What are the conditions of Hajj being obligatory?

Hajj becomes obligatory on a person when five conditions are met: being Muslim, being of sound mind, being an adult, being free, and being able to do it. If one of them is missing, Hajj is not obligatory.

• Being Muslim: this is a condition of every act of worship.

• Being of sound mind and an adult: Hajj is not obligatory on a child. If the parents take a child for Hajj, the child's Hajj is valid, and the child and the parents are each rewarded.

• Being free: Hajj is not obligatory on a slave.

• Being able: in body and in wealth.

Being able in body means being healthy enough to bear the hardship of travelling to the House of Allah. Being able in wealth means having enough to get there and back, beyond one's basic needs, the spending one owes one's family until returning, and one's debts.

Someone who cannot afford both to repay a debt and to perform Hajj repays the debt first, and Hajj is not obligatory on him until he is able. The lender's permission does not change this, because the debt is still owed.

Basic needs are things a person truly depends on, such as a student's books, a craftsman's tools, or a car that he needs. These do not have to be sold to pay for Hajj, but what is beyond need, such as a second car, does. Someone who needs to marry puts that first.

Someone who has the wealth but not the health waits if recovery is hoped for. If there is no hope of recovery, as with old age or a lasting illness, he appoints someone to perform Hajj on his behalf.

For a woman, having a mahram to travel with is part of being able. A mahram is her husband, or a man she may never marry because of blood ties, breastfeeding or ties through marriage, and he must be an adult of sound mind. If she has no mahram who can travel with her, Hajj is not obligatory on her. Her husband's permission is not a condition for the obligatory Hajj.

Whoever is able in body and in wealth should not delay Hajj.