PERFORMING UMRAH IN SHAWWAAL

Performing Umrah in the month of Shawwaal for such a person who has not performed the obligatory Hajj before and who has the financial means (i.e. the means and provisions) to stay there and he can afford to eat and drink (i.e. sustain himself) till the days of Hajj, and in the same way, he is capable and has the capacity for the maintenance of his family (i.e. to make sure that they have the necessary provisions in his absence), then Hajj will become obligatory upon him, because having provisions for the journey and his family is one of the conditions of Hajj to become obligatory upon an individual. It is in Fataawa Hindiyah:

ب And the same things (i.e. having the capability and power) over traveling expenses and having the means of transport are written in Bahaar e Shariat with the reference of Durr e Mukhtaar and Fataawa Alamgiri in the following way: To have the power (i.e. capacity) over travel expenses and a means of conveyance means that these things should be more (i.e. over and above) his real needs (i.e. his basic necessities). In other words he should have so much more than what he requires for a house, clothing, a servant, an animal (i.e. means) for conveyance, tools for his profession,

household goods, and to service his debt, that (after all this), he is able to travel to Makkah via a conveyance and return from there via a conveyance, and he should be able to leave sufficient funds for the maintenance of his family and for the repairs (upkeep) of his house, from the time of his departure until the time of his return, and for the return journey, the amount of funds (which he leaves or requires) for his own provisions and for the maintenance (provision) of his family considered on the basis of that which is the moderate means; neither should it be too little nor should it be excessive. Here, ‘Ayaal (Family) refers to those people for whose maintenance he is responsible (i.e. it is compulsory upon him). (Bahaar e Shariat Part 6 Page 10/Qadri Kitaab Ghar Bareilly Shareef) From the above texts, it is very clear that a person who performs Umrah in Shawwaal and can afford to stay with the required provisions in Makkah until Hajj, then upon such a person Hajj will become obligatory. However, in the case of the expiry of his visa, if the government does not allow him to stay there till the days of Hajj as is the case nowadays, then that person will be considered to be in the ruling of the ‘Muhsar’ (i.e. one who is barred from fulfilling the rites of Hajj). In other words, he will return to his homeland (i.e. his country of residence) this year and he will not be a sinner for this reason, but it will be necessary for him to perform Hajj the next year, just as it has been mentioned in the Judicial Decisions adopted by the Shar'ee Council Bareilly Shareef: If a rich person (i.e. a financially capable person) is present in Makkah and does not have a visa to stay there until the days of Hajj and the moon of Shawwaal has already been sighted, then he will be obliged to perform Hajj because of the conditions of the obligation of Hajj and he will be regarded within the ruling of a ‘Muhsar’ (i.e. one who is barred from fulfilling the rites of Hajj) and if he is unable to perform Hajj this year due to the prohibition of the Sultan (king) then he will not be a sinner. However Hajj will have to be performed the following year and if he could not perform Hajj himself due to some valid excuse then he should send someone else on his behalf for Hajj (i.e. Hajj e Badal) or he should make a bequest near the final days (of his life i.e. for his heirs to have his Hajj done after his passing). (Faislah Jaat Shar'ee Council Bareilly Shareef page 233-234)

The Summary: In the light of the above mentioned details, if the person mentioned in the

question has not yet performed Hajj (i.e. his Fard Hajj), then performing Umrah in the month of Shawwaal will make Hajj obligatory upon him.