Is it permissible for him to send his mother for Hajj using the zakaah of his wealth?
Question I am comfortably off and I have decided to send my mother for Hajj. Is it permissible for me to regard the money that I will send for her to use on the expenses of Hajj as the zakaah of my wealth? In other words: is it one of the categories on which zakaah…
Question
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
If your mother does not have the money to do Hajj, then Hajj
is not obligatory in her case, because Allah, may He be glorified and
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) to the House (Ka’bah) is
a duty that mankind owes to Allâh, those who can afford the expenses (for
one’s conveyance, provision and residence)”
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:97].
If the son wants to send his mother for Hajj, the scholars
differed as to whether it is permissible to pay for that from zakaah. The
reason for this difference of opinion is that Allah listed, among the
categories on which zakaah may be spent, “and for Allâh’s Cause”
[al-Tawbah 9:60]. Does this include Hajj or does it apply only to jihad
for Allah’s cause?
Most of the scholars are of the view that Hajj is not
included in the categories on which zakaah may be spent.
Ibn Muflih al-Hanbali (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It (zakaah) cannot be given for Hajj. According to one
report, he favoured this view in al-Mughni and classed it as sound in
al-Sharh. This was also stated by most of the scholars, because the
phrase “Allah’s cause (sabeel-Allah) usually refers to jihad, and zakaah is
only given to those who need it, such as the poor, or those whom the Muslims
need, such as the worker who collects and distributes zakaah. The Muslims do
not benefit from one individual’s Hajj and have no need for it; it is not
obligatory in the case of the poor, for whom this duty is waived, and if a
poor person still wants to do it, it is better to spend this amount of money
on those who are in need or to spend it on helping the Muslims.
Al-Mubdi‘ Sharh al-Muqni‘,
2/387
Imam Ahmad has another view, which is that it is permissible
to give zakaah to someone who wants to do Hajj. This view was also favoured
by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him), and is
mentioned in fatwas issued by the scholars of the Standing Committee for
Issuing Fatwas.
This has been discussed previously in the answer to question
no. 40023.
Based on this second opinion, it is permissible for you to
send your mother for Hajj using the zakaah of your wealth. But if you take
the more cautious approach and do not regard this as zakaah, that is
preferable, and we hope that Allah will accept it from you and from her.
And Allah knows best.
