Third: one condition for obligation only, namely ability. Thus, if he performs Hajj while unable, it is valid and discharges his obligation.

“The one who is able is the one who can ride and finds provisions and a mount suitable for someone of his standing, after fulfilling his obligatory commitments.”

His statement, “The one who is able is the one who can ride”: whoever is unable to ride is not considered able. But how might someone be unable to ride?

The answer is that, in the age of camels, inability to ride was common: either because of a naturally weak constitution, or because a person was so frail that he could not remain steady upon the mount.

If someone were to say, “He can be tied onto the mount,” we would reply: this entails a hardship that the Sacred Law does not impose.

In our present age—the age of aeroplanes and cars—those unable to ride are very rare. Nevertheless, some people experience evident hardship when travelling by car, aeroplane, or ship: they may faint, suffer extreme exhaustion, or be afflicted with nausea and vomiting. Such a person is not required to perform Hajj, even if he is physically sound and strong.

His statement, “and finds provisions and a mount”: provisions are what one takes with him on a journey of food, drink, and other travel necessities.

A mount is well known: it is any means of transport that a person uses for travel, such as camels, donkeys, cars, aeroplanes, and the like.

However, the author stipulated a condition, namely his statement, “suitable for someone of his standing”: that is, the provisions must be suitable