What takes precedence, Hajj or Hijrah?
Question:
A student from India has a question:
He is able to perform Hajj this year with his mother, if Allah wills. However, the problem is he needs to return to and remain in India for 6 months in order to complete the official procedures of Hajj which he cannot do outside of India.
Is it obligatory for him in this case to return to India to complete these procedures in order to perform Hajj with his mother or is he excused from performing Hajj?
Answer:
If he is a Muhaajir, he cannot return and remain in his country for 6 months. He must therefore be patient and Allah will make a way out for him and make his affairs easy.
He has an excuse in front of Allah because Allah has made capability a condition in order for Hajj to become compulsory.
وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ حِجُّ ٱلْبَيْتِ مَنِ ٱسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًاۚ
And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House – for whoever is able to find thereto a way.
[Aal-e-Imran 3:97]
It is not possible for this Muhaajir to return to his country and remain in it for 6 months in order to perform hajj because whoever makes hijrah from a country cannot exceed three days if he returns to it [1].
If he has not made hijrah and returns to this country (1) not fearing for himself fitnah (2) for the sake of his mother, so that he can aid her in performing hajj. He reduces the time to a month or two If he is able to; if not, he still does it.
Even if he cannot reduce the time to less than 6 months, he goes – if Allah wills – for the sake of his mother if he does not fear for himself fitnah from the country.
He has been able to obtain some goodness (knowledge) which he can utilise for giving da’wah and teaching his Indian brothers who will benefit from him greatly (in sha Allah).
He must therefore work extra hard in seeking knowledge, so when he goes back for this reason – performing hajj with his mother – he utilises this period of time for da’wah and he is upon goodness.
He does not go ‘here and there’. He remains in his house if it can facilitate lessons. Before this, if there is a masjid then he teaches his brothers in it and does not go ‘here and there’ mixing with people of sin.
If there is no masjid he remains at his home or the homes of some of his brothers teaching them and making use of his time. He then returns to Yemen and considers this a 6 month period of da’wah in which he has gone back to his country to benefit his brothers who are in need of him.
This is all if he does not fear for himself ‘fitnah’.
[1] “لِلْمُهَاجِرِ إِقَامَةُ ثَلَاثٍ بَعْدَالصَّدَرِ بِمَكَّةَ “. كَأَنَّهُ يَقُولُ : لَا يَزِيدُ عَلَيْهَا
“For the Muhaajir is three days of residency after completing (Hajj or Umra) in Makkah.” It was as if he was saying he cannot exceed this
[Narrated by ‘Alaa ibn Hadarami in Muslim. Hadith Number 1352]
Answered by: Shaykh Abu Bilaal Al-Hadhramy – may Allah preserve him
Source: https://t.me/abubilalhami/2833
Answered on: 3 Rabbi Al-Awal 1441 (31th October 2019)
Translated by: Abou Sufian Saami ibn Daniel Al-Ghaani