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In Ḥajj al-Tamattuʿ, thirteen actions are obligatory: →
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Rules of Ḥajj
One of the most important obligatory acts in Islamic Sharīʿa is the pilgrimage to the House of Allah (better known as Ḥajj). Almighty Allah states: “And it is the duty of mankind toward Allah to make pilgrimage to the House—whoever is able to find thereto a way. But whoever disbelieves—then surely God is beyond need of the worlds.” Almighty Allah has made the pilgrimage to His House obligatory for those who are capable and able to undertake it. Whoever turns away from this obligation and denies it (harms only himself), and God is independent of the worlds.
It is narrated from Imam Ṣādiq (peace be upon him) that he said: “Whoever dies without performing the obligatory Ḥajj, without being prevented by a severe need, illness that incapacitates him, or an oppressive ruler, let him die as a Jew or a Christian.”
Issue 132: Performing the obligatory Ḥajj is mandatory for an adult, sane, and capable person. This capability is achieved with the fulfillment of the following conditions:
1. Physical health: The person should be healthy and able to perform Ḥajj by themselves. Therefore, if a person is ill or elderly and unable to perform Ḥajj, or if performing the Ḥajj rituals would cause him severe hardship that is usually unbearable, he is not required to perform Ḥajj himself.
2. Safety: The person must be safe in terms of life, wealth, and honor during the journey and while performing Ḥajj rituals.
3. Financial Ability: The person must have the financial means to cover all the costs of Ḥajj, including expenses for visa, passport, travel (round trip or just one way if not intending to return), accommodation in the holy land, food, and medicine.
4. Post-Ḥajj financial stability: Performing Ḥajj should not lead to financial hardship after returning. Therefore, if a low-income person has the financial means to cover the Ḥajj costs but will face unbearable difficulty covering living expenses and returning to his previous financial state upon return, such a person is not bound to perform Ḥajj.
5. Sufficient time: The person must have enough time to travel to the holy places and perform the Ḥajj rituals. If financial capability is achieved late, and there is not enough time to prepare for the journey (such as obtaining a passport and visa) or if it involves severe hardship that is normally unbearable, performing Ḥajj in that year is not obligatory. However, if the person is confident that he will be capable of performing Ḥajj in the following year or years, he must preserve his assets to fulfill this obligation.
Issue 133: Appointing a proxy to perform Ḥajj on behalf of someone else is obligatory in three cases:
1. For someone who can afford the Ḥajj expenses but is physically unable to perform Ḥajj due to illness or another valid reason.
2. For someone who neglected the duty to perform Ḥajj until he became old or ill and now has no hope of being able to perform Ḥajj in the future.
3. For someone who had the capability but neglected the duty to perform Ḥajj until he passed away. In such cases, a person must be hired from the deceased’s estate to perform Ḥajj on his behalf.
Issue 134: There are three types of Ḥajj: Ḥajj al-Tamattuʿ, Ḥajj al-Ifrād, and Ḥajj al-Qirān.
Ḥajj al-Tamattuʿ is obligatory for those whose residence is at a distance of more than 88 kilometers from Mecca.
Ḥajj al-Ifrād and Ḥajj al-Qirān are for the people of Mecca and those residing within 88 kilometers of Mecca.
Since the majority of the world's believers reside more than 88 kilometers from Mecca, they are obligated to perform Ḥajj al-Tamattuʿ. Therefore, the following discussion will focus only on the rulings of Ḥajj al-Tamattuʿ with a brief explanation.
Issue 135: Ḥajj al-Tamattuʿ consists of two acts of worship: ʿUmrah al-Tamattuʿ and Ḥajj al-Tamattuʿ.
In ʿUmrah al-Tamattuʿ, five actions are obligatory in the following order:
1. Entering the state of Iḥrām from one of the Miqāts (designated locations for Iḥrām).
2. Performing Ṭawāf around the Kaʿba seven times.
3. Performing the prayer of Ṭawāf behind Maqām-e Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him).
4. Performing Saʿy between Ṣafā and Marwah seven times.
5. Performing Taqṣīr, which involves cutting a portion of the hair from the head, beard, or mustache.
In Ḥajj al-Tamattuʿ, thirteen actions are obligatory: →
← Rules of Fasting
It is narrated from Imam Ṣādiq (peace be upon him) that he said: “Whoever dies without performing the obligatory Ḥajj, without being prevented by a severe need, illness that incapacitates him, or an oppressive ruler, let him die as a Jew or a Christian.”
Issue 132: Performing the obligatory Ḥajj is mandatory for an adult, sane, and capable person. This capability is achieved with the fulfillment of the following conditions:
1. Physical health: The person should be healthy and able to perform Ḥajj by themselves. Therefore, if a person is ill or elderly and unable to perform Ḥajj, or if performing the Ḥajj rituals would cause him severe hardship that is usually unbearable, he is not required to perform Ḥajj himself.
2. Safety: The person must be safe in terms of life, wealth, and honor during the journey and while performing Ḥajj rituals.
3. Financial Ability: The person must have the financial means to cover all the costs of Ḥajj, including expenses for visa, passport, travel (round trip or just one way if not intending to return), accommodation in the holy land, food, and medicine.
4. Post-Ḥajj financial stability: Performing Ḥajj should not lead to financial hardship after returning. Therefore, if a low-income person has the financial means to cover the Ḥajj costs but will face unbearable difficulty covering living expenses and returning to his previous financial state upon return, such a person is not bound to perform Ḥajj.
5. Sufficient time: The person must have enough time to travel to the holy places and perform the Ḥajj rituals. If financial capability is achieved late, and there is not enough time to prepare for the journey (such as obtaining a passport and visa) or if it involves severe hardship that is normally unbearable, performing Ḥajj in that year is not obligatory. However, if the person is confident that he will be capable of performing Ḥajj in the following year or years, he must preserve his assets to fulfill this obligation.
Issue 133: Appointing a proxy to perform Ḥajj on behalf of someone else is obligatory in three cases:
1. For someone who can afford the Ḥajj expenses but is physically unable to perform Ḥajj due to illness or another valid reason.
2. For someone who neglected the duty to perform Ḥajj until he became old or ill and now has no hope of being able to perform Ḥajj in the future.
3. For someone who had the capability but neglected the duty to perform Ḥajj until he passed away. In such cases, a person must be hired from the deceased’s estate to perform Ḥajj on his behalf.
Issue 134: There are three types of Ḥajj: Ḥajj al-Tamattuʿ, Ḥajj al-Ifrād, and Ḥajj al-Qirān.
Ḥajj al-Tamattuʿ is obligatory for those whose residence is at a distance of more than 88 kilometers from Mecca.
Ḥajj al-Ifrād and Ḥajj al-Qirān are for the people of Mecca and those residing within 88 kilometers of Mecca.
Since the majority of the world's believers reside more than 88 kilometers from Mecca, they are obligated to perform Ḥajj al-Tamattuʿ. Therefore, the following discussion will focus only on the rulings of Ḥajj al-Tamattuʿ with a brief explanation.
Issue 135: Ḥajj al-Tamattuʿ consists of two acts of worship: ʿUmrah al-Tamattuʿ and Ḥajj al-Tamattuʿ.
In ʿUmrah al-Tamattuʿ, five actions are obligatory in the following order:
1. Entering the state of Iḥrām from one of the Miqāts (designated locations for Iḥrām).
2. Performing Ṭawāf around the Kaʿba seven times.
3. Performing the prayer of Ṭawāf behind Maqām-e Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him).
4. Performing Saʿy between Ṣafā and Marwah seven times.
5. Performing Taqṣīr, which involves cutting a portion of the hair from the head, beard, or mustache.
