541 - Issue: He said: "Whoever neglects it (1) until he dies, a Hajj and an 'Umrah shall be performed on his behalf from his entire estate."
In summary, whoever is obligated to perform Hajj and is capable of doing so, it is mandatory for him to perform it immediately, and he is not permitted to delay it. This is the view of Abu Hanifah and Malik. Al-Shafi'i said: Hajj is a duty with a flexible deadline, and he may delay it. This is because the Prophet (peace be upon him) appointed Abu Bakr to lead the Hajj (2), while he himself remained in Medina, not as a warrior nor occupied with anything else, and most people who were capable of performing Hajj also remained behind. Furthermore, because if one delays it and then performs it in the following year, he is not considered to be making up a missed obligation (qada'), which indicates that its obligation is one of latitude (tarakhi). Our argument is the statement of Allah Almighty: "And Hajj to the House is a duty upon mankind for whoever can find a way to it" (3), and His statement: "And complete the Hajj and 'Umrah for Allah" (4). A command implies immediate performance (fawr). It is narrated from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he said: "Whoever intends Hajj, let him hasten" (5). It was recorded by Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and Ibn Majah (6). In a version by Ahmad and Ibn Majah: "For he may fall ill."
(1) Omitted from the Original and A. (2) The hadith regarding the appointment of Abu Bakr to lead the Hajj was recorded by al-Bukhari in: The Chapter on What Part of the 'Awrah Must Be Covered, from the Book of Prayer; in the Chapter on Not Circumambulating the House Naked... from the Book of Hajj; in the Chapter on How to Repudiate Treaties with People of the Covenant, from the Book of Jizya; in the Chapter on Abu Bakr Leading the People in Hajj in the Ninth Year, from the Book of Expeditions; and in the Chapter on His Statement: "So travel in the land", and the Chapter on His Statement: "And a proclamation from Allah and His Messenger to the people on the day of the Greatest Hajj", and the Chapter on: "To those with whom you made a treaty among the polytheists", in the interpretation of Surat Bara'ah, from the Book of Tafsir (Sahih al-Bukhari 1/103, 2/188, 4/124, 5/212, 6/80, 81). Also recorded by Muslim in: The Chapter on No Polytheist Shall Perform Hajj to the House... from the Book of Hajj (Sahih Muslim 2/982). Abu Dawud recorded it in: The Chapter on the Day of the Greatest Hajj, from the Book of Rites (Sunan Abi Dawud 1/451). Al-Nasa'i recorded it in: The Chapter on His Statement, the Almighty and Exalted: "Take your adornment at every mosque", from the Book of Rites (Al-Mujtaba 5/186). Imam Ahmad recorded it in: Al-Musnad 1/3. (3) Surat Ali 'Imran: 97. (4) Surat al-Baqarah: 196. (5) In the Original and M: "fal-ya'jal" (let him hasten). (6) Recorded by Imam Ahmad in: Al-Musnad 1/214, 225, 323, 355; Abu Dawud in: The Chapter: Haddathana Musaddad... from the Book of Rites (Sunan Abi Dawud 1/402); and Ibn Majah in: The Chapter on Departing for Hajj, from the Book of Rites (Sunan Ibn Majah 2/962).
