The Ability to Perform al-Hajj

“This is about the words of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, ‘It is obligatory upon people from Allah to perform al-Hajj who has the way (are able) to do so.’ (3:97) Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), said, ‘What is ‘the way’?’ He (the Imam) then said, ‘It means that he must have the means to perform al-Hajj.’ I then asked, ‘If one is provided with all the means to perform al-Hajj but he feels shy, is he considered of the ones who have the way (are able) to perform al-Hajj?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, and why should he feel shy even if he performs al-Hajj on a donkey whose nose, ears and tail are cutoff? Even if one needs to walk certain distance of the way and ride other parts one must perform al- Hajj.’”

“Hafs al-Kunasiy once asked abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about the meaning of the words of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, ‘It is obligatory upon people from Allah to perform al-Hajj who have the way (are able) to do so.’ (3:96) He (the Imam) said, ‘It means that one is physically safe, has supplies and transportation, then he has the way (is able) to perform al-Hajj or that he (the Imam) said that he is of the ones who is wealthy.’ Hafs al-Kunasiy then asked, ‘So if one is physically safe, free, has supplies, transportation and has not performed al-Hajj, is he of those who are able to perform al- Hajj? He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, that is correct.’”

“I once asked abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about the words of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, ‘It is obligatory upon people from Allah to perform al-Hajj who have the way (are able) to do so.’ (3:96) He (the Imam) asked, ‘What do people say about it?’ It was said, to him (the Imam), ‘They say it is supplies and transportation.’ Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), then said, ‘Abu Ja‘far, was asked about it and he said, “If so, then people are destroyed. If it was only supplies, transportation and enough food for the family that made them needless of people and he then left and was looted, such people would have been destroyed.’” It then was asked, ‘What then is ‘the way’?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘It means to be affluent so that if one uses a certain portion, others (enough funds) are left from which, one’s family can spend. Is it not the case that Allah has made Zakat obligatory only when one has two hundred dirham?”’

“I once said to abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), that I escorted my people to al-Qadisiyah and they said to me, ‘Come with us, we shall wait for three days for you. I returned and I did not have anything for my expenses but Allah made it possible and I joined them. He (the Imam) said, ‘Whoever’ s name is written in the delegation is not able to avoid al-Hajj even if he is poor and whoever’ s name is not written cannot do al-Hajj even if he is rich and in good health.’”

“Once a man who believed in absolute freedom of will ideology, asked abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), ‘O child of the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, I have a question. Tell me about the words of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, “It is obligatory upon people from Allah to perform al-Hajj who are able to do so.” (3:96) Has Allah not given them the ability?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Fie upon you, ‘ability’ means supplies and transportation and physical well being.’ The man then said, ‘Is it not true that when there is supply and transportation one then is able to perform al-Hajj.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Fie upon you, it is not the way you think it is. There are times when a man has a great deal of wealth, more than supplies and transportation and still does not do al-Hajj until Allah, most High, grants him permission to do so.’”