If he says: "I have already performed Hajj," we say: Yes, but you performed it in a state where Hajj is not valid from you, because you performed it while you were an apostate. Also, it is not permissible for you to enter the boundaries of the Haram of Makkah, because it is not permissible for a disbeliever to enter the boundaries of the Haram of Makkah, and he is sinful from the moment he enters until he exits, sinful with a sin greater than the sin of disbelief. This is a matter that few pay attention to. It is obligatory to be aware of this matter and to say to one who knows that he does not pray: "O so-and-so, do not tire yourself, for your Hajj is not accepted and not sufficient. Even if Allah guides you to Islam and you return and pray, it becomes obligatory upon you to perform Hajj, because the first Hajj did not suffice, so the obligation is not dropped by it."
The second is intellect, and its opposite is insanity. So, Hajj is not obligatory upon a madman, and he does not perform Hajj on his behalf, even if he has a great deal of wealth, such as if his father left him an inheritance, but he is mad, so there is no Hajj upon him, and Hajj is not valid from him, and he does not perform Hajj on his behalf because he is mad.
The third is maturity, and its opposite is youth. So, Hajj is not obligatory upon a child, but if he performs Hajj, his Hajj is valid, by the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both): But it does not suffice for him, meaning that when he reaches maturity, he must perform the Hajj of Islam.
The fourth is what? Freedom, meaning that the person must not be a slave. So, there is no Hajj upon a slave, but if he performs Hajj, his Hajj is valid. Does it suffice for the obligation or not? There is disagreement among the scholars: some said it suffices for him, and some said it does not suffice for him.
The fifth is ability, by the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He: That the person has wealth in excess of his needs and his debts, and is able in his body. Here, Hajj is obligatory upon him, and he must hasten to perform Hajj and not delay, because the commands of Allah, the Exalted, are immediate unless there is evidence indicating delay, and because a person does not know what may befall him; he may be able this year and unable next year, or he may die. So, he must hasten and not delay. Part of ability is that a woman has a mahram. If she does not find a mahram, there is no Hajj upon her, and if she performs Hajj, she is sinful. If she dies while she is wealthy and able, but she does not have a mahram, is she held accountable for that or not? The answer is: She is not held accountable, because she is not able to reach the House. Who prevented her? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prevented her. He said: What do you think—may Allah not will it, but only good—if an enemy on the road to Makkah prevents people, is it obligatory for a person to perform Hajj? The answer is: No, it is not obligatory upon him. If the preventing enemy is a physical reality, the obligation of Hajj is dropped, so the preventing factor in the Shari'ah drops the obligation of Hajj. So, let the woman who does not find a mahram be at ease and be reassured, and let her know that Allah will not hold her accountable for leaving Hajj because she is not able in the Shari'ah.
Then we move on to: When was Hajj made obligatory upon the Muslims? When was it made obligatory? Was it at the beginning of the mission, before the migration, or after the migration, or what? We say: Tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and the message, and testifying to them, were made obligatory upon people from the beginning of the mission, from the beginning of the mission, from the beginning of the mission: testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. When was prayer made obligatory? It was made obligatory on the Night of the Ascension, before the migration, either by a year or approximately so. Zakah (the obligatory alms) was made obligatory upon the Muslims in the second year of the migration, and fasting likewise in the second year of the migration.
Hajj was made obligatory in the ninth year of the migration. Look, my son, the pillars of Islam, the pillars of Islam, how was their order in the obligation? What was the first to be made obligatory? Yes, yes. The order of the pillars of Islam, when was their obligation? The brother.

The questioner : Tawhid...

The Shaykh : Tawhid from the beginning of the mission, and testifying that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

The questioner : And prayer before the migration...

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : And fasting in the second year

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : And Hajj in the ninth year.

The Shaykh : Correct, yes. If someone were to ask
The student: Peace be upon you.

The Shaykh : And upon you...
If someone were to ask: Why was the obligation of Hajj delayed until the ninth year? The answer is: Makkah, may Allah honor it, was under the control of the polytheists until the conquest, and the Muslims were not able to perform Hajj because the polytheists prevented them from 'Umrah (the lesser pilgrimage), let alone Hajj. If someone were to ask: Why did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) not perform Hajj in the ninth year? The answer is: He remained in Madinah because of the large number of Muslims arriving in Madinah to teach them their religion. This is from one aspect. From another aspect, in the ninth year, my brothers, the polytheists performed Hajj with the Muslims. And in this year, the caller announced: "Let no polytheist perform Hajj after this year." So, the tenth year became free of polytheists, and it was in that year that the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) Hajj was completed, and no one performed Hajj with him except the Muslims, and no one circumambulated the House naked. The Arabs in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, some of them, would circumambulate the House naked because they said: It is not possible for a person to circumambulate except in clothes from the five sacred months. If he did not find a garment, he would circumambulate naked. And the woman would circumambulate and place her hand on her private part and say:
“Today some of it or all of it is exposed *** And what is exposed of it, I do not expose it”
Ignorance. Then we say: How is Hajj performed? The answer is: You perform Hajj as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed it, because that is a condition for the acceptance of worship. In fact, the conditions for the acceptance of worship are two: The first is sincerity to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and the second is following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the people in the Farewell Pilgrimage: So, sincerity to Allah and following the Messenger of Allah are necessary. Therefore, if a person performs Hajj for wealth, for wealth only, his Hajj is rejected, by the saying of Allah, the Exalted: And among that is what some people take now in the form of agency in Hajj. If you asked him: Why did you take this agency? He said: "For the money." He has no share in the Hereafter. Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Whoever takes [money] to perform Hajj, there is no harm, because he takes the money to help himself in obedience. And whoever performs Hajj to take [money], he has no share in the Hereafter." So, be aware of this. Do not let greed lead you to take agency for five thousand or more or less for the sake of money, for it will nullify your work, and neither you nor your client will benefit. Sincerity to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is necessary, that you intend with your Hajj to draw near to your Lord, Blessed and Exalted is He, and to hope for His reward, because the accepted Hajj has no reward except Paradise.
The second is following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). So, we say: Perform Hajj as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed it, and as he commanded. Before you are three types of rituals, three types of rituals: Tamattu' (combining 'Umrah and Hajj with a break between them), Qiran (combining 'Umrah and Hajj in one ihram), and Ifrad (performing Hajj alone). Three, some differing from others. As for Tamattu', it is that you enter the state of ihram for 'Umrah in the months of Hajj, meaning after the entry of the month of Shawwal, and you exit from it with a complete exit, then you enter the state of ihram for Hajj. In it, there is a sacrificial animal for the one who is able, and whoever does not find one fasts three days in Hajj and seven when he returns to his family.
The second: Qiran. You enter the state of ihram for both Hajj and 'Umrah from the miqat, and you remain in your state of ihram until you exit it on the Day of 'Eid. In this case, there is a sacrificial animal (hady) for the one who finds it, and for the one who does not find it, he fasts three days during Hajj and seven days when he returns. What is it?
The student: Ifrad.
The third: Ifrad. This is when you enter the state of ihram for Hajj alone, without 'Umrah, and you remain in your state of ihram until the Day of 'Eid. However, there is no sacrificial animal (hady) in this case; there is no sacrificial animal in this case. Why? Because the original basis for the sacrificial animal in Tamattu' and Qiran is to thank Allah, Mighty and Majestic, for what He has bestowed upon the servant by enabling him to perform the two pilgrimages in one journey. For this reason, it is permissible for a person to eat from the sacrificial animal of Tamattu', to give it as a gift, or to give it in charity. It is not like the blood that is obligatory due to committing a prohibited act or leaving an obligatory act, because a person does not eat from that blood; rather, he feeds the poor with it. The best of these types of pilgrimage is Tamattu'. If one performs Ifrad or Qiran, there is no blame on him, but the best is to perform Tamattu', because this is what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) commanded his Companions to do in the Farewell Pilgrimage. If Allah wills, the description of Tamattu', Qiran, and Ifrad in detail will come in a future session. Also, if Allah wills, we will speak about the prohibitions of the state of ihram, because the time for questions has now arrived. We will start with the right, and each person has one question.

The questioner : Peace be upon you, O Shaykh.