How does a due debt affect going for Hajj?
2026-09-20
F20 · Selected fatwas
Shaykh Ibn Bāz
الشيخ عبد العزيز بن عبد الله بن باز
Original Q&A · Full displayed answer
The full answer distinguishes Hajj’s validity from its obligation and explicitly discusses a debt that is due. The payment priority, lack of sufficient funds for both duties, and validity despite neglecting that priority are all preserved.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
السائل حسن آدم له هذا السؤال يقول: هل الإنسان إذا كان عليه دين هل يصح حجه؟
الجواب
نعم، يصح حجه لكن ينبغي له أن يبدأ بالدين، الدين أبدأ أهم حق المخلوقين أهم في هذا، والحج ما هو بواجب عليه إلا مع الاستطاعة وما دام مدين ليس عنده شيء يستطيع به قضاء الدين والحج فالله لم يوجب عليه الحج هذا من رحمة الله سبحانه وتعالى قال تعالى: ولله على الناس حج البيت من استطاع إليه سبيلا[آل عمران:97].
والذي عليه دين حال وليس عنده ما يستطيع به قضاء الدين والحج غير مستطيع وغير مكلف بالحج، فيبدأ بالدين، ويعطي أهله إذا كان دينا حالا، بما يحج به يعطيه أهل الدين، فإن حج وتساهل ولم يعط أهل الدين حجه صحيح، ولكنه ترك ما ينبغي له، ترك الواجب عليه وهو البداءة بأهل الدين بحقوق الآدميين؛ لأنه ما يكون مستطيعا إلا إذا وجد مالا يفضل عن قضاء الدين الحال، ويستطيع به الحج، لكن لو خالف وحج ولم يوف الدين حجه صحيح والحمد لله. نعم.
English translation
English rendering prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited complete Arabic answer; not an official translation.
Original question
The questioner Hasan Adam asks: Is a person’s Hajj valid if he owes a debt?
Answer
Yes, his Hajj is valid, but he should begin by paying the debt. The debt takes priority here: people’s rights are more pressing. Hajj is obligatory only when a person has the ability. As long as he owes a debt and does not have enough to pay it and perform Hajj, Allah has not made Hajj obligatory upon him. This is part of Allah’s mercy, exalted is He. Allah says, “Pilgrimage to the House is a duty owed to Allah by people who are able to find a way to it” [Al Imran 3:97].
Someone with a debt that is due, who does not have enough to both repay it and perform Hajj, lacks the required ability and is not obliged to perform Hajj. He begins with the debt and pays its creditors if it is due: the money he would use for Hajj is paid to them. If he performs Hajj and is negligent about paying the creditors, his Hajj is valid, but he has neglected what he ought to do—an obligatory duty: giving priority to the creditors and people’s rights. He has the required ability only when he has money left after paying the debt that is due, with which he can perform Hajj. If he nevertheless goes for Hajj without repaying the debt, his Hajj is valid—praise be to Allah. Yes.
Source and editorial notes
Official Ibn Bāz website, fatwa 16706
حكم حج من عليه دين
Hajj of a Person Who Owes a Debt
Full original question and entire answer collated; replaces the historical selected excerpt. The entire substantive official question and answer are preserved through the final answer words. Caller introductions remain in the Arabic; wrapped initials are joined with a space. Navigation, related answers, presenter thanks and editorial footnote markers are excluded. Honorific glyphs are expanded to words; spoken wording is retained. Print references are the official site’s locators, not independently collated print scans.