Advice for Pilgrims Who Do Not Care About the Rites of Hajj

Shaykh Abdulaziz, we continue at the beginning of this episode with the issues raised previously by the brother (M. A. N. Z) from the Arab Republic of Egypt. In this episode, he asks and says: Some pilgrims do not care about their Hajj; they do not ask about what is unclear to them, or they ask a layperson or someone who is not known for knowledge. You know, Your Eminence, the consequences of that. So what do you advise people? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance.
As for what follows: My advice to every Muslim and every pilgrim is to take care of his Hajj and his acts of worship, such as prayer, fasting, and zakah, and so on. It is the concern of the believer to care for his religion and to be eager about his religion, so that he fulfills what Allah has made obligatory upon him with insight, and so that he avoids what Allah has forbidden with insight. The pilgrims have come from the corners of the earth, from every deep valley, seeking the mercy of Allah, His bounty, and His freeing them from the Fire. They seek to perform what Allah has made obligatory upon them from the rites of Hajj and 'Umrah. It is obligatory upon them to care for this and to attend to it, and to ask the scholars about what is unclear to them. Praise be to Allah, they are present. Whoever has something unclear should ask about them in the Sacred Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque. The Saudi government, may Allah guide it, has appointed scholars in the Sacred Mosque, in the Prophet's Mosque, and in the sacred sites to guide people, teach them their rites, and direct them to everything that benefits them in this world and the Hereafter. They engage in preaching, reminding, teaching, and issuing fatwas.
So the pilgrim should ask whoever he finds from them in the Sacred Mosque, in the sacred sites, in the Prophet's Mosque, and so on. He should ask whoever he knows from the scholars among his group, his companions, or others. Whoever knows a scholar of the Shari'ah who is known for uprightness, zeal for the sake of Allah, and knowledge of His Shari'ah, he should ask him, whether he is from the Levant, Iraq, Egypt, Africa, or any place, as long as he knows him for goodness, knowledge, virtue, zeal for the sake of Allah, and insight in his religion, so that he may understand him and teach him what he needs in his Hajj, 'Umrah, prayer, travel, residence, and so on.
It is established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: It is agreed upon as authentic. This indicates to us that among the signs of goodness and among the signs of success for the servant is that he understands the religion of Allah and that he is discerning in the religion of Allah. It also indicates that among the signs of abandonment and lack of success is ignorance of the religion, turning away from the religion, and heedlessness.
So upon you, my brother the pilgrim, and upon you, my sister in Allah the pilgrim, upon you both is the care for Hajj and the care for all matters of the religion, in Makkah, in Madinah, in your lands, and in every place.
So it is obligatory upon the one who is accountable, men and women, to care for and be discerning in the religion. Why? Because we were created to worship Allah. Allah the Exalted says: [Surat al-Dhariyat: 56]. And Allah sent the messengers for this matter; to guide people and teach them. At the head of them is our Prophet, our Imam, and our Master Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah (may the best of prayers and peace be upon him from his Lord). He is the best of the messengers, he is their Imam, he is their seal, and he is our share from them (peace and blessings be upon him). So it is obligatory upon us all to learn our religion from the Book of our Lord and from the Sunnah of our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so that we know the worship for which we were created. What is the worship for which we were created? We learn it from the speech of our Lord and the speech of His Messenger. So what Allah and His Messenger have commanded is the worship, and what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden is the wrong that is left. The path to this is the scholars; the legal scholars, the jurists in the religion of Allah who are known for goodness and uprightness. They are the intermediary between the common people and the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). They are the ones who teach people their religion. So whoever has knowledge returns to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), discerns from them, and teaches people. And whoever does not have knowledge... the common Muslims, pilgrims and others, should ask the people of knowledge. And Allah the Exalted says: [Surat al-Nahl: 43].
So my advice to all pilgrims, men and women, is to fear Allah and to strive with utmost striving to complete their Hajj and to care for it, and for everything that Allah has made obligatory upon them, such as prayer, fasting, the right of the husband, the right of the wife, the right of relatives, the right of parents, the right of the neighbor, and so on. The believer is discerning in his religion, and the believing woman likewise, and especially in Hajj. The time of performing Hajj is to be given special care so that he performs his Hajj with insight. And Allah the Exalted says: [Surat al-Baqarah: 197]. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the authentic hadith: Meaning: he returns forgiven if he performed the Hajj as it should be. And Rafath: intercourse and its causes, such as kissing and touching with desire, and the like.
So it is not permissible for the pilgrim to have intercourse with his wife, and it is not permissible for her to allow him to do so until he exits from his Hajj, until he exits from the complete second exit; by stoning the pillars on the day of 'Id, and by shaving or shortening the hair, and by tawaf and sa'y. This is the complete exit. And after that, it is permissible for the man to have intercourse with his family. And in 'Umrah, he does not have intercourse with her or the means to it, such as kissing and touching with desire; he does not have that until each of them performs tawaf, and until each of them performs sa'y, and until the man shaves or shortens, and until the woman shortens, because for her it is only shortening. So when the man performs tawaf and sa'y and shaves or shortens, he exits from his 'Umrah. And when the woman performs tawaf and sa'y and shortens her hair, she exits from her 'Umrah. So after that, it is permissible for them to have the intercourse that Allah has made lawful.
And among Rafath -as mentioned previously- are the causes of intercourse, such as touching her with desire or caressing her in a way that leads to intercourse. This is forbidden; because it is from Rafath. And Fisq: all sins. All sins are called Fisq; such as cursing and insulting people, hitting them, and harming them, and backbiting and talebearing, and stealing; stealing the wealth of people or plundering it. All of this is from Fisq. So it is obligatory for the pilgrim to avoid that. And so, the non-pilgrim must also avoid these sins. But the pilgrim, in particular, must avoid that so that he does not harm anyone, not during tawaf, not during sa'y, and not in any place, not with his hand, not with his foot, and not with his speech. And he does not take the wealth of anyone except by right. And he does not backbite people. And he does not tell tales about people. And he does not give false testimony. And he does not lie. And he does not do anything that Allah has forbidden until he completes his Hajj and finishes it, and until he returns forgiven by the permission of Allah. And Jidal means: disputing in the religion without right [Surat al-Baqarah: 197]. Meaning: no disputing in other than the truth, such as disputing with falsehood with his brothers or with others not of his group; he does not dispute. But clarifying the truth with evidence and in the best manner, that is permissible; because Allah said in His great Book: [Surat al-Nahl: 125].
So disputing in the best manner in clarifying the truth, clarifying the feelings of Hajj, clarifying what is unclear to people to remove the doubt, that is permissible. But disputing to show his excellence or to show his understanding or to overpower people or for any of the other purposes not for the sake of goodness, that is the blameworthy one, and it is the disputing that Allah has forbidden. But disputing in the best manner in clarifying the truth and guiding the ignorant and teaching him and removing the doubt and exposing it; that is commanded and is not included in the prohibition. We ask Allah for all of you success and guidance. Yes.