Hajj of a minor

Praise be to Allaah.

If a child has reached the age of discernment but has not yet reached adolescence and his father or guardian wants to take him for Hajj, he should tell him to put on ihraam garments and the child should do all the rituals of Hajj for himself, starting with entering ihraam from the meeqaat, until the end of the actions of Hajj, and his father or guardian should stone the Jamaraat on his behalf if he cannot do that himself.

He should tell him to avoid the things that are forbidden whilst in ihraam. But if the child is below the age of discernment, then his father or guardian should make the intention of entering ihraam for Hajj or ‘Umrah on his behalf, and do Tawaaf and Sa’ee with him, and take him with him for all the other rituals, and stone the Jamaraat on his behalf.

And Allaah is the Source of strength. May Allaah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad. 

Al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah li’l-Buhooth al-‘Ilmiyyah wa’l-Iftaa’ – Fataawa al-Lajnah, 11/22.

Is Hajj accepted from children?

Praise be to Allaah.

The saheeh Sunnah indicates that a child may do Hajj and be rewarded for it, but that does not count as the “Hajj of Islam” (obligatory Hajj). Muslim (2378) narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: A woman lifted up a child of hers and said: O Messenger of Allaah, is there Hajj for this one? He said: “Yes, and you will have the reward.” 

Al-Nawawi said in Sharh Muslim:

This is used as evidence by al-Shaafa’i, Maalik, Ahmad and the majority of scholars that the Hajj of a child counts and is valid, and he will be rewarded for it, but it does not count as the Hajj of Islam (the obligatory Hajj), rather it is regarded as a voluntary Hajj. This hadeeth clearly states that.

Al-Qaadi said: They are unanimously agreed that it does not count as the obligatory Hajj, which he must do after he reaches puberty, except for a small group who held an odd view and said that it does count. But the scholars did not pay any attention to this view.  

The words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) “and you will have the reward” mean that this is because of her carrying him and making him avoid the things that are forbidden to the pilgrim in ihraam, and do what the pilgrim does. End quote. 

Al-Khattaabi said: 

It is Hajj for him in the sense of reward, without being counted as Hajj in the sense of obligatory Hajj if he lives until he reaches puberty and becomes a man. This is like prayer; he should be told to pray when he becomes able to pray, although it is not obligatory for him, and the reward will be written for him by the bounty of Allaah, and also for the one who tells him to pray and teaches him to do so. If he does Hajj then he must do the all the rituals, such as standing in ‘Arafah and circumambulating around the Ka’bah, being carried if he is unable to walk, and doing saa’i between al-Safa and al-Marwah, and other actions of Hajj. End quote from ‘Awn al-Ma’bood. 

Al-Tirmidhi (926) narrated that al-Saa’ib ibn Yazeed said: My father took me for Hajj with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) during the Farewell Pilgrimage when I was seven years old. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi. 

And it was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Any child who does Hajj then reaches puberty, he must do Hajj again.” Narrated by al-Shaafa’i in his Musnad; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel (686). 

And Allaah knows best.

Validity of a child’s Hajj

Praise be to Allaah.  

The scholars are agreed that Hajj and ‘Umrah are not obligatory for those who have not yet reached adolescence, because the Pen is lifted from children, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The Pen is lifted from three (i.e., their deeds are not recorded): a child until he reaches adolescence; an insane man until he comes to his senses; and one who is asleep until he wakes up.” Narrated by Abu Dawood, 4403; Ibn Maajah, 2041.

With regard to the validity of a child’s Hajj, the correct view is that his Hajj is valid and he will be rewarded for it. This is the view of the majority of scholars, and it was narrated that there is consensus on this point.

Ibn ‘Abbaas narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) met some riders in al-Rawha’ and said, “Who are these people?” They said, “Muslims.”

They said, “Who are you?” He said, “The Messenger of Allaah.”

A woman lifted up a child and said, “Is there Hajj for him?” He said, ‘Yes, and you shall have a reward.” Narrated by Muslim, 1336.

For more information see Manaasik al-Subyaan, p. 6.

He is asking about ihraam for children

Praise be to Allaah.

We have already stated that Hajj of children is acceptable according to sharee’ah, but that a child’s Hajj does not count as the “Hajj of Islam” (i.e., the Hajj that is required once in a lifetime. We have already explained what the guardian must do with his child.

In addition to that, the guardian must pay attention to the time when he wants the child to enter ihraam. If it is a time when it is not so difficult for the child to enter ihraam, because there is less crowding and so on, then he may enter ihraam; if it is too difficult for the child to enter ihraam because there is too much crowding during Hajj, or during ‘umrah in Ramadaan, or because his guardian is unable, and so on, then in this case it is better for the child not to enter ihraam, because that may distract him (the adult) from performing properly the rituals that he is required to perform. 

See al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 7/24. 

But many guardians underestimate these difficulties or think that they will be able to put up with them, then they find that the situation is not as they had thought it would be. The child himself may not be able to remain in ihraam, and it may be difficult for the guardian to make him stay in ihraam. What is the ruling in this case? 

The well-known view in our madhhab (Hanbali) is that he has to complete it, because Hajj and ‘Umrah must be completed once started. The other view, which is the madhhab of Abu Haneefah (may Allaah have mercy on him) is that he does not have to complete it, because he is not accountable and is not obliged to do the obligatory duties of Islam. 

This view is more likely to be correct, and it seems to be the view of the author of al-Furoo’ (i.e., Ibn Muflih, the student of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah). 

Based on this, the child may exit ihraam, and he does not have to do anything (i.e., offer any ransom). This is actually kinder to people, because a guardian may think that ihraam is easy for a child, then it turns out to be otherwise, so he is faced with a dilemma. This happens a lot with people nowadays, so if we adopt this opinion, which is more likely to be correct because of the correct reason given for it, this will resolve the dilemma. 

Al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 7/25; see also al-Fataawa, 22/148.

She has a nursing infant – is Hajj obligatory for her?

Praise be to Allaah.

There is no sin on the women in this situation if she delays Hajj until a later year, firstly because many scholars say that it is not obligatory to do Hajj straight away and a person may delay it even though he is able for it. Secondly, this woman needs to stay in order to look after her children, and taking care of children is very important. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “A woman is a shepherd in her husband’s house and is responsible for her flock.” So I say that she may wait until next year. We ask Allaah to make things easy for her, and to enable her to do all that is good. End quote. 

Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 21/66.