Can I Still Perform Hajj despite Saudi Arabia’s Political Positions?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

For long, but now shamelessly open, Saudi Arabia supports Israel. Although Allah (Most High) repeatedly warns us of collaboration with the enemies of Islam, we witness those who are in charge of Hajj complicit with those who aim to destroy Aqsa and perpetrate crimes against Muslims and humanity.

I really feel in deep conflict, whether to perform Hajj in these circumstances, given the actual escalation on the ground and doubling of the costs within one year, that obviously is Saudi profiteering. This is not about money but about me feeling blackmailed into supporting evil. While I can and do boycott, there is no alternative to making Hajj in Saudi Arabia. I feel morally torn and tend to boycott and pray for change. Is this an option?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

Hajj is the right of Allah Most High regardless of who is in charge of the Sacred Sanctuaries.

Allah Most High says, “In it are clear signs and the standing-place of Abraham. Whoever enters it should be safe. Pilgrimage to this House is an obligation by Allah upon whoever is able among the people.1 And whoever disbelieves, then surely Allah is not in need of (any of His) creation.” [Quran, 3:197]

If you can afford the price of Hajj without falling short of their essential needs, you must perform the Hajj.

You will not be accountable for anything the Saudi government does by participating in the Hajj.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom Seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.

He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.

In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.