"Upon the Muslim, free, accountable, and capable"
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Then the author said "obligatory upon the free person". In your view, is it the Muslim?
The questioner : The Muslim.
The Shaykh : Yes, "upon the Muslim, the free person, the accountable person, the capable person". Upon the Muslim, and this is something we often hear: that worship is not valid except for the Muslim, because no worship is valid from a disbeliever, as Allah the Exalted said[At-Tawbah 9:54]. So Islam is a condition for every act of worship; every act of worship is not valid from a non-Muslim. And if we say that it is not obligatory upon the disbeliever, that does not mean that he is not punished for it. However, he is not commanded to perform it during his disbelief, nor to make it up after his Islam. Pay attention, for there are three things: the command to perform it, the command to make it up, and the sin. The command to perform it is not directed to the disbeliever, and the command to make it up, if he becomes a Muslim, is also not directed to him. But the sin is established; he is punished for it and for the other branches of Islam. He says "upon the Muslim, the free person". Its opposite is the slave and the partially freed slave. The fully enslaved slave and the partially freed slave: Hajj is not obligatory upon them. Why? Because they have no wealth. As for the fully enslaved slave, his wealth belongs to his master, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said . So if he has no wealth, he is not capable. The partially freed slave has wealth; he owns a portion of the wealth equal to the degree of his freedom. So if he owns ten riyals and half of him is free, he has five of them, but he cannot afford to perform Hajj because of the wealth of his half, if he is half-slave, because he is enslaved by that portion, so Hajj does not bind him.
The third condition: the accountable person, who is the adult of sound mind. So the child is not obligated to perform Hajj, but if he performs it, his Hajj is valid, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said when the woman who brought him a child asked "Is there a Hajj for this one?" He said
And you have known that the child is one who has not reached puberty, and that puberty is attained by one of three things in males and one of four things in females. As for the insane person, likewise, Hajj is not obligatory upon him, even if he is more than twenty years old, because he is not accountable, and Hajj is a physical act. This is unlike zakah, for zakah is obligatory upon him because it is obligatory in wealth. But Hajj is a physical act, so it is not obligatory upon the insane person; rather, it is not valid from him.
He says "the capable". The author did not explain the meaning of capability, but his following words clarify what capability is: "capable in his wealth, capable in his body". This is the one upon whom it is obligatory to perform Hajj himself: the one who is capable in his wealth and capable in his body. If he is incapable in his wealth but capable in his body, it is also obligatory upon him to perform it, such as if he is from the people of Makkah and has no money, but he can go out with the people on foot and perform Hajj. So this is obligatory upon him because he is capable. And if he is capable in his wealth but incapable in his body, Hajj is obligatory upon him by proxy, meaning it is obligatory upon him to appoint someone to perform Hajj on his behalf, unless the incapacity is of a kind that is expected to end, in which case he waits until it ends. An example of this is a person who was poor, grew old, and his age advanced until he could no longer reach Makkah, and then Allah enriched him in this state. We say: it is not obligatory upon him to perform Hajj with his body because he is incapable, and this incapacity is not expected to end, is it? It is not expected to end. But it is obligatory upon him to perform Hajj by proxy, meaning it is obligatory upon him to appoint someone to perform Hajj on his behalf. If someone asks: how do you obligate him to appoint a proxy for a physical act, when the legal principle indicated by the texts is that there is no obligation with incapacity, as Allah the Exalted said[At-Taghabun 64:16]? And this person cannot perform Hajj, so how do we obligate him to appoint a proxy? Should we not say that the obligation is dropped from him due to his incapacity? The answer is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) approved the woman when she said "O Messenger of Allah, my father was overtaken by the obligation of Allah upon His slaves to perform Hajj, an old man who cannot sit on a mount. Should I perform Hajj on his behalf?" So he approved her description of Hajj for her father as an obligation. If it had not been obligatory upon him, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would not have approved it, because he cannot approve an error. This indicates that the one who is incapable in his body but capable in his wealth is obligated to appoint a proxy; Hajj by proxy is obligatory upon him. So the opposite of the word "capable" is what? Incapacity. And incapacity is of two types. First, I do not know how to explain capability well. Capability is in wealth and body, or in body without wealth, or in wealth without body. Capability in wealth and body is like being rich and strong in body; so it is obligatory upon him to perform Hajj himself. Clear? The one capable in body without wealth: is it obligatory upon him or not?
The audience: It is not obligatory upon him.
The Shaykh : It is obligatory upon him if he is capable in body, he can perform Hajj with his body, but he has no money. We say it is obligatory upon him if he is in Makkah, clear, there is no hardship on him. If he is far from Makkah and he says, "I can walk to Makkah and I can serve the people and eat with them," as existed in times past, then this is a capable person; it is obligatory upon him. If he is capable in his wealth but incapable in his body, here?
The audience: ...
The Shaykh : Hajj by proxy is obligatory upon him. If he is incapable in his wealth and his body?
The audience: Hajj is dropped from him.
The Shaykh : Hajj is dropped from him; Hajj is dropped from him. So these are the categories now: capable in wealth and body, in body without wealth, in wealth without body, incapable in wealth and body.
The questioner : The Muslim.
The Shaykh : Yes, "upon the Muslim, the free person, the accountable person, the capable person". Upon the Muslim, and this is something we often hear: that worship is not valid except for the Muslim, because no worship is valid from a disbeliever, as Allah the Exalted said
And what prevents their expenditures from being accepted from them but that they have disbelieved in Allah and in His Messenger
وما منعمهم أن تقبل نفقاتهم إلا أنهم كفروا بالله ورسولهWhoever sells a slave who has wealth, his wealth belongs to the seller—or he said—to the one who sold him, unless the buyer stipulates it
من باع عبداً له مال فماله للبائع -أو قال- للذي باعه إلا أن يشترطه المبتاعThe third condition: the accountable person, who is the adult of sound mind. So the child is not obligated to perform Hajj, but if he performs it, his Hajj is valid, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said when the woman who brought him a child asked "Is there a Hajj for this one?" He said
Yes, and you will have his reward
نعم ولك أجرهAnd you have known that the child is one who has not reached puberty, and that puberty is attained by one of three things in males and one of four things in females. As for the insane person, likewise, Hajj is not obligatory upon him, even if he is more than twenty years old, because he is not accountable, and Hajj is a physical act. This is unlike zakah, for zakah is obligatory upon him because it is obligatory in wealth. But Hajj is a physical act, so it is not obligatory upon the insane person; rather, it is not valid from him.
He says "the capable". The author did not explain the meaning of capability, but his following words clarify what capability is: "capable in his wealth, capable in his body". This is the one upon whom it is obligatory to perform Hajj himself: the one who is capable in his wealth and capable in his body. If he is incapable in his wealth but capable in his body, it is also obligatory upon him to perform it, such as if he is from the people of Makkah and has no money, but he can go out with the people on foot and perform Hajj. So this is obligatory upon him because he is capable. And if he is capable in his wealth but incapable in his body, Hajj is obligatory upon him by proxy, meaning it is obligatory upon him to appoint someone to perform Hajj on his behalf, unless the incapacity is of a kind that is expected to end, in which case he waits until it ends. An example of this is a person who was poor, grew old, and his age advanced until he could no longer reach Makkah, and then Allah enriched him in this state. We say: it is not obligatory upon him to perform Hajj with his body because he is incapable, and this incapacity is not expected to end, is it? It is not expected to end. But it is obligatory upon him to perform Hajj by proxy, meaning it is obligatory upon him to appoint someone to perform Hajj on his behalf. If someone asks: how do you obligate him to appoint a proxy for a physical act, when the legal principle indicated by the texts is that there is no obligation with incapacity, as Allah the Exalted said
So fear Allah as much as you are able
فاتقوا الله ما استطعتمThe audience: It is not obligatory upon him.
The Shaykh : It is obligatory upon him if he is capable in body, he can perform Hajj with his body, but he has no money. We say it is obligatory upon him if he is in Makkah, clear, there is no hardship on him. If he is far from Makkah and he says, "I can walk to Makkah and I can serve the people and eat with them," as existed in times past, then this is a capable person; it is obligatory upon him. If he is capable in his wealth but incapable in his body, here?
The audience: ...
The Shaykh : Hajj by proxy is obligatory upon him. If he is incapable in his wealth and his body?
The audience: Hajj is dropped from him.
The Shaykh : Hajj is dropped from him; Hajj is dropped from him. So these are the categories now: capable in wealth and body, in body without wealth, in wealth without body, incapable in wealth and body.