Lesson Content
The conditions of obligation
Risalah; your class slides add "financial ability, physical ability, safe passage" as the parts of ability
What "able to find a way" means
The extra condition for women: a mahram
Men and women share the conditions above. The scholars add, for women, travelling with a mahram (or, in some schools, a safe group).
| School | Position |
|---|---|
| Hanbali | Hajj is not obligatory on a woman without a husband or mahram. Imam Ahmad was asked: a wealthy woman who finds no mahram, is Hajj obligatory on her? He said: "No." |
| Hanafi | Like the Hanbalis: not obligatory without a husband or mahram |
| Shafi'i | Obligatory if she finds a husband, a mahram or a group of trustworthy women. For a voluntary Hajj she needs a husband or mahram |
| Maliki | She may travel for the obligatory Hajj with a safe group: of men, of women, or mixed |
Muhammad Alshareef, Women and Hajj
The ahadith that forbid a woman from travelling without a mahram are general and authentic.
The hadith of 'Adi: a woman will travel from al-Hirah to the Ka'bah fearing no one but Allah. The others answer: this tells what will happen, not that it is permitted (ash-Shawkani).
A woman whose obligation is lifted for lack of a mahram is not sinful for not going. She can still take part in the season at home: the first ten days and the udhiyah.
Key points
- Conditions: Islam, sanity, adulthood, freedom, ability.
- Ability: safe route, provisions, strength, health.
- A child's Hajj is valid but the obligatory Hajj remains on him after adulthood.
- For women, the mahram condition: required by the Hanbalis and Hanafis; a safe group accepted by the Shafi'is and Malikis for the obligatory Hajj.
Quiz
Test your understanding of this lesson.
Discussion
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