Is It Sinful To Perform Multiple ‘Umra Trips Before the Obligatory Hajj?

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Question

Am I sinful for doing multiple ‘Umra instead of saving the trips for a Hajj?
I have not done Hajj yet.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate

I hope you’re doing well, insha’Allah. May Allah bless you for your seeking to go on pilgrimage–and for your concern for fulfilling your obligations.

One. Hajj becomes obligatory when you have the financial means to perform the pilgrimage. Allah Most High says,

“Pilgrimage to this House is an obligation by Allah upon whoever is able among the people.” [Quran, 3:97]

Two. It is recommended to save, in order to be able to perform Hajj, if you don’t presently have the means.

Three. When you do have the means, it is blameworthy or even sinful to unduly delay performing Hajj. [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar; Ibn al-Humam/Marghinani, Fath al-Qadir Sharh al-Hidaya]

Four. Even if you haven’t performed Hajj, it is permitted for you to perform ‘Umra.

Five. However, it is generally superior to save to perform Hajj–which is an obligation.

And Allah is the giver of success and facilitation.

[Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani spent ten years studying with some of the leading scholars of recent times, first in Damascus and Amman, Jordan. His teachers include the foremost theologian of recent times in Damascus, the late Shaykh Adib al-Kallas (may Allah have mercy on him), and his student Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi, one of the leading Hanafi fuqaha of the present age. He returned to Canada in 2007, where he founded SeekersGuidance to meet the urgent need to spread Islamic knowledge–both online and on the ground–in a reliable, relevant, inspiring, and accessible manner. He is the author of Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer, and the Path of Salvation According to the Hanafi School (White Thread Press, 2004.) Since 2011, Shaykh Faraz has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center.