Doing Hajj with Haram (unlawful) money

07 Oct 2020 -

Doing Hajj with Haram (unlawful) money QUESTION: My mother, my brother and I are planning to go for Hajj inshaaAllah. The problem is that my father is not practising that much, he doesn’t give zakat nor does he get rid of interest. So we’re basically living off haram money. We were wondering if would be possible for us to go to Hajj or Umrah with that money? Will it be accepted for us three? We’ve been giving naseeha to our father for years and he doesn’t want to hear anything, he doesn’t want to purify his money. What can we do? We feel the urge to go to Hajj. ANSWER: In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh. Your eagerness to undertake Hajj is commendable.  We pray that Allah ﷻ accepts not only your intentions and pilgrimage, but also assists you in your on-going efforts to advise your father with respect and wisdom.  Ameen.

If Hajj has become compulsory upon you, your situation may fall under one of the falling scenarios:

A. The wealth of your father is completely lawful and pure: in such a case, as is obvious, one should proceed for Hajj.

B. The wealth of your father is a mixture of both pure and impure income: in such a case, you should identify and separate the pure wealth from the impure. If the pure wealth is enough to perform Hajj, one should proceed for Hajj [1]. It is worth noting that wealth remains pure even if zakah has not yet been given upon it [2].

C. The wealth of your father is both pure and impure but it is not possible to differentiate between the two or indeed separate the same: in such a case, you may take an interest-free loan from someone (who is not a Muslim) to perform Hajj and thereafter pay off the debt with your father’s money [3]. While paying off debt using interest money is still considered sinful, the Hajj will not be exempted from reward.

D. The wealth of your father is completely impure: in such a case, although Hajj with such funds will provide no reward, if done, it will still remove the obligation of performing one’s Hajj. Therefore, you may take an interest-free loan from someone (who is not a Muslim) to perform Hajj and thereafter pay off the debt with your father’s impure money [knowing using such money is still considered sinful] [4].

In conclusion, we advise your family to proceed for Hajj. Do remember us all in your duas during your travels. Ameen.

And Allah knows best Zayd Rasheed Concurred by: Hanif Patel Muadh Chati Asmar Akram Approved by: Mufti Siraj Sitponi Falahi