Fatwa ID: 04186

Answered by: Mufti Muhammad Adnan

Question
 

A while back, I was a student in the USA. I was working as a teaching assistant and paying my fees and other bills. Later, I got married and my wife was in Canada. I came to visit her but was not allowed by US immigration to go back to the USA to complete my studies.
 

Since I did not complete my semester and therefore my department could not cover my tuition for that semester. Even though I worked for a few weeks I never got paid.
 

I am planning to go to Hajj, insha Allah. My question is, Can I go for Hajj, or do I need to pay the college for the semester which I never completed?

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Answer

The most favorable way to deal with debts is to contact the debtor and discuss it with them if they are owed any money by yourself. Even if you owe them money, you can make a payment plan with them and if it is possible to fulfill the requirements of the payment plan and do Hajj then you may also do that.

Being free of debt is a condition for Hajj being obligatory on an individual. (Fatawa Hindiyyah p.217 v.1)

However, this condition doesn't apply in the case of installments being easily paid to debtors. If a person has enough wealth besides his annual installments, then Hajj will become obligatory upon him.

Only Allah Knows Best

Written by Mufti Muhammad Adnan

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham