Whoever has wealth such that, if he uses it to repay the debt, he will be unable to perform Hajj, and if he performs Hajj, he will not repay the debt—such a person is not deemed able until after repaying his debts.

If a person is in debt, then Hajj is not obligatory upon him, whether the debt is presently due or deferred. The exception is where the debt is deferred and he most likely expects that he will be able to repay it when it falls due, while he currently possesses sufficient means to perform Hajj. In that case, we say that Hajj is obligatory upon him.

If someone were to ask: “If the creditor gives him permission to perform Hajj, is he then considered able?”

The answer is: no. The issue is not whether permission has been granted or withheld; rather, it is whether his liability remains outstanding. It is well known that if the creditor permits the debtor to perform Hajj, the debtor is not thereby released from the debt. Rather, the debt remains a liability upon him. So we say to him: repay the debt first, then perform Hajj. Even if you meet your Lord before performing Hajj, and nothing prevented you from doing so except repaying the debt, you will meet your Lord with your Islam complete, because Hajj was not obligatory upon you in this case. Just as zakah is not obligatory upon a poor person, and if he meets his Lord, he meets Him in a state of complete Islam, so too will this debtor—who does not have enough wealth both to repay his debt and to perform Hajj—meet his Lord with his Islam complete.

What some debtors imagine—that the reason is the creditor’s failure to grant permission—has no basis.

If someone were to ask: “What if he were able to perform Hajj through some financial benefit—for example, if he is a competent worker and someone hires him to perform Hajj with him, whether in a caravan or with his family, and pays him one thousand”