Wants to perform Hajj but feels restrained by monetary claims

18/10/2009| IslamWeb

Question:

Thanks for the help on my previous Qs. I am intending and planning to go on The Hajj this year Insha Allah, but before that I have this debt to pay (I hate to call it debt because of its nature). This is what happened. I hit this car and it got scratched nothing else happened. But the lady insisted to have the whole bumper changed anyways. The insurance charged me with about $ 3000 which is unfair and I was paying it off but I have this feeling and consideration that this is not fair and it is wrong. I recently discontinued making the payments. So my question is do you consider this as a debt that prevents my Hajj from acceptance? Except for their threat of bad credits do you think anything else happens to me?

And also I have a similar question. I was charged over $500 by this phone com. for only using about 60 min. to call my country its so ridicules when I can use more than that for only $ 10 calling card they charge me this big. And I am feeling the same way above. NOT FAIR. It's a complete rip off. Would all this affect my Hajj? I already have some other things to take care of.

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 the insurance company charged you with the real value of what you have damaged, then it is not permissible for you to refuse to pay it or to refrain from paying part of it. But if you replaced the said object with a new one, then the old one is your right. You can sell it or benefit from it in whichever way you like.

However, if the insurance company made you liable for more than the real value of the object, then you can just pay according to its value in the market, and you can refrain from paying the amount that you think is unfair.

As regards the relationship of this with the validity of the Hajj, then if the case is to repel the wrong from you, there is no problem about the validity of the Hajj, and if the case is otherwise, the Hajj is still valid, Insha' Allah. But you should not go to Hajj while having taken the rights of others, because the people of knowledge state in the etiquettes of Hajj that one should give back the rights of others before traveling for Hajj.

With regard to what the telecommunication company asked you to pay for the call you made to your country, there are two cases:

The first case: If you previously agreed with this company about the certain rate of every minute or every hour for instance, you have to pay what you agreed upon regardless of the cost.

The second case: If you did not agree with the company about a given rate and if there was no known rate to everybody, and you made the phone call not knowing the rate, then this contract is not valid. And if the contract is not valid, then you have to pay according to the same value of a valid contract.

Therefore, you have to pay the call according to the rate in the market.  As with its relation with Hajj, the same thing we mentioned about the first issue applies for the second one.

Allah Knows best.