Fatwa on guidance for those unable to perform Haj for health reasons

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الحمد لله رب العالمين، والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وإمام المتقين نبينا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين. اللهم أرنا الحق حقا وارزقنا اتباعه، وأرنا الباطل باطلا وارزقنا اجتناه وبعد.

BACKGROUND

1.  The Fatwa Committee received a question from MUIS’s Haj Office regarding the new mandatory medical requirements by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, that every prospective pilgrim must obtain a medical certificate confirming they are free from conditions that could affect their physical capability in performing Haj, before a Haj visa is issued.¹

2.  What is the religious guidance for those who are unable to perform Haj because they do  not meet the health requirements for the Haj visa?

CONSIDERATIONS OF THE FATWA COMMITTEE

3.  Capability (istiṭāʿah) is among the conditions for the Haj obligation. Allah ﷻ states in surah Āli ʿImrān verse 97:

﴿وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًا ۚ﴾

“And Allah has obligated man to perform the Haj to the House of Allah for whoever is able to reach it.”

The Prophet ﷺ states:

وَتَحُجَّ الْبَيْتَ إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلاً

“And perform Haj to the House if you have the means to go.”²

4.  Capability as deliberated by jurists encompasses three fundamental aspects: (i) physical capability; (ii) safe passage; (iii) financial means.³ The Shafi'i school emphasises that physical capability—i.e. good health and the ability to fulfil the Haj requirements—is fundamental  in determining the Haj obligation on an individual.⁴ In today’s context, obtaining a Haj visa from the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah also falls under capability, because without the visa, a person is not permitted to travel to the Holy Land for Haj.

5.  The Council of Senior Scholars of Saudi Arabia (Hayʾah Kibār al-ʿUlamāʾ) issued a fatwa stating that it is not permissible to go to Haj without a permit. Whoever is unable to obtain a permit is considered as not possessing capability.⁵ This is in line with religious principles and objectives of the Shariah (Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah) in ensuring benefit and well-being, and in preventing harm,⁶ particularly with more extreme weather conditions, increasing numbers of Haj pilgrims, and the impact of all these on medical infrastructure in managing high volumes of unwell pilgrims.

INDIVIDUALS WHO CANNOT PERFORM HAJ FOR HEALTH REASONS

6.  Those who are unable to obtain the Haj visa due to health conditions are considered as not possessing the capability (istiṭāʿah) to perform Haj. The Shariah does not burden a person beyond their capability, and is founded on the principles of ease (al-taysīr) and the avoidance of difficulty (rafʿ al-ḥaraj). Allah ﷻ states in surah al-Ḥajj:

﴿وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ ۚ﴾

“And He (Allah ﷻ) has placed no burden in your religion.”

7.  However, they will still be rewarded for their intention. This is in line with a hadith qudsi which means: “The Lord, Exalted and Glorious, says (to the angels): 'I have restrained My servant and tried him with hardship, so continue to record for him the same good deeds you used to record when he was in good health.'”⁷

8.  A person who is prevented from performing Haj due to health reasons falls into one of two categories: (I) illness with a prospect of recovery, and (II) illness where recovery is highly unlikely, such as chronic diseases, terminal illnesses and debilitating conditions that affect physical capability.⁸

I. THOSE WITH A PROSPECT OF RECOVERY

9.  Individuals who are not issued the Haj permit when their turn arrives due to their health condition at the time, but with a prospect of recovery as assessed by medical experts, may defer their Haj until they have recovered. Imam Al-Māwardī in Al-Ḥāwī al-Kabīr states:

فلو أن مريضاً ترجى سلامته وقد لزمه فرض الحج لم يكن له أن يستأجر من يحج عنه...وإن كان عاجزا في الحال فهو غير ميؤوس منه فصار كالمحبوس

Meaning: “If a person is sick but is expected to recover and Haj is obligatory upon them, it is not permissible for him to appoint a proxy to perform Haj on his behalf…even though he is presently incapable, since there remains a prospect of recovery, his condition is comparable to that of someone who is imprisoned.”⁹

II. THOSE HIGHLY UNLIKELY TO RECOVER

10.  Individuals who are unable to perform Haj due to chronic illness and/or physically incapable without any prospect of recovery, but are financially able, the Shafi’i school opines that it is obligatory for them to appoint a proxy to perform Haj on their behalf (Haj Badal).¹⁰ Imam Al-Nawāwī in Al-Majmūʿ states:

وَإِنْ وَجَدَ مَالًا وَوَجَدَ مَنْ يَسْتَأْجِرُهُ بِأُجْرَةِ الْمِثْلِ لَزِمَهُ الْحَجُّ فَإِنْ اسْتَأْجَرَهُ وَحَجَّ الْأَجِيرُ عَنْهُ وَإِلَّا فَقَدْ اسْتَقَرَّ الْحَجُّ فِي ذِمَّتِهِ لِوُجُودِ الِاسْتِطَاعَةِ بِالْمَالِ

Meaning: “If someone has sufficient wealth and is able to find a proxy who can be reasonably compensated, Haj becomes obligatory upon him. If he appoints such a person and the proxy performs Haj on his behalf, his Haj obligation is fulfilled. If Haj is not performed, the obligation remains established as his responsibility due to his financial capability.”¹¹

11.  However, Haj Badal must be performed in accordance with the requirements and conditions set by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It does not need to be carried out immediately (i.e., in the same year a person’s turn arrives to perform Haj, but is prevented due to health reasons). MUIS Haj Office needs to establish a transparent and suitable process to enable prospective pilgrims who do not meet medical health requirements to appoint proxies to perform Haj on their behalf.

12.  If Haj Badal cannot be fulfilled despite all efforts by the individual, Haj no longer becomes obligatory on them, and if this situation persists until their death, their family members are not required to perform Haj on their behalf, according to the most authoritative view in the Shafi'i school.¹²

DECISION OF THE FATWA COMMITTEE

13.  Taking into account the new medical requirements issued by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and all the religious considerations and principles as set out above, the Fatwa Committee has decided the following:

i) An individual who is unable to perform Haj due to health reasons and does not obtain a Haj visa, where there is a prospect of recovery based on medical evaluation, he or she may defer Haj until after recovery.

ii) An individual who is unable to perform Haj due to health reasons and does not obtain a Haj visa, if he/she is unlikely to recover according to medical evaluation, can appoint a proxy to perform Haj Badal on his/her behalf, if he/she is financially capable. However, this does not need to be fulfilled immediately, as Haj Badal is subject to other Haj regulations.

iii) If Haj Badal could not be fulfilled despite all efforts, the Haj obligation is lifted, and if this situation persists until death, his/her family members are not required to perform Haj on his/her behalf.

14.  This guidance takes into account the importance of preserving life and the welfare of the ummah, in accordance with the principles of the Shariah, and aims to ensure that all pilgrims can perform Haj safely without causing hardship and harming themselves or others. May Allah ﷻ accept and grant reward for the intention and efforts of those who are unable to perform Haj due to health reasons, and may Allah ﷻ grant them patience and complete trust in His divine wisdom.

والله أعلم

والله ولي التوفيق، وصلى الله على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم.

Dated this day 22^nd of October 2025 / 29^th Rabiulakhir 1447H 

DR NAZIRUDIN MOHD NASIR
CHAIRMAN, THE FATWA COMMITTEE
THE MUFTI OF SINGAPORE

¹ Health Requirements and Guidelines for Hajj Pilgrims to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Hajj Season 1446H (2025).

² Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, hadith no. 8a.

³ Wahbah Al-Zuḥaylī, Al-Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuhu, (Damascus: Dār al-Fikr, n.d.), 3:2084-2085.

⁴ Al-Shīrāzī, Al-Muhaddhab fī Fiqh al-Imām al-Shāfiʿī, (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 1995) 1:361.

⁵ Hayʾah Kibār al-ʿUlamāʾ  fatwa states four main principles as the basis:
1) Haj permit considers the aspect of facilitating the ummah in performing ibadah. Therefore, the obligation to obtain haj permit aims to regulate the pilgrims enabling large crowds to perform rituals in peace and safety.
2) The Haj permit system facilitates pilgrims’ management to achieve benefit and avoid harm.
3) The obligation to heed the commands of the authorities (ulil ʾamr) in matters of goodness.
4) Haj pilgrims who do not obtain the Haj permit not only harm themselves, but also other pilgrims who adhere to the regulations.
Please see: https://www.spa.gov.sa/N2090424

⁶ Al-ʿIz Ibn ʿAbd al-Salām, Qawāʿid al-Aḥkām fī Maṣāliḥ al-Anām, (Cairo: Maktabah Al-Kulliyyāt al-Azhariyyah, 1991), 1:10-11.

⁷ The hadith states:

إِنَّ اللهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يَقُولُ: إِنِّي إِذَا ابْتَلَيْتُ عَبْدًا مِنْ عِبَادِي مُؤْمِنًا، فَحَمِدَنِي عَلَى مَا ابْتَلَيْتُهُ، فَإِنَّهُ يَقُومُ مِنْ مَضْجَعِهِ ذَلِكَ كَيَوْمِ وَلَدَتْهُ أُمُّهُ مِنَ الْخَطَايَا، وَيَقُولُ الرَّبُّ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: أَنَا قَيَّدْتُ عَبْدِي، وَابْتَلَيْتُهُ، فَأَجْرُوا لَهُ كَمَا كُنْتُمْ تُجْرُونَ لَهُ وَهُوَ صَحِيحٌ.

Meaning: “Allah ﷻ says: 'When I test one of My believing servants with a trial, and he praises Me for what I have tested him with, he shall rise from his bed of affliction as pure from sins as the day his mother brought him into this world. 'The Lord, Exalted and Glorious, says (to the angels): 'I have restrained My servant and tried him with hardship, so continue to record for him the same good deeds you used to record when he was in good health.'” Aḥmad, Musnad Aḥmad, hadith no. 17118; Al-Ṭabrānῑ, Al-Muʿjam Al-Kabīr, hadith no. 7136. Hadith status: Ḥasan li ghayrih.

⁸ Al-Nawawi, Rawḍah al-Ṭālibīn wa ʿUmdah al-Muftīn, (Beirut: al-Maktab al-Islāmī, 1991), 3:12. The term used by scholars is “al-Maʿḍūb.”

⁹ Al-Māwardī, Al-Ḥāwī al-Kabīr fī Fiqh Madhhab al-Imām al-Shāfiʿī, (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 1999), 4:14.

¹⁰ The Hanbali school holds a similar opinion as the Shafi'i school. TheMaliki school opines that haj is lifted for individuals who are not physically capable during their lifetime. Please see: Al-Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, ʿUyūn al-Masāʾil, (Beirut: Dār Ibn Ḥazm, 2009), 254; Abū al-Walīd Al-Bājī, Al-Muntaqā Sharḥ al-Muwaṭṭaʾ, (Egypt: Maṭbaʿah al-Saʿādah, 1911), 2:269-270; Aḥmad Al-Ḥasanī, et al., Al-Istiṭāʿah al-Badaniyyah wa Ᾱthāruhā fī al-Taklīf bi Farīḍah al-Ḥajj - Dirāsah Fiqhiyyah Muwāzanah, (Mecca: Jāmiʿah ʾUmm al-Qurā, 2025).

¹¹ Al-Nawāwī, Al-Majmūʿ Sharḥ al-Muhadhhab, (Cairo: Idārah al-Ṭibāʿah al-Munīriyyah,1929), 7:94.

¹² Muḥammad Al-Zuḥaylῑ, Al-Muʿtamad fῑ al-Fiqh al-Shāfiʿī, (Damascus: Dār al-Qalam, 2011), 2:275. This is also the view of Imam Al-Nawāwī, who states:

وَإِنْ كَانَ لَهُ مَالٌ وَلَمْ يَجِدْ مَنْ يَسْتَأْجِرُهُ أَوْ وَجَدَهُ وَطَلَبَ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ أُجْرَةِ الْمِثْلِ *لَمْ يَجِبْ الْحَجُّ وَلَا يَصِيرُ مُسْتَطِيعًا وَالْحَالَةُ هَذِهِ فَلَوْ دَامَ حَالُهُ هَكَذَا حَتَّى مَاتَ فَلَا حَجَّ عَلَيْهِ.

Meaning: “And if he has wealth but is unable to find a suitable proxy for haj, or he finds a suitable proxy whose charges are unreasonable, haj is then lifted and he is not considered capable. Should this situation persist until their death, then haj is not obligatory upon him.” Please see: Al-Nawāwī, Al-Majmūʿ Sharḥ al-Muhadhhab, 7:94.