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:

I have a one year old son. Can I go for Hajj or should I have to wait for him to grow and become independent. Because I have heard that if a person has some responsibility on him like loan payment, unmarried daughters etc. cannot go for hajj. Since a little kid is mother`s responsibility so what Islam says in this regard?

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Answer:

Obligatory hajj

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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imran verses 96-97:

Undoubtedly the first House of Worship ever to be built for mankind is the one which is at Makkah. It was blessed, and made the center of guidance for all the peoples. In it are clear Signs; there is a spot where Ibraheem used to worship; and it is the Sanctuary, and whoever enters it becomes safe and secure. Allah has, therefore, a right on the people that the one, who can afford to reach the House, should perform Hajj there. And the one who disobeys (this commandment should know that) Allah is Self-Sufficient, and does not stand in need of anyone!

Allah Subhanah has made the pilgrimage of Hajj obligatory and duty unto their Lord Creator on every sane, adult believer who has the financial and physical means to reach the Sacred House at least once in his lifetime. This pilgrimage of the Hajj is so sanctified that it is listed by the Messenger of Allah (saws) as one of the five pillars upon which the deen of Islam is built!

If one believes in Allah and the Last Day, declares themselves to be a ‘muslim’, accepts and believes that the Hajj is an obligatory duty which the Lord Most High has ordained for His believing slaves…..but due to laziness or procrastination or negligence or without an absolutely valid reason does not perform this obligatory duty….such a person would be a grave sinner in the Sight of Allah Subhanah.

Your Question: Can I go for Hajj or should I have to wait for him to grow and become independent

Dear and beloved Sister in Islam, if your Lord Creator has blessed you with the financial and physical means to visit His Sacred House, then indeed the pilgrimage of Hajj would be an absolutely obligatory duty upon you in Shariah.

Beloved Sister, it is not prescribed in Shariah when should a believer fulfill this obligatory duty of Hajj unto their Lord, thus one may do so whenever one wills or is convenient for them.

The having of small children is not a valid excuse in Shariah for not fulfilling one’s obligatory duty of Hajj. If one has the knowledge that one will live long enough to see their children grow up and become independent, there is absolutely no harm if one delays their Hajj pilgrimage until their children grow up!

If one is financially and physically able to perform the Hajj, but delays their obligatory duty of Hajj for whatever reason, and Allah Subhanah Decrees and Wills death for them, they would obviously meet their Lord without having fulfilled an obligatory duty, and they would thus be held accountable for their procrastination.

As your brothers and sincere well-wishers in faith, our humble advice to you sister would be to either take your son along with you to the Hajj, or leave your child with a trusted family member like your mother or your sister and make intention to fulfill this obligatory duty unto your Lord at the earliest and most convenient opportunity available to you.

You are well within your rights in Shariah to delay your duty of Hajj unto your Lord until your son grows up and is independent, if indeed that is what you wish to do; but because of the absolute uncertainty of one’s appointment with the truth of death, in our humble opinion, that indeed would be an option not devoid of risk.

Your Question: I have heard that if a person has some responsibility on him like loan payment, unmarried daughters etc. cannot go for hajj.

According to the Laws of Shariah, the following are excused from performing the Hajj:

1. One who does not possess the financial means to afford the journey to the Sacred House of Allah even only once in their lifetime.
2. One who does not possess the physical ability to perform the Hajj pilgrimage, like one who is of abject old age, or senile, completely disabled, or handicapped, or has an absolutely incurable disease, etc. But if this person has the financial ability to afford the Hajj, then it would be obligatory upon them to strive and send someone to perform the Hajj on their behalf.
3. One who is insane, or a minor, or a slave.
4. A woman who has the financial and physical ability, but despite her sincere striving cannot find a mehram male to accompany her to the Hajj.
5. The journey to Hajj must be safe. If one fears that their life or their possession are not safe from danger from the tyrant rulers of land they intend to cross to reach their destination, or bandits, or an epidemic disease, etc. when on their journey….then one may differ their Hajj until the route to the Sacred House becomes safe.

According to most scholars and jurists in Islam, it is severely disliked for one to take out a loan only so that he/she may afford the Hajj pilgrimage, for such a person would be deemed not having the financial ability to perform the Hajj. But if one has sufficient financial ability to afford the Hajj journey and stay, but has taken out a loan for another purpose (business, house, investment, car, etc.) and one is paying off the due installments of these loans….such loans by themselves do not excuse one for not fulfilling their obligatory Hajj pilgrimage.

The presence of small children beyond the age of weaning (above two years), or unmarried daughters, etc. by themselves are not valid excuses for not performing the obligatory Hajj pilgrimage.

Hadrat Ali ibn Abi Taalib (r.a.) narrates that the Prophet (saws) said: "He who possesses sufficient provisions and means of journey for the performance of Hajj and yet does not do so, let him die the death of a Jew or a Christian"; and then the Prophet (saws) recited the verse of the Quran 3:97 ‘Allah has, therefore, a right on the people that the one, who can afford to reach the House, should perform Hajj there. And the one who disobeys (this commandment should know that) Allah is Self-Sufficient, and does not stand in need of anyone!’”

Related by Tirmidhi,

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

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

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan