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 Brother,

Assalaam Waaleykum Wa-Rahmatullah-Wa Barakatahu,

Thanks to ALLAH, and then you for running such a wonderful and informative website with regards to Islam. I have a query and I hope you will guide me to the right way.

Alhamdulillah, I have got a good job in Kuwait (better than the previous one) and my main intentions are to perform hajj with my parents. Since it is too early this year to perform hajj because of my financial conditions, Insha-ALLAH I may be able to perform hajj along with my parents next year. But it all depends how much I am able to save, May ALLAH help me for that.

I always wished that I could bring my parents to Kuwait for visit and take them with me for Umrah before hajj and Insha-ALLAH this seems possible now. But the problem is, if I bring them for Umrah, I may not be financially as good as to perform hajj with them in the same year. Since hajj should be performed without having any burden of loans, I am skeptical about the scenario which would develop then. As a precautionary measure then, I would like to delay the Umrah and go for Hajj with my parents.

I need answers from you for the following question:

Can I send my parents before for Hajj and a year later I go with my wife?

Can I perform Umrah with parents, if I have loan on me?

Can I bring my parents to Kuwait and go for Hajj from Kuwait. I am asking this because I heard from my friends that to go for Hajj, one has to start his journey from his origin (house). In kuwait I am here for work purpose and so the intention (niyat) from India to Kuwait is not hajj but work.

May ALLAH bless and guide all of us. Jazaak-ALLAH.

Assalaam Waaleykum Wa-Rahmatullah-Wa Barakatahu

(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:

Hajj with Parents

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.

Your Question: Can I send my parents before for Hajj and a year later I go with my wife?

If you send your parents for their obligatory Hajj even before your own, it would indeed be a great sacrifice on your behalf and you will have an enormous reward for your sacrifice and for serving your parents in the Just and Supreme Court of Allah Subhanah in the Hereafter.

Your Question: Can I perform Umrah with parents, if I have loan on me?

If you do not take on a loan for the purpose of performing the pilgrimage itself, there is absolutely no harm or restriction if one goes on a pilgrimage even if he has some loans outstanding and the person is paying its installments on time.

What is clearly discouraged and prohibited in Islam is that one take out a loan to go for the pilgrimage itself; for if one cannot afford the journey and its related expenses to visit the Sacred House of Allah, Islam guides that Hajj is not obligatory upon such a person and The Lord Most Merciful will not hold him accountable for missing this duty.

If you have taken out a loan for something else in the past and are paying its installments on time as agreed, there is absolutely no harm if such a person performs the Umrah or Hajj pilgrimage.

Your Question: Can I bring my parents to Kuwait and go for Hajj from Kuwait. I am asking this because I heard from my friends that to go for Hajj, one has to start his journey from his origin (house). In kuwait I am here for work purpose and so the intention (niyat) from India to Kuwait is not hajj but work.

There is absolutely no stipulation or condition in Islam that a believer must start a journey from his base or residence for the pilgrimage of Hajj or Umrah; one may start this journey from anywhere one is or wishes to start!

What is important is that one makes the intention for pilgrimage at the appointed ‘meeqats’ when approaching the Sacred Mosque in Makkah for pilgrimage; but one may start one’s journey for pilgrimage from anywhere one is or wills, regardless of whether it be his origin base or otherwise.

Your Question: I always wished that I could bring my parents to Kuwait for visit and take them with me for Umrah before hajj and Insha-ALLAH this seems possible now. But the problem is, if I bring them for Umrah, I may not be financially as good as to perform hajj with them in the same year

Dear and beloved brother, Umrah is only an optional and voluntary form of worship; but the pilgrimage of Hajj is absolutely obligatory on every individual who can afford the journey and its expenses. If the finances are constrained, it would be best to perform the obligatory duty of Hajj at the first possible occasion and delay the Umrah for another time when Allah bestows you with more sustenance at a later date.

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