Can Landowners Sell Property to Pay for Hajj?

06 August, 2019
Q As-Salamu alaykum. Is a Muslim obliged to sell his land in order to cover the expenses of Hajj because he has no other source of income?

Answer

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu waRahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. 

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.


In this fatwa:

The most prevalent opinion of the Shafi`i jurists is that a person is obliged to sell the land that he employs in agriculture in order to cover the expenses of his Hajj.


Answering your question, the General Iftaa’ Department in Jordan, states the following:

The most prevalent opinion of the Shafi`i jurists is that a person is obliged to sell the land that he employs in agriculture in order to cover his hajj expenses. This is because that land is reserved for covering future expenses while Hajj is due on him immediately.
Their least prevalent opinion is that selling one’s land to cover the hajj expenses isn’t obligatory.

We read in Mughni Al-Muhtaj (1/465):

“One who possesses active funds that cover his expenses is obliged to sell them to pay for the expenses of his Hajj because this is the most correct opinion….Whereas, according to the least prevalent opinion, he isn’t obliged to do so in order not to be considered from the category of the poor who are eligible to receive obligatory charity.”

Almighty Allah knows best.