Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear Mu' meneen

I have a question to ask.

A friend of mine plans to perform HAJJ this year but the firm in which he & his father are partners is indebted to an outgoing partner a huge sum of money which the firm has to repay, but the same will not be repaid before the HAJJ pilgrim Can he still perform HAJJ ?

regards

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Can Hajj be performed if in debt?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The principle in Islam regarding Hajj is that if one has debt, and if after paying that debt, there is not enough funds left for one to perform the Hajj, then the pilgrimage of Hajj is not obligatory on that person.

Thus, if your friend and his father, if after calculating how much funds are left after the payment of debt, have enough funds to afford Hajj, then Hajj is obligatory on them and they should perform it as soon as possible. The best and purest way for your friend would be to consult his debtor and ask him if he has any objection to him performing the Hajj pilgrimage. If the debtor demands his money, then it is better to pay the money to the debtor rather than go to Hajj this year. But if the debtor says that he does not mind receiving the money after your friend performs the Hajj pilgrimage, then your friend should perform the Hajj pilgrimage as intended.

Thus if your friend goes to Hajj, there is no harm and Insha Allah, Allah will accept his Hajj.

What Islam prohibits is that one takes on debt specifically to go for Hajj, because Hajj is not obligatory on the people who cannot afford to make this pilgrimage.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan