1. WHO MUST PERFORM HAJJ AND ‘UMRA
WHO MUST PERFORM HAJJ AND ‘UMRA
(Hajj and ‘umrah are obligatory because of the word of Allah Most High:
“People owe Allah to make pilgrimage to the House, whoever is able to find a way” (Quran 3:97),
and,
“Complete the hajj and ‘umrah for Allah” (Koran 2;196),
meaning, “Perform both of them completely.”)
(This section uses the following special vocabulary:
‘Arafa: (syn. ‘Arafat) the name of a plain about thirteen miles to the east southeast of Mecca.
Hajj: the pilgrimage to Mecca.
lhram: the state of consecration that pilgrims enter for hajj and ‘umrah.
Labbayk: a litany meaning, “Ever at Your service, O Allah, ever at Your service.”
al-Masjid al-Haram: the Holy Mosque in Mecca that encompasses the Kaaba.
Safa and Marwa: two hillocks connected by a course adjoining al-Masjid al-Haram.
‘Umrah: the lesser pilgrimage or visit to Mecca that may be performed at any time of the year.)
Both hajj and ‘umra are obligatory, though neither is obligatory more than once in a person’s lifetime unless one vows more than that.
They are only obligatory for someone who:
a) is Muslim;
b) has reached puberty;
c) is sane;
d) and is able to make them.
The hajj or ‘umrah of someone considered unable (non-(d) above) is valid (i.e. if he undertakes the hardship, travels, and stands at ‘Arafa, it fulfills the obligation), though not that of a non-Muslim, or a child below the age of discrimination who is unaccompanied by a guardian.
It is valid for a child of the age of discrimination to enter the state of ihram with his guardian’s permission (guardian meaning the person with lawful disposal over the child’s property).
It is also valid for the guardian to enter ihram on behalf of an insane person or a child below the age of discrimination, in which case the guardian has his charge do as much as he is able, by having him (telling him to) perform the purificatory bath (ghusl), remove clothing that has seams, and put on hajj garments; and forbidding him the things prohibited while in the state of ihram, such as perfumes and the like, after which he takes him to the various places of the hajj rites (it being insufficient for the guardian to go alone), and performs the acts that the charge cannot do himself, such as entering into ihram (which the charge, lacking diserimination, is unable to make a legally valid intention for), the two rak’as after circumambulating the Kaaba, and stoning at Mina. (But the hajj of someone who has not reached puberty does not fulfill the obligation Islam imposes, since even though it is valid, it is supererogatory.)
WHO IS CONSIDERED ABLE TO PERFORM THE HAJJ?
Those able to perform the hajj are of two types: those able to perform the hajj in person, and those able to fulfill the hajj by sending someone in their stead.
THOSE ABLE TO PERFORM THE HAJJ IN PERSON
The conditions for being considered able to perform the hajj in person are:
a) to be healthy (enough to ride there without serious harm);
b) to be able to obtain provisions for the trip;
c) to have enough money to afford water at the going price at the places people travel through because of the water there;
d) to have transportation suitable to someone like oneself (though if one cannot find any, or if it is more than the usual price (usual meaning that the fare to the hajj is no more than the fare to another destination of comparable distance), then one is not obliged to perform the hajj);
(all of the above ((b), (c), and (d» apply equally to the journey there and back)
e) to be able to pay for (b), (c), and (d), round trip, with money one has that is in excess of the amount one requires to support the members of one’s family and clothe them while one is travelling there and back, and obtain lodgings for oneself; and that is in excess of any money one owes for debts, even those not yet due (scholars concur that a debtor is not obliged to perform the hajj even when his creditor does not mind postponing the debt until after the hajj, and that a person is not obliged to perform the hajj when someone is willing to loan him the money to do so (though such a person’s hajj would be valid;
f) and that a route exist that is safe for one’s person and property from predators and enemies, whether the latter be non-Muslims or whether highwaymen wanting money, even when the amount is inconsiderable (including so called hajj fees, which are not countenanced by Sacred Law). If there is no route except by sea, then one must take it if it is usually safe, but if not, then it is not obligatory.
These are the conditions for the obligatoriness of the hajj or ‘umrah, meaning that if one of them is lacking, the hajj and ‘umrah are not obligatory for that year, though if one performs them anyway, one’s performance validly fulfills the rites which Islam imposes.)
The above conditions apply equally to a woman, who in addition requires someone to accompany her to protect her, such as a husband, an unmarriageable male relative (mahram), or some (two or more) reliable women, even if they are not accompanied by any of their unmarriageable male relatives.
If the above conditions are met, but there is no longer time to reach Mecca, then the hajj is not obligatory. But if time remains, it is obligatory.
It is recommended to perform hajj as soon as possible (i.e. to perform it the first year that one is able to, and likewise for ‘umrah). One is entitled to delay it, but if one dies without performing it after having been able to, one dies in disobedience, and it is obligatory to take out the cost for it from the deceased’s estate (just as debts are, as at to pay for someone to make it up (in the deceased’s place.
THOSE ABLE TO PERFORM THE HAJJ BY SENDING SOMEONE IN THEIR STEAD
The second type of being able to perform hajj is when one may fulfill it by sending another in one’s place, the necessary conditions for which are:
a) that one is unable to ride there (at all, or is able, but with great difficulty) because of chronic illness or old age;
b) and that one either has the money (to hire someone to go in one’s place) or (if lacking the money) has someone to obey one (by agreeing to perform the rites of hajj for one (at their own expense, as a charitable donation), even if not a family member-in which case one is obliged to either hire someone (in the former instance) or give permission to someone (N: in the latter instance) to perform hajj in one’s place.
One may also have someone perform a nonobligatory hajj for one under such conditions.
THE PRIORITY OF THE OBLIGATORY HAJJ OVER ANY OTHER
It is not permissible for someone who has not yet performed his own obligatory hajj:
1. to perform the hajj for someone else;
2. to perform a nonobligatory hajj;
3. or to perform hajj in fulfillment of a vow, or as a makeup.
(If he does any of these, it counts instead as his own obligatory hajj).
The order of performing hajj (or ‘umra) must be:
(1) the obligatory hajj first;
(2) then a makeup hajj (if any is due;
(3) then a hajj in fulfillment of a vow, if any has been made;
(4) and then a supererogatory hajj, Or one in another person’s place
If one tries to change this order, for example, by commencing a hajj with the intention for a supererogatory performance or a vow when one has not yet made the obligatory hajj, the intention is invalid, and the hajj counts instead as fulfilling the obligatory one. The same is true for the other types (i.e. if one intends any of the types in the order just mentioned when a prior type exists unperformed, then one’s hajj counts as fulfilling the prior one, regardless of the intention).
WAYS OF PERFORMING THE HAJJ
It is permissible to enter ihram with the intention for any of four ways of performing the hajj, which are, in order of superiority:
(1) hajj before ‘umrah (ifrad);
(2) ‘umrah first (tamattu’);
(3) hajj and ‘umrah simultaneously (qiran);
(4) and the unconditional intention to perform hajj and ‘umrah (itlaq).
HAJJ BEFORE ‘UMRA (IFRAD)
Hajj before ‘umrah (ifrad) means to perform hajj (i.e. enter ihram for hajj) first (before subsequently entering ihram for ‘umrah) at the ihram site for people from one’s country, then (after having completed one’s hajj) to go outside the Sacred Precinct (Haram) and enter ihram for ‘umrah. (There is no special place for the second ihram: if one went to the closest place outside of the Sacred Precinct, it would suffice for this ihram of ‘umrah.) (People generally go to the Mosques of ‘A’isha (Allah be well pleased with her) at aI-Tan’im because it is dose.)
‘UMRA FIRST (TAMATTU’)
‘Umra first (tamattu’) (perhaps the easiest and most practical way to perform hajj in our times, since one does not have to remain in a state of ihram throughout the week or more than one is generally there between the initial ‘umrah and subsequent hajj) means to perform the ‘umrah first (before the hajj) by:
a) entering ihram for it from the ihram site for people of one’s own country;
b) during the hajj months;
c) and then (after finishing the ‘umrah) performing hajj within the same year from Mecca (meaning to intend hajj from Mecca (by entering ihram there), if one wants to have to slaughter (in expiation, which relieves one of the necessity to return to the ihram site of people of one’s country, though if one returns to that site to enter ihram for hajj, then one is no longer obliged to slaughter and one’s ihram is valid).
It is recommended to enter ihram for hajj on 8 Dhul-Hijja if one is performing ‘umrah first (tamattu’) and has an animal to slaughter. But if one does not have an animal, (one enters ihram) on 6 Dhul-Hijja (so that one’s (three day expiatory) fast (in place of slaughtering takes place before standing at ‘Arafa (since in the Shafi’i school, being in ihram for hajj is obligatory during these three days of fasting, though for the Hanafi school, these days may be fasted before entering ihram for hajj, after one’s ‘umrah), thus fasting on the sixth, seventh, and eighth, and not on the Day of ‘Arafa (the ninth) if one was able to fast on the sixth, though if not, then fasting the Day of ‘Arafa is mandatory because of the previous inability. If one does not fast it, it is a sin and the delayed fast-day is a makeup, as its obligatory time is before the Day of ‘Arafa). One enters ihram for hajj in Mecca from the door of one’s lodgings. Then one proceeds in a state of ihram to al-Masjid al-Haram as a Meccan would (to perform a farewell circumambulation (tawaf al-wada’) of the Kaaba, which is desirable (mustahabb) for non-Meccans who are leaving Mecca to go to ‘Arafa. For Meccans, the farewell circumambulation is obligatory when leaving Mecca, even for a short distance).
HAJJ AND ‘UMRA SIMULTANEOUSLY (QIRAN)
Hajj and ‘umrah simultaneously (qiran) means to enter ihram intending both (hajj and ‘umrah) at the ihram site for people of one’s country, and then perform only the rites of hajj. (Such that one does not perform an additional circumambulation or a second going between Safa and Marwa, but rather once is sufficient to fulfill the obligation of both hajj and ‘umrah, because the actions of the ‘umrah have been incorporated into the actions of the hajj. The author mentions a second way of performing hajj and ‘umrah simultaneously (qiran) by saying:)
Or the person may enter ihram first for ‘umrah, and then before beginning his circumambulation (even if only by a single step), incorporate into his intention for ‘umrah the intention to perform hajj, this taking place in the months of hajj.
THE OBLIGATION TO SLAUGHTER OR FAST FOR THOSE PERFORMING THE ‘UMRA FIRST (TAMATTU’) OR HAJJ AND ‘UMRA SIMULTANEOUSLY (QIRAN)
A Person performing ‘umrah first (tamattu’) or performing hajj and ‘umrah simultaneously (qiran) is obliged to slaughter (a shah) or to fast, as mentioned below), though if the person performing hajj and ‘umra simultaneously (qiran) lives within the Sacred Precinct (Haram) or within 81 km.l50 mi. of it, or if the person performing ‘umrah first (tamattu’) returns to the ihram site for people of his country (after his ‘umrah) to enter ihram for hajj, or lives within 81 km. 150mi. of the Sacred Precinct in any of these cases he is not obliged to slaughter.
If one (performing ‘umrah first (tamattu’) or hajj and ‘umrah simultaneously (qiran» is obliged to slaughter but:
1. lacks an animal there (i.e. in the Sacred Precinct (Haram), which is the place of the obligation to slaughter, lacks meaning absolutely, as when there is not an animal available that meets slaughter specifications;
2. or (there is an animal, but one lacks) its price (or has the price but needs the money for expenses and the like);
3. or finds that it is being sold for more than the normal price for that locality and time;
then one must fast three days of the hajj. (For our school it is insufficient to fast them before the hajj, as opposed to the school of Abu Hanifa, in which it is permissible to fast them before the hajj (i.e. when performing the ‘umrah first (tamattu’), fasting them after having finished the initial ‘umrah and before entering ihram for hajj).) It is recommended that these days be before the Day of ‘Arafa (time permitting, as when one fasts from 1 Dhul Hijja after having entered ihram for hajj. It is unlawful to delay these fast-days till after the Dayof ‘Arafa), and one must fast seven additional days after returning home (making a total of ten fast -days).
The time for current performance of the three fast-days ends after the Day of ‘Arafa (and it is not permissible to fast any of them on ‘Eid al-Adha or on the three days following the ‘Eid), and if one thus delays them, it is obligatory to make them up before the other seven fast-days, by an interval between the three and seven fast-days equal to the interval that would have separated them had they been a current performance, namely, the time taken by the trip (from Mecca to home) plus four days (equal to the ‘Eid and the three days that follow it).
THE UNCONDITIONAL INTENTION TO PERFORM HAJJ AND ‘UMRA (ITLAQ)
The unconditional intention to perform hajj and ‘umrah (itlaq) means to merely intend entering into the performance of rites, without specifying at the time of ihram that it is for hajj, ‘umrah, or hajj and ‘umrah simultaneously (qiran). After this, one may use it (the ihram, made unconditional by the intention) as one wishes (meaning to perform hajj only, ‘umrah only, or hajj and ‘umrah simultaneously (qiran) (though one may not use the unconditional intention as a way to perform ‘umrah first (tamattu’) without having to either return to the ihram site to enter ihram for hajj, or to slaughter or fast):
THE TIME OF YEAR TO ENTER IHRAM FOR HAJJ OR ‘UMRA
It is not permissible. to enter ihram for hajj other than during its months, namely, Shawwal, Dhul Qa’da, and the first ten nights of Dhul Hijja (with their days). If one enters ihram for hajj during non-hajj months, one’s ihram counts for ‘umrah.
Entering ihram for ‘umrah is valid at any time of the year except for a person on hajj encamped at Mina for stoning.
(Source: The reliance of the traveller, revised edition, Edited and Translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller)
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