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:

Assalam-o-allikum.

First of all I would like to thank you for an excellent service that you provide. May allah reward you for this. I would like to ask few question regarding Hajj.

1.) Do we have to pray 40 namaz at madina after or before Hajj? Is it compulsory, as I have heard we have to pray it once in a lifetime, after hajj?

2.) I have a house, which is on mortgage for next 22 years. I still owe my mortgage provider the sum on £51,000. Can I still perform Hajj? I have seen people doing this, but want to confirm.

3.) My wife contributed £5000 pounds towards our house and bought a car. At the time of her contribution, she never mentioned anything about returning her of whatever she has contributed. All of a sudden she asked me to return her money by giving her a fixed amount on monthly basis. As it developed tensions between us over the time, now she said she don’t want her money back, and I am free from paying her back.

But to avoid further arguments, I am still paying her on monthly basis. I am planning to go on hajj next year inshallah, but will not be able to pay her off before that time, as I also have to save for hajj. So the question is, will I still be able to go on Hajj, as she said she do not want me to pay her but I am doing it on my own will? Once again, thank you for your services.

Jazak-Allah Khair

(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 one do Hajj if loans outstanding

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.

Q-1: Do we have to pray 40 namaz at madina after or before Hajj? Is it compulsory, as I have heard we have to pray it once in a lifetime, after hajj?

To offer prayers in the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, is not amongst the ‘manasiks’ or rites of the Hajj Pilgrimage. If one performs all the rites of Hajj as taught by the Messenger of Allah (saws), and does not go to Medina at all, his Hajj will be complete.

But there is a huge reward if one offers prayers in the Prophet’s mosque in Medina.

Sahih Muslim Hadith 3217 Narrated by Maymunah (the wife of the Prophet (saws)

I heard Allah's Messenger (saws) say: “Prayer in my mosque is better than a thousand prayers observed in other mosques, except the mosque of the Ka'bah’.

Thus it is only natural for the believer, that if he goes to Makkah for the Umrah or Hajj pilgrimage, he would like to take this opportunity to perform prayers at the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina.

But to say or believe that it is compulsory to pray a particular number of prayers in Medina before or after Hajj, is not from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

Q-2: I have a house, which is on mortgage for next 22 years. I still owe my mortgage provider the sum on £51,000. Can I still perform Hajj? I have seen people doing this, but want to confirm.

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.

Buying a house (or anything else) on mortgage, and thus paying interest, is in itself incorrect and unacceptable in Islam; but that is another topic altogether. The majority of the scholars are of the opinion, that if one has taken a debt, and is paying the installments on his debt, and his going to Hajj will not affect the paying of his installments; then there is no harm in performing the Hajj pilgrimage, provided his net worth is more than the debt.

Q-3: My wife contributed £5000 pounds towards our house and bought a car. At the time of her contribution, she never mentioned anything about returning her of whatever she has contributed. All of a sudden she asked me to return her money by giving her a fixed amount on monthly basis. As it developed tensions between us over the time, now she said she don’t want her money back, and I am free from paying her back. But to avoid further arguments, I am still paying her on monthly basis. I am planning to go on hajj next year inshallah, but will not be able to pay her off before that time, as I also have to save for hajj. So the question is, will I still be able to go on Hajj, as she said she do not want me to pay her but I am doing it on my own will?

All the financial responsibility for the clothing, shelter, food, etc. of the wife and family are the responsibility of the man in Islam. Even if the wife is a millionaire, she does not have to contribute even one cent to the running of the household; if she does not wish to do so.

If your wife contributed GBP 5,000.00 towards the purchase of the house, and her intention was that she was lending you the money, and subsequently she demanded you pay back her loan; it is your responsibility to pay her back, unless of her own free will, and without any pressure, she forgives you the loan. You are doing the right thing by paying back the money she had contributed towards the purchase of the house; as it seems that her intention was to lend you the money, rather than as a gift.

Hajj is only obligatory on a person, if he can afford to do so; after paying all his debts. It is better and purer for the person to pay and clear his debts, than to perform the Hajj pilgrimage. And it is not permissible that a person stops paying his installments, to save for the Hajj pilgrimage; unless, of course, the person whom he owes the money, of his/her own free will and without any pressure, allows the person to delay the payment of the debt, to facilitate the Hajj of the debtor. But if the one who is owed the money, demands his/her money; then it is purer for the person to arrange to pay the debt, and delay his Hajj for the following year.

If you talk to the person whom you owe the money (in this case your wife) and take her permission to delay the installments so that you can perform the Hajj; and of her own free will, she agrees to delay the installments; then there is no harm in you going for the Hajj Pilgrimage. Allah Subhanah will, Insha Allah, accept your 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