Conditions of Hajj being obligatory

Conditions of Hajj being obligatory*

Praise be to Allaah. The scholars (may Allaah have mercy on them) have
stated the conditions of Hajj being obligatory, which, if they are met, make
it obligatory for a person to perform Hajj, and without them Hajj is not
obligatory. There are five such conditions: being Muslim, being of sound
mind, being an adult, being free and being able to do it.

If a person is physically and financially able to do Hajj, then he is
obliged to hasten to do Hajj.

If he is not physically and financially able, or if he is physically able
but he is poor and has no wealth, then he is not obliged to do Hajj.

If a person is financially able but he is not physically able, then we look
at the matter further.

If his problem is something that he hopes will disappear, such as a sickness
from which he hopes to recover, then he should wait until Allaah heals him,
then do Hajj.

If his problem is one for which there is no hope that it will disappear,
such as a person with cancer or an old person who cannot do Hajj, then he
has to appoint someone to do Hajj on his behalf, and the duty to perform
Hajj is not waived because of his physical inability if he is financially
able. The evidence for that is the report narrated by al-Bukhaari (1513)
according to which a woman said: O Messenger of Allaah, Allaahs command to
the people to perform Hajj has come when my father is an old man and cannot
sit firmly in the saddle. Can I perform Hajj on his behalf? He said:
Yes.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) agreed with her
comment that Hajj was obligatory for her father even though he was
physically unable to perform Hajj. In order for Hajj to be obligatory for a
woman, it is essential for her to have a mahram with her, and it is not
permissible for her to travel for Hajj, whether that is obligatory or naafil
Hajj, without a mahram, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: No woman should travel except with a mahram. Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 1862; Muslim 1341.

The mahram is her husband or one whom it is permanently forbidden for her to
marry because of blood ties, breastfeeding or ties through marriage. The
husband of a sister, maternal aunt or paternal aunt is not a mahram. Some
women take this matter lightly and travel with their sister and sisters
husband, or with a maternal aunt and the aunts husband, but this is haraam,
because the sisters husband or the maternal aunts husband is not a mahram,
so it is not permissible for her to travel with him. So there is the fear
that her Hajj is not proper, for the proper Hajj (Hajj mabroor) is that
which is not mixed with any sin, but this woman is sinning throughout her
journey until she returns home. It is also essential that the mahram be an
adult of sound mind, because the aim of the mahram is to protect the woman,
and a child or one who is insane cannot do that.

If a woman does not have a mahram, or she has one but he is unable to travel
with her, then she is not obliged to do Hajj.

www.islamicknowledg e.co.uk