What are the obstacles to performing hajj or umrah? What are the prohibitions of hajj and umrah?
There are certain things that prevent a person from performing hajj and umrah:
- Husband: A husband may restrain his wife from going to both the obligatory and the supererogatory hajj and umrah. According to schools of Islamic law other than Shafiis, a husband may not proscribe his wife to perform the obligatory pilgrimage.
- Parents. The mother and the father may prevent their children to go to supererogatory hajj or umrah, but they cannot prevent them to go to the obligatory hajj and umrah. However, it is a Sunnah for the children to get the permission of their parents before going to the obligatory hajj and umrah. Every hajj performed by children, who are not at the age of puberty yet, is accepted as a supererogatory hajj.
- Slavery: A slave cannot go to hajj without getting the prior permission of his master.
- Being restricted, in debt, confiscation and being in prison: The restricted person cannot go to pilgrimage without the permission of his guardian or trustee. In order to prevent him from wasting his money, his guardian should accompany him in his journey. The creditor may prevent the debtor from going to pilgrimage if the debtor does not intentionally pay the loan at the due date despite having the means to pay it. However, if the debtor enters the state of ihram, it is permissible for the creditor to force him to go out of the state of ihram. If the debtor is in prison for not paying his debt or for being in financial problems, he can go out of the state of ihram even if he enters the state of ihram for hajj.
- Enemy: If the pilgrims face the enemy after entering the state of ihram, if the pilgrims cannot find an opportunity to carry out the rites of hajj before fighting the enemy or losing all his belongings to the enemy, they wait for some time to be saved from this hardship and if the danger continues to exist, they offer a sacrifice or shave their heads and are released from the state of ihram. If one gets ill after entering the state of ihram, it is not permissible for him to be released from the state of ihram. However, according to the Hanafi School, it is permissible for a person who gets ill after entering the state of ihram to be released from it just like the pilgrims who face an enemy.
Source: Fiqh1 (According To The Shafi’i School Of Islamic Law), Erkam Publications