The Ruling on Hajj for One Who Has a Debt
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Following this, a message was received by the program from one of the listening brothers who did not mention his name, but he has a collection of questions. He asks Your Eminence, saying: What is Your Eminence’s opinion regarding one who wants to perform Hajj—the obligatory Hajj—and has debts? Which is more important: paying off these debts, or performing Hajj and 'Umrah? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
He starts with the debt and pays it off, because paying off the debt is necessary. He is obligated to pay off the debt, and Hajj is not obligatory for him unless he is able to do so after paying off his debts. Therefore, the obligatory thing is to start by paying off the debts and settling them. Once he is done paying off the debt, he performs Hajj.
The point is: Hajj is not obligatory for him, and it is not prescribed for him to perform Hajj until he pays off his debt. He starts with the creditors, unless they are in a state of restriction (prevented from traveling) and they permit him; in that case, there is no harm. For example, if they are known to be restricted and they allow him to perform Hajj and defer their debt, there is no blame on him.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. What is Your Eminence’s opinion regarding one who bought a house or an apartment on installments? Is the remaining balance of the price considered a debt?
The Shaykh: Yes, if he bought an apartment, a car, or land on installments, what he has paid is known, and what remains in his liability is called a debt. And if he is unable to pay, he is called a debtor (gharim) and is given from the zakah. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
Following this, a message was received by the program from one of the listening brothers who did not mention his name, but he has a collection of questions. He asks Your Eminence, saying: What is Your Eminence’s opinion regarding one who wants to perform Hajj—the obligatory Hajj—and has debts? Which is more important: paying off these debts, or performing Hajj and 'Umrah? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
He starts with the debt and pays it off, because paying off the debt is necessary. He is obligated to pay off the debt, and Hajj is not obligatory for him unless he is able to do so after paying off his debts. Therefore, the obligatory thing is to start by paying off the debts and settling them. Once he is done paying off the debt, he performs Hajj.
The point is: Hajj is not obligatory for him, and it is not prescribed for him to perform Hajj until he pays off his debt. He starts with the creditors, unless they are in a state of restriction (prevented from traveling) and they permit him; in that case, there is no harm. For example, if they are known to be restricted and they allow him to perform Hajj and defer their debt, there is no blame on him.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. What is Your Eminence’s opinion regarding one who bought a house or an apartment on installments? Is the remaining balance of the price considered a debt?
The Shaykh: Yes, if he bought an apartment, a car, or land on installments, what he has paid is known, and what remains in his liability is called a debt. And if he is unable to pay, he is called a debtor (gharim) and is given from the zakah. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.