Question:

One of my friends told me that we cannot perform Hajj if one or both of our parents are alive and they have not performed it yet. If our parents are alive, they must perform Hajj before we do so. Otherwise, we can perform Hajj if both of our parents have died. Is it true? Personally, I don't believe this. Please advise as per the Islamic teachings.

Fatwa:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, may Allah exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

If a person is able to perform Hajj and his parents could not perform it then they are not forced to go to Hajj because they are unable, but it is an obligation on him to perform it because he is able to do so. It is not a condition for Hajj that the parents should have performed it before the son could do so. Whenever the son is able to perform Hajj, it is an obligation on him to do so whether his parents have already performed it or not, and whether they are alive or dead.

Therefore, if you are able to perform Hajj, you are obliged to do so immediately according to the most preponderant opinion of the scholars, may Allah have mercy on them. It is forbidden for you to delay it with the excuse that your parents have not yet performed it.

Your friend has to stop giving baseless Fataawa the foundation of which is guessing. The Muslim nation is lost because of the spread of ignorance and the spread of people who give baseless Fataawa according to their desires.

Allah knows best.

Fatwa answered by: The Fatwa Center at Islamweb