Topics on the Obligation of Hajj (Its Ruling and Conditions)
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The Shaykh : As for the topic of this meeting today, I said that we should speak about what concerns Hajj and discuss it in the following matters:
First: What is the status of Hajj in the Islamic religion? The answer is that its status is that it is one of the pillars of Islam, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2609Sahih (Darussalam) It is obligatory by the consensus of the Muslims, which is based on the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). Allah the Exalted said: [Ali 'Imran 3:97] And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: Riyad as-Salihin 1272 So, if one leaves it while it is obligatory upon him, if he is one who denies its obligation, he is a disbeliever because of his denial of its obligation, unless he is a recent convert to Islam who does not know the rulings of Islam; in that case, he is excused for his ignorance and is taught. If he persists after he has learned, he is a disbeliever. If he persists in denying it after he has learned, he is a disbeliever. As for if he leaves it out of negligence and laziness, the stronger opinion is that he does not become a disbeliever, because there is no disbelief for leaving acts of worship except for prayer alone. Abdullah ibn Shafiq (may Allah have mercy on him), who was from the Tabi'un, said: "The Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not consider any act of worship whose abandonment constitutes disbelief except for prayer" So, if one is negligent about Hajj until he dies, he does not become a disbeliever according to the stronger opinion. I said "according to the stronger opinion" because some scholars say that he becomes a disbeliever based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Ali 'Imran 3:97] meaning: whoever disbelieves and does not perform Hajj. This opinion is a narration from Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him), but the stronger opinion is what I mentioned to you, which is that he does not become a disbeliever.
Second discussion: When was Hajj made obligatory? We say: Hajj was made obligatory in the ninth year of the Hijrah. Before that, it was not made obligatory. The wisdom, and Allah knows best, is that before the ninth year, the House was under the authority of the polytheists, because Makkah was conquered in the eighth year of the Hijrah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) remained there after the conquest at the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Shawwal, then he fought Thaqif, and his fighting did not end until during Dhul-Qa'dah. Then Hajj was made obligatory in the ninth year. This is the stronger opinion among the opinions of the scholars, even though some of them say that it was made obligatory in the sixth year based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:196] But this opinion is weak, because the verse is a command to complete, not to begin, and the discussion is about the obligation as a beginning.
Third discussion: Is it obligatory for a person, when the conditions of obligation are met for him, to hasten to perform Hajj, or is he allowed to delay it? There is scholarly disagreement on this. Some say that he is allowed to delay it, but the correct view is that he is not allowed to delay it, and that he must hasten to perform it. This is because all obligatory acts require hastening unless there is evidence to the contrary. If it is said: How is it correct for us to say that it is immediate and that hastening is required, while we say that it was made obligatory in the ninth year and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not perform Hajj? We say the answer to that is: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not perform Hajj in the ninth year because the delegations of Muslims increased in that year. For this reason, this year is called the Year of Delegations. It is known that if the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) remained in Madinah receiving delegations and teaching them Islam, it was better than going to Makkah and performing Hajj. From another angle, in the ninth year, the polytheists performed Hajj with the Muslims before it was forbidden for them to approach the Sacred Mosque. They performed Hajj naked, so the caller of the Muslims announced and informed the people that no polytheist should perform Hajj after this year, and no one should circumambulate the House naked. So Allah chose for His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) that his Hajj be with the Muslims exclusively, with no polytheist in it and no one circumambulating the House naked.
Fourth discussion: Who is obligated to perform Hajj? Is Hajj obligatory for every person? No, rather Allah qualified it by His saying:[Ali 'Imran 3:97] So, there must be conditions. There are conditions for the obligation of Hajj:
First: Islam. Second: Reaching maturity. Third: Sanity. Fourth: Freedom. Fifth: Ability, which is capacity. These are five conditions. If these five conditions are not met for a person, then Hajj is not obligatory upon him.
As for the condition of Islam, its opposite is disbelief. Hajj is not obligatory upon a disbeliever, and if a disbeliever performs Hajj, it is not accepted from him, because Islam is a condition for the validity of acts of worship. Second: Reaching maturity. Hajj is not obligatory upon one who has not reached maturity. So, if a young man dies before reaching maturity, he is not performed Hajj on his behalf as an obligation, because Hajj was not obligatory upon him. But is it sufficient to perform Hajj before reaching maturity, meaning is his Hajj valid before he reaches maturity? The answer is: Yes, his Hajj is valid before he reaches maturity, based on the hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) So, the Hajj of a child is valid, but it does not suffice for him. When he reaches maturity, it is obligatory upon him to repeat Hajj. In fact, it is obligatory upon him to perform the obligatory act. If someone asks: Do you advise people in these times to put their children into the state of ihram for Hajj or 'Umrah, or do you advise against it? The answer is: We advise against it, and that they should not burden their children with Hajj, because of the severe crowding that nearly kills the large adult, and because it occupies his family. If a person goes, for example, to circumambulate during the season in this crowding, he does not know whether to focus on guarding his child or on his circumambulation, which leads to neglecting the circumambulation. But if the child remained in the tent or in the lodging, the father would perform his circumambulation with tranquility, and the son would not be burdened. Since the matter is not obligatory, let us take the dispensation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). This is what we advise in these times due to the severe hardship on the child and on the child's guardian.
Third condition: Sanity. One who is not sane does not have a valid Hajj. If a person is affected in his sanity by an incident that befalls him, or by madness—we ask Allah for safety—or by old age that reaches the point of senility, then his Hajj is not valid, because he is not sane.
Fourth condition: Freedom. Freedom means that a person is not a slave, i.e., an owned person, because an owned person cannot perform Hajj, as he is owned by his master. But if a slave performs Hajj, is it valid? The answer is: Yes, his Hajj is valid and reward is recorded for him. But when he is freed, it is obligatory upon him to perform the obligatory act, because his Hajj before he was freed does not suffice for the obligation. Some scholars said: If he performs Hajj with the permission of his master, it suffices for him for the obligation, because the non-obligation of Hajj for a slave is not for a meaning in itself, but for the right of his master. So, if his master permits it, there is no harm. The parallel to this is the poor person: Hajj is not obligatory upon him, but if he performs Hajj, it suffices for him for the obligation. And this opinion is the stronger one, i.e., that if a slave performs Hajj with the permission of his master, it suffices for him for the obligation, as long as he is mature and sane.
Fifth condition: Ability with wealth and body. One who does not have wealth does not have to perform Hajj, just as the poor person who has no wealth does not have to pay zakah. The poor person who cannot perform Hajj does not have to perform Hajj. If he dies, he will meet Allah (Mighty and Majestic) without sin, because he cannot. As for the one who is unable by body, who cannot with his body, it is looked at: if his inability is temporary and its removal is expected, we say: wait until Allah heals you and you perform Hajj yourself. If his inability is permanent, like a patient with a disease whose cure is not expected, or an old person who cannot, then it is obligatory upon him to appoint someone to perform Hajj and 'Umrah on his behalf. Part of ability is that a woman has a mahram. If she does not have a mahram, Hajj is not obligatory upon her. If she dies and she has a lot of wealth and did not perform Hajj because of the absence of a mahram, she will meet Allah the Exalted without sin, because this woman is not able from the legal aspect. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) forbade a woman to travel without a mahram. He announced this in a sermon in Madinah. So he ordered him to leave the expedition and go and perform Hajj with his wife. This is evidence that a woman cannot perform Hajj without a mahram. What we see today of people's negligence in this is among the matters for which we ask Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) not to afflict us with a calamity because of it. For if the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade a woman to travel without a mahram, and this man asked him that he had signed up for the expedition, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to leave the expedition and go and perform Hajj with his wife. This is evidence of the confirmation of the mahram, especially in our times where desires have dominated souls, except for those whom Allah protects.
The conditions, then, are the five conditions for the obligation of Hajj: the first is Islam, the second is reaching puberty, the third is sanity, the fourth is freedom, and the fifth is the ability to perform it. Once these conditions are met, it is obligatory for the person to go for Hajj immediately without delay, because he does not know what may happen to him; he may become unable after being able, he may become poor after being rich, or he may die after Hajj has become obligatory upon him, and then his heirs may neglect to perform it on his behalf. Therefore, it is obligatory for the person, once the conditions for obligation are met in his case, to hasten. We leave the rest, if Allah wills, for the next meeting so that we can devote time to the questions. We will begin with oaths.
First: What is the status of Hajj in the Islamic religion? The answer is that its status is that it is one of the pillars of Islam, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):
Islam is based upon five: the testimony of La Ilaha Illallah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, the establishment of the Salat, giving the Zakat, fasting (the month of) Ramadan, and performing Hajj to the House.
بني الإسلام على خمس شهادة أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمدًا رسول الله وإقام الصلاة وإيتاء الزكاة وصوم رمضان وحج البيت الحرامAnd [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House - for whoever is able to find thereto a way. But whoever disbelieves - then indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds.
ولله على الناس حج البيت من استطاع إليه سبيلًا ومن كفر فإن الله غني عن العالمينHajj (pilgrimage to the House of Allah) has been made incumbent upon you, so perform Hajj
إن الله قد فرض عليكم الحج فحجواAnd [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House - for whoever is able to find thereto a way. But whoever disbelieves - then indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds.
ولله على الناس حج البيت من استطاع إليه سبيلًا ومن كفر فإن الله غني عن العالمينSecond discussion: When was Hajj made obligatory? We say: Hajj was made obligatory in the ninth year of the Hijrah. Before that, it was not made obligatory. The wisdom, and Allah knows best, is that before the ninth year, the House was under the authority of the polytheists, because Makkah was conquered in the eighth year of the Hijrah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) remained there after the conquest at the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Shawwal, then he fought Thaqif, and his fighting did not end until during Dhul-Qa'dah. Then Hajj was made obligatory in the ninth year. This is the stronger opinion among the opinions of the scholars, even though some of them say that it was made obligatory in the sixth year based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And complete the Hajj and 'umrah for Allah
وأتموا الحج والعمرة للهThird discussion: Is it obligatory for a person, when the conditions of obligation are met for him, to hasten to perform Hajj, or is he allowed to delay it? There is scholarly disagreement on this. Some say that he is allowed to delay it, but the correct view is that he is not allowed to delay it, and that he must hasten to perform it. This is because all obligatory acts require hastening unless there is evidence to the contrary. If it is said: How is it correct for us to say that it is immediate and that hastening is required, while we say that it was made obligatory in the ninth year and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not perform Hajj? We say the answer to that is: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not perform Hajj in the ninth year because the delegations of Muslims increased in that year. For this reason, this year is called the Year of Delegations. It is known that if the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) remained in Madinah receiving delegations and teaching them Islam, it was better than going to Makkah and performing Hajj. From another angle, in the ninth year, the polytheists performed Hajj with the Muslims before it was forbidden for them to approach the Sacred Mosque. They performed Hajj naked, so the caller of the Muslims announced and informed the people that no polytheist should perform Hajj after this year, and no one should circumambulate the House naked. So Allah chose for His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) that his Hajj be with the Muslims exclusively, with no polytheist in it and no one circumambulating the House naked.
Fourth discussion: Who is obligated to perform Hajj? Is Hajj obligatory for every person? No, rather Allah qualified it by His saying:
for whoever is able to find thereto a way
من استطاع إليه سبيلًاFirst: Islam. Second: Reaching maturity. Third: Sanity. Fourth: Freedom. Fifth: Ability, which is capacity. These are five conditions. If these five conditions are not met for a person, then Hajj is not obligatory upon him.
As for the condition of Islam, its opposite is disbelief. Hajj is not obligatory upon a disbeliever, and if a disbeliever performs Hajj, it is not accepted from him, because Islam is a condition for the validity of acts of worship. Second: Reaching maturity. Hajj is not obligatory upon one who has not reached maturity. So, if a young man dies before reaching maturity, he is not performed Hajj on his behalf as an obligation, because Hajj was not obligatory upon him. But is it sufficient to perform Hajj before reaching maturity, meaning is his Hajj valid before he reaches maturity? The answer is: Yes, his Hajj is valid before he reaches maturity, based on the hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father)
A woman brought a young boy to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: Does this boy have a Hajj? He said: Yes, and you will have its reward.
أن امرأة رفعت إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم صبيًّا فقالت: ألهذا حج؟ قال: نعم ولك أجرهThird condition: Sanity. One who is not sane does not have a valid Hajj. If a person is affected in his sanity by an incident that befalls him, or by madness—we ask Allah for safety—or by old age that reaches the point of senility, then his Hajj is not valid, because he is not sane.
Fourth condition: Freedom. Freedom means that a person is not a slave, i.e., an owned person, because an owned person cannot perform Hajj, as he is owned by his master. But if a slave performs Hajj, is it valid? The answer is: Yes, his Hajj is valid and reward is recorded for him. But when he is freed, it is obligatory upon him to perform the obligatory act, because his Hajj before he was freed does not suffice for the obligation. Some scholars said: If he performs Hajj with the permission of his master, it suffices for him for the obligation, because the non-obligation of Hajj for a slave is not for a meaning in itself, but for the right of his master. So, if his master permits it, there is no harm. The parallel to this is the poor person: Hajj is not obligatory upon him, but if he performs Hajj, it suffices for him for the obligation. And this opinion is the stronger one, i.e., that if a slave performs Hajj with the permission of his master, it suffices for him for the obligation, as long as he is mature and sane.
Fifth condition: Ability with wealth and body. One who does not have wealth does not have to perform Hajj, just as the poor person who has no wealth does not have to pay zakah. The poor person who cannot perform Hajj does not have to perform Hajj. If he dies, he will meet Allah (Mighty and Majestic) without sin, because he cannot. As for the one who is unable by body, who cannot with his body, it is looked at: if his inability is temporary and its removal is expected, we say: wait until Allah heals you and you perform Hajj yourself. If his inability is permanent, like a patient with a disease whose cure is not expected, or an old person who cannot, then it is obligatory upon him to appoint someone to perform Hajj and 'Umrah on his behalf. Part of ability is that a woman has a mahram. If she does not have a mahram, Hajj is not obligatory upon her. If she dies and she has a lot of wealth and did not perform Hajj because of the absence of a mahram, she will meet Allah the Exalted without sin, because this woman is not able from the legal aspect. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) forbade a woman to travel without a mahram. He announced this in a sermon in Madinah.
A man stood up and said: O Messenger of Allah, my wife has gone out for Hajj, and I have signed up for the expedition of such-and-such. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: Go and perform Hajj with your wife.
فقام رجل فقال: يا رسول الله إن امرأتي خرجت حاجة وإني اكتتبت في غزوة كذا وكذا، قال له النبي صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم: انطلق فحج مع امرأتكThe conditions, then, are the five conditions for the obligation of Hajj: the first is Islam, the second is reaching puberty, the third is sanity, the fourth is freedom, and the fifth is the ability to perform it. Once these conditions are met, it is obligatory for the person to go for Hajj immediately without delay, because he does not know what may happen to him; he may become unable after being able, he may become poor after being rich, or he may die after Hajj has become obligatory upon him, and then his heirs may neglect to perform it on his behalf. Therefore, it is obligatory for the person, once the conditions for obligation are met in his case, to hasten. We leave the rest, if Allah wills, for the next meeting so that we can devote time to the questions. We will begin with oaths.