A sermon on Hajj and its obligation.
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The Shaykh : How can one be lazy about the obligatory Hajj, when 'Umrah is only obligatory once? How can one delay its performance when it is obligatory upon him, while he does not know that he may not be able to reach it in the future? O Muslims, fear Allah, O servants of Allah, and perform what Allah has made obligatory upon you of Hajj, as an act of worship to Allah the Exalted, and with satisfaction with His ruling, and with hearing and obedience to His command. This is how it should be if you are believers. [Al-Ahzab 33:36]
O Muslims, if a believer performs Hajj and 'Umrah once after reaching maturity, he has discharged the obligation from himself and completed the pillars of his Islam by doing so. After that, neither Hajj nor 'Umrah is obligatory upon him, unless he makes a vow to perform Hajj or 'Umrah, in which case he is bound to fulfill what he vowed, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih al-Bukhari 6696
O Muslims: Among the perfection of Allah's mercy and His profound wisdom is that He established limits and conditions for the obligations, so that the obligations are regulated and responsibility is defined. He made these limits and conditions extremely appropriate to the actor, the time, and the place. Among these obligations is Hajj, which has limits and conditions that do not make it obligatory upon a Muslim except through them.
Among the conditions for the obligation of Hajj is reaching maturity. For males, this is achieved by one of three things: the emission of semen with desire, wet dreams, or the growth of pubic hair. For females, maturity is achieved by these three things plus a fourth matter, which is menstruation. So whenever a female menstruates, even if she is ten years old, she is considered mature. As for one who has not reached maturity, Hajj is not obligatory upon him, even if he is wealthy. However, if he performs Hajj, his Hajj is valid as a voluntary act, and he receives its reward. When he reaches maturity, he must perform the obligatory Hajj, because his Hajj before maturity does not discharge the obligation, since it was not obligatory upon him at that time. This is like a man who gives charity with the intention of zakah before he possesses the minimum threshold. Accordingly, if a man performs Hajj with his young sons or daughters, and they perform Hajj with him, he receives reward and they receive the reward of Hajj. If they do not perform Hajj, there is no blame upon him or upon them.
At that point, a person should consider what is easier: whether to have the boys and girls enter the state of ihram or not. If he fears hardship for himself or for them, as is the case in this era, then he should not make them perform Hajj, because that would be a hardship for them and for him, and because it may lead to illness or death.
Among the conditions for the obligation of Hajj is that a person must be able to afford it with his wealth and his body, because Allah Mighty and Majestic made that a condition in His saying:[Ali 'Imran 3:97] So if a person is not able to afford it, Hajj is not obligatory upon him. Even if he dies, he will meet his Lord in a state of Islam with no deficiency in it, because Hajj was not obligatory upon him. The ability with wealth means that he possesses
It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error.
وما كان لمؤمن ولا مؤمنة إذا قضى الله ورسوله أمرا أن يكون لهم الخيرة من أمرهم ومن يعص الله ورسوله فقد ضل ضلالا مبيناO Muslims, if a believer performs Hajj and 'Umrah once after reaching maturity, he has discharged the obligation from himself and completed the pillars of his Islam by doing so. After that, neither Hajj nor 'Umrah is obligatory upon him, unless he makes a vow to perform Hajj or 'Umrah, in which case he is bound to fulfill what he vowed, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
Whoever vows that he will be obedient to Allah, should remain obedient to Him
من نذر أن يطيع الله فليطعهO Muslims: Among the perfection of Allah's mercy and His profound wisdom is that He established limits and conditions for the obligations, so that the obligations are regulated and responsibility is defined. He made these limits and conditions extremely appropriate to the actor, the time, and the place. Among these obligations is Hajj, which has limits and conditions that do not make it obligatory upon a Muslim except through them.
Among the conditions for the obligation of Hajj is reaching maturity. For males, this is achieved by one of three things: the emission of semen with desire, wet dreams, or the growth of pubic hair. For females, maturity is achieved by these three things plus a fourth matter, which is menstruation. So whenever a female menstruates, even if she is ten years old, she is considered mature. As for one who has not reached maturity, Hajj is not obligatory upon him, even if he is wealthy. However, if he performs Hajj, his Hajj is valid as a voluntary act, and he receives its reward. When he reaches maturity, he must perform the obligatory Hajj, because his Hajj before maturity does not discharge the obligation, since it was not obligatory upon him at that time. This is like a man who gives charity with the intention of zakah before he possesses the minimum threshold. Accordingly, if a man performs Hajj with his young sons or daughters, and they perform Hajj with him, he receives reward and they receive the reward of Hajj. If they do not perform Hajj, there is no blame upon him or upon them.
At that point, a person should consider what is easier: whether to have the boys and girls enter the state of ihram or not. If he fears hardship for himself or for them, as is the case in this era, then he should not make them perform Hajj, because that would be a hardship for them and for him, and because it may lead to illness or death.
Among the conditions for the obligation of Hajj is that a person must be able to afford it with his wealth and his body, because Allah Mighty and Majestic made that a condition in His saying: