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Who Must Perform Hajj
Hajj, the pilgrimage to the Sacred House in Makkah, is the fifth pillar of Islam. Allah says: ﴿وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ حِجُّ ٱلْبَيْتِ مَنِ ٱسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًا﴾ (“And pilgrimage to the House is a duty owed to Allah by people, by whoever is able to find a way to it.”)
It is required once in a lifetime of every Muslim who has reached puberty, is of sound mind and is able. Being able means having the health to make the journey, the means to reach Makkah and return, provision for the family left behind, and a safe route. When the Prophet ﷺ was asked whether hajj was every year, he said it was once, and whoever does more has done something voluntary.
When a man told the Prophet ﷺ that his wife was setting out for hajj, he told him to go with her. The schools differ on whether a woman must have her husband or a mahram with her before hajj becomes obligatory on her, as set out below.
Whoever performs hajj for Allah, avoiding obscenity and sin, returns as free of sin as on the day his mother bore him. The Prophet ﷺ also told 'A'ishah (رضي الله عنها) that the best jihad for women is an accepted hajj.
The four schools differ on some details. Show them
Each school's ruling, with the schools that share it named together.
Must a woman have her husband or a mahram with her for hajj to be obligatory on her?
2 of 4 schools agree. Differing: Maliki, Shafi'i.
Show each school
- A husband or mahram is requiredHanafi · Hanbali
- Safe company sufficesMaliki
- Trustworthy women sufficeShafi'i
- Hanafi
- If she lives a travelling distance of three days or more from Makkah, hajj is obligatory on her only when her husband or a mahram can go with her.
- Maliki
- For the obligatory hajj, a woman with no husband or mahram may travel with a trustworthy company (rufqah ma'munah).
- Shafi'i
- Hajj becomes obligatory on her when she has her husband, a mahram or a group of trustworthy women to travel with.
- Hanbali
- The mahram is a condition of hajj being obligatory on a woman, based on the hadith that a woman should not travel except with a mahram.
- Qur'an 3:97
- Sahih Muslim 1337Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sunan Abi Dawud 1721 Graded by Al-Albani: Sahih · Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul Hamid: Sahih · Shuaib Al Arnaut: Sahih · Zubair Ali Zai: HasanSahih
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1862 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1521 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1520 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
The positions of the four schools are summarised from their standard references and are pending review by a qualified scholar. Follow the school you were taught, and for your own situation, ask a scholar.
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