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 mr burhan and team

assalamo alaikum

my question to you is:

while going for Hajj, is it compulsory to go and meet all the relatives, friends and asking about forgiveness. with some one else fault (I mean the party's fault), the party doesnot want to keep in touch with you or forgive you, in that case what happens to the person going for Hajj?

thanks alot.

A sister

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Answer

Meeting relatives before 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 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.

Although it has become a ritual in the Indian sub-continent, there is absolutely no condition that a person going for Hajj must go and meet all his relatives and friends and ask for their forgiveness. Having said that, it is indeed a very good habit for a believer to keep very good relations with his blood relatives and his friends. One should not wait for the time when Allah will bless and honor him to visit His Sacred House to visit family and friends and seek their forgiveness for anything he might have done in the past; but rather one should immediately seek their forgiveness if he done anything which has compromised his familys’ and friends’ due rights.

Your Question: with some one else fault (I mean the party's fault), the party doesnot want to keep in touch with you or forgive you, in that case what happens to the person going for Hajj?

Seeking forgiveness from the wronged party is not a condition for the acceptance of the Hajj pilgrimage in the sight of Allah Subhanah. But if someone has wronged someone, and the wronged party is not willing to forgive the person; the person who has wronged must keep on trying, with humility and sincerity to seek their understanding and forgiveness; and if the wrong can be corrected, he must strive to the best of his capability to correct the wrong; it is expected that his repentance will be accepted by Allah Subhanah.

If the party which has been wronged feels that the party which wronged them is sincerely repentant, it would be in alignment with good character to accept their forgiveness; just as they would themselves like Allah Subhanah to forgive their own short-comings.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 24 Surah Nur verse 22 (part):

Let them (who were wronged) forgive and overlook: do you not wish that Allah should forgive you? For Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4895 Narrated by Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: “It is not right for a Muslim to keep apart from another Muslim for more than three days. Then when he meets him and gives three salutations, receiving during that time no response, the other bears his sin.

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