Islamic Manual

The obligation of Hajj

Why Hajj is fard on every able Muslim, drawn from the Qur'an and hadith, and that it is owed only once in a lifetime.

Hajj is the journey to the Ka'bah in Makkah. It is fard, something every Muslim who is able must do, just like Salah, fasting and Zakat. It is one of the five pillars of Islam.

Allah says in the Qur'an (Surah Al 'Imran, verse 97)

فِيْهِ اٰيٰتٌۢ بَيِّنٰتٌ مَّقَامُ اِبْرٰهِيْمَ࣢ۚ وَمَنْ دَخَلَهٗ كَانَ اٰمِنًاؕ وَلِلّٰهِ عَلَي النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ اِلَيْهِ سَبِيْلًاؕ وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعٰلَمِيْنَ ۝٩٧

Wa lillāhi ʿalā'n-nāsi ḥijju'l-bayti mani'staṭāʿa ilayhi sabīlā

Therein are clear sighs; the place where Ibraham stood and whosoever enters it, is in security. And for the sake of Allah, the people is to perform pilgrimage to this House, who could find a way thither. And who denies, then Allah is independent of entire world.

Qurʼan 3:97, Aal-E-Imran, from Zujajah.org

A long time ago, Allah told Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to call everyone to Hajj. Ibrahim said, "My voice will not reach them." Allah told him, "Your job is to call out; reaching them is My job." So Ibrahim stood on a high place and called out, and Allah made sure every person who would ever go to Hajj heard him, even before they were born, and answered, "Labbayk Allahumma labbayk": "Here I am, O Allah, here I am."

The Prophet ﷺ said (in Bukhari and Muslim)

وَعَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: " بُنِيَ الْإِسْلَامُ عَلَى خَمْسٍ: شَهَادَةِ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَإِقَامِ الصَّلَاةِ وَإِيتَاءِ الزَّكَاةِ وَالْحَجِّ وَصَوْمِ رَمَضَانَ "

Buniya'l-islāmu ʿalā khamsin: shahādatu an lā ilāha illa'llāhu wa anna Muḥammadan ʿabduhū wa rasūluh, wa iqāmu'ṣ-ṣalāti, wa ītāʾu'z-zakāti, wa'l-ḥajju, wa ṣawmu ramaḍān

the testimony that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger, the observance of the prayer, the payment of zakat, the Pilgrimage, and the fast during Ramadan.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

mishkat 3, from Zujajah.org

Farḍmust do

Hajj is fard, an obligation on every single Muslim, not just on the community as a whole, for anyone who is able to do it. Someone who is able but never goes has left out one of the five pillars, and their Islam is missing a pillar.

Farḍmust do

A Muslim only has to perform Hajj once in their whole life. Going again after that is a good and generous thing to do, but it is not required.

A man once asked the Prophet ﷺ, "Is Hajj every year?" The Prophet ﷺ stayed quiet until the man asked three times, then said, "If I had said yes, it would have become required every year, and you would not have been able to do it." Then he said, "Leave me as I leave you; do what I ask of you as much as you are able."

Hajj is fard al-'ayn, a personal obligation on every individual Muslim, not merely a communal one, and one of the five pillars of Islam, alongside Salah, fasting and Zakat.

Surah Al 'Imran, 3:97

فِيْهِ اٰيٰتٌۢ بَيِّنٰتٌ مَّقَامُ اِبْرٰهِيْمَ࣢ۚ وَمَنْ دَخَلَهٗ كَانَ اٰمِنًاؕ وَلِلّٰهِ عَلَي النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ اِلَيْهِ سَبِيْلًاؕ وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعٰلَمِيْنَ ۝٩٧

Wa lillāhi ʿalā'n-nāsi ḥijju'l-bayti mani'staṭāʿa ilayhi sabīlā

Therein are clear sighs; the place where Ibraham stood and whosoever enters it, is in security. And for the sake of Allah, the people is to perform pilgrimage to this House, who could find a way thither. And who denies, then Allah is independent of entire world.

Qurʼan 3:97, Aal-E-Imran, from Zujajah.org

It is reported that when this verse was revealed, the Prophet ﷺ conveyed its command to every community. The Muslims accepted it, but five groups (the Jews, the Christians, the Magians, the Sabeans and the polytheists) did not, and Allah revealed the second half of the same verse in response:

Surah Al 'Imran, 3:97 (continued)

فِيْهِ اٰيٰتٌۢ بَيِّنٰتٌ مَّقَامُ اِبْرٰهِيْمَ࣢ۚ وَمَنْ دَخَلَهٗ كَانَ اٰمِنًاؕ وَلِلّٰهِ عَلَي النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ اِلَيْهِ سَبِيْلًاؕ وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعٰلَمِيْنَ ۝٩٧

Wa man kafara fa inna'llāha ghaniyyun ʿani'l-ʿālamīn

Therein are clear sighs; the place where Ibraham stood and whosoever enters it, is in security. And for the sake of Allah, the people is to perform pilgrimage to this House, who could find a way thither. And who denies, then Allah is independent of entire world.

Qurʼan 3:97, Aal-E-Imran, from Zujajah.org

Whoever rejects this command is a disbeliever. Allah has no need of anyone's worship; this act of worship benefits no one but the person performing it, and whoever neglects it only harms themselves.

In Surah al-Hajj, Allah commanded Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to call people to the pilgrimage:

Surah al-Hajj, 22:27

وَاَذِّنْ فِي النَّاسِ بِالْحَجِّ يَاْتُوْكَ رِجَالًا وَّعَلٰي كُلِّ ضَامِرٍ يَّاْتِيْنَ مِنْ كُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِيْقٍ ۝٢٧ۙ

Wa adhdhin fī'n-nāsi bi'l-ḥajji yaʾtūka rijālan wa ʿalā kulli ḍāmirin yaʾtīna min kulli fajjin ʿamīq

And proclaim among people the pilgrimage. They will come to you on foot and on every lean camel coming from every distant track.'

Qurʼan 22:27, Al-Hajj, from Zujajah.org

Ibrahim (peace be upon him) submitted, "My voice will not reach them," and Allah replied, "Your duty is to proclaim; delivering it is Our responsibility." Ibrahim then stood on the Maqam, raised higher than the surrounding mountains, and called out: "O people, take heed! Indeed, your Lord has built a House for you and made its pilgrimage obligatory upon you. So obey your Lord!" Everyone predestined to perform Hajj, from the loins of their fathers or the wombs of their mothers, answered: "Labbayka'llāhumma labbayk": "Here I am, O Allah, here I am."

The obligation is also drawn from this verse of Surah al-Hajj: a ruling from an earlier Shari'ah that the Qur'an mentions without abrogating remains binding on this Ummah, and some commentators hold that the verse addresses our Prophet ﷺ directly, which makes the obligation even clearer.

The Prophet ﷺ said, narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)

وَعَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: " بُنِيَ الْإِسْلَامُ عَلَى خَمْسٍ: شَهَادَةِ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَإِقَامِ الصَّلَاةِ وَإِيتَاءِ الزَّكَاةِ وَالْحَجِّ وَصَوْمِ رَمَضَانَ "

Buniya'l-islāmu ʿalā khamsin: shahādatu an lā ilāha illa'llāhu wa anna Muḥammadan ʿabduhū wa rasūluh, wa iqāmu'ṣ-ṣalāti, wa ītāʾu'z-zakāti, wa'l-ḥajju, wa ṣawmu ramaḍān

the testimony that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger, the observance of the prayer, the payment of zakat, the Pilgrimage, and the fast during Ramadan.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

mishkat 3, from Zujajah.org

Farḍmust do

Hajj, like Salah and fasting, is one of the pillars of Islam. Whoever is able to perform it but fails to do so has an incomplete Islam, since a structure is deficient without one of its essential pillars.

The Prophet ﷺ said, narrated by Hazrat Ali (Jami' at-Tirmidhi)

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى الْقُطَعِيُّ الْبَصْرِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا مُسْلِمُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، حَدَّثَنَا هِلاَلُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، مَوْلَى رَبِيعَةَ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ مُسْلِمٍ الْبَاهِلِيِّ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو إِسْحَاقَ الْهَمْدَانِيُّ، عَنِ الْحَارِثِ، عَنْ عَلِيٍّ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ مَنْ مَلَكَ زَادًا وَرَاحِلَةً تُبَلِّغُهُ إِلَى بَيْتِ اللَّهِ وَلَمْ يَحُجَّ فَلاَ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَمُوتَ يَهُودِيًّا أَوْ نَصْرَانِيًّا وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَقُولُ فِي كِتَابِهِ ‏:‏ ‏(‏وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلاً ‏)‏ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ غَرِيبٌ لاَ نَعْرِفُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ هَذَا الْوَجْهِ وَفِي إِسْنَادِهِ مَقَالٌ ‏.‏ وَهِلاَلُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ مَجْهُولٌ وَالْحَارِثُ يُضَعَّفُ فِي الْحَدِيثِ ‏.‏

Man malaka zādan wa rāḥilatan tuballighuhū ilā bayti'llāhi wa lam yaḥujja falā ʿalayhi an yamūta yahūdiyyan aw naṣrāniyyā

The Messenger of Allah said: "Whoever has the provisions and the means to convey him to Allah's House and he does not perform Hajj, then it does not matter if he dies as a Jew or a Christian. That is because Allah said in His Book: 'And Hajj to the House is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, for whomever is able to bear the journey.'

tirmidhi 812, from Zujajah.org

At-Tirmidhi notes that this hadith is gharib (unique in its chain), but a similar warning is narrated through another chain in Musnad ad-Darimi, from Abu Umamah: whoever is not prevented from Hajj by a genuine need, an oppressive ruler, or a debilitating illness, and dies without performing it, may die as a Jew or a Christian if they wish. This hadith establishes the obligation of Hajj, because a stern warning against neglecting an act is proof that the act is obligatory.

Farḍmust do

Hajj is obligatory once in a lifetime; anyone who performs it more than once does so voluntarily.

In Sahih Muslim, Abu Hurairah narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said in a sermon, "O people, Hajj has been made obligatory upon you, so perform Hajj." A man asked, "Is it every year, O Messenger of Allah?" The Prophet ﷺ remained silent until the question was repeated three times, then said, "If I had said yes, it would have become obligatory, and you would not have been able to fulfil it." He then said, "Leave me as I leave you. The people before you were destroyed by their excessive questioning and their disputes with their prophets. When I command you to do something, do it to the best of your ability, and when I forbid something, avoid it."

Narrated by Abdullah ibn Abbas (Musnad Ahmad, Sunan an-Nasa'i, Sunan ad-Daraqutni)

الحج مَرَّةً فَمَنْ زَادَ تَطَوَّعَ

Al-ḥajju marratan, fa-man zāda taṭawwaʿ

Hajj is obligatory once in a lifetime, and anyone who performs it more than that, it is voluntary.

Narrated by Ibn Abbas (Sunan Abi Dawud)

حَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ، مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ خَازِمٍ عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو، عَنْ مِهْرَانَ أَبِي صَفْوَانَ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ "‏ مَنْ أَرَادَ الْحَجَّ فَلْيَتَعَجَّلْ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

Man arāda'l-ḥajja falyuʿajjil

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: He who intends to perform hajj should hasten to do so.

abudawud 1733, from Zujajah.org

Wājibmust do

According to Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Malik, once a person is able to perform Hajj it is wajib to do so promptly, in the very year the obligation arises; delaying it without a valid excuse is sinful, and, on the view that stresses urgency, such a person's testimony may even be rejected. Imam Muhammad and Imam Shafi'i hold that immediate performance is not required so long as the person expects to remain healthy and safe. All scholars agree, however, that when illness or old age raise real concern, performing Hajj immediately becomes obligatory, and that being able is itself a condition throughout.

Hajj is fard al-'ayn, a personal obligation on every individual Muslim, not merely a communal one, and one of the five pillars of Islam, alongside Salah, fasting and Zakat.

Surah Al 'Imran, 3:97

فِيْهِ اٰيٰتٌۢ بَيِّنٰتٌ مَّقَامُ اِبْرٰهِيْمَ࣢ۚ وَمَنْ دَخَلَهٗ كَانَ اٰمِنًاؕ وَلِلّٰهِ عَلَي النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ اِلَيْهِ سَبِيْلًاؕ وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعٰلَمِيْنَ ۝٩٧

Wa lillāhi ʿalā'n-nāsi ḥijju'l-bayti mani'staṭāʿa ilayhi sabīlā

Therein are clear sighs; the place where Ibraham stood and whosoever enters it, is in security. And for the sake of Allah, the people is to perform pilgrimage to this House, who could find a way thither. And who denies, then Allah is independent of entire world.

Qurʼan 3:97, Aal-E-Imran, from Zujajah.org

It is reported that when this verse was revealed, the Prophet ﷺ conveyed its command to every community. The Muslims accepted it, but five groups (the Jews, the Christians, the Magians, the Sabeans and the polytheists) did not, and Allah revealed the second half of the same verse in response:

Surah Al 'Imran, 3:97 (continued)

فِيْهِ اٰيٰتٌۢ بَيِّنٰتٌ مَّقَامُ اِبْرٰهِيْمَ࣢ۚ وَمَنْ دَخَلَهٗ كَانَ اٰمِنًاؕ وَلِلّٰهِ عَلَي النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ اِلَيْهِ سَبِيْلًاؕ وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعٰلَمِيْنَ ۝٩٧

Wa man kafara fa inna'llāha ghaniyyun ʿani'l-ʿālamīn

Therein are clear sighs; the place where Ibraham stood and whosoever enters it, is in security. And for the sake of Allah, the people is to perform pilgrimage to this House, who could find a way thither. And who denies, then Allah is independent of entire world.

Qurʼan 3:97, Aal-E-Imran, from Zujajah.org

Whoever rejects this command is a disbeliever. Allah has no need of anyone's worship; this act of worship benefits no one but the person performing it, and whoever neglects it only harms themselves.

In Surah al-Hajj, Allah commanded Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to call people to the pilgrimage:

Surah al-Hajj, 22:27

وَاَذِّنْ فِي النَّاسِ بِالْحَجِّ يَاْتُوْكَ رِجَالًا وَّعَلٰي كُلِّ ضَامِرٍ يَّاْتِيْنَ مِنْ كُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِيْقٍ ۝٢٧ۙ

Wa adhdhin fī'n-nāsi bi'l-ḥajji yaʾtūka rijālan wa ʿalā kulli ḍāmirin yaʾtīna min kulli fajjin ʿamīq

And proclaim among people the pilgrimage. They will come to you on foot and on every lean camel coming from every distant track.'

Qurʼan 22:27, Al-Hajj, from Zujajah.org

Ibrahim (peace be upon him) submitted, "My voice will not reach them," and Allah replied, "Your duty is to proclaim; delivering it is Our responsibility." Ibrahim then stood on the Maqam, raised higher than the surrounding mountains, and called out: "O people, take heed! Indeed, your Lord has built a House for you and made its pilgrimage obligatory upon you. So obey your Lord!" Everyone predestined to perform Hajj, from the loins of their fathers or the wombs of their mothers, answered: "Labbayka'llāhumma labbayk": "Here I am, O Allah, here I am."

The obligation is also drawn from this verse of Surah al-Hajj: a ruling from an earlier Shari'ah that the Qur'an mentions without abrogating remains binding on this Ummah, and some commentators hold that the verse addresses our Prophet ﷺ directly, which makes the obligation even clearer.

The Prophet ﷺ said, narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)

وَعَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: " بُنِيَ الْإِسْلَامُ عَلَى خَمْسٍ: شَهَادَةِ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَإِقَامِ الصَّلَاةِ وَإِيتَاءِ الزَّكَاةِ وَالْحَجِّ وَصَوْمِ رَمَضَانَ "

Buniya'l-islāmu ʿalā khamsin: shahādatu an lā ilāha illa'llāhu wa anna Muḥammadan ʿabduhū wa rasūluh, wa iqāmu'ṣ-ṣalāti, wa ītāʾu'z-zakāti, wa'l-ḥajju, wa ṣawmu ramaḍān

the testimony that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger, the observance of the prayer, the payment of zakat, the Pilgrimage, and the fast during Ramadan.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

mishkat 3, from Zujajah.org

Farḍmust do

Hajj, like Salah and fasting, is one of the pillars of Islam. Whoever is able to perform it but fails to do so has an incomplete Islam, since a structure is deficient without one of its essential pillars.

The Prophet ﷺ said, narrated by Hazrat Ali (Jami' at-Tirmidhi)

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى الْقُطَعِيُّ الْبَصْرِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا مُسْلِمُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، حَدَّثَنَا هِلاَلُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، مَوْلَى رَبِيعَةَ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ مُسْلِمٍ الْبَاهِلِيِّ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو إِسْحَاقَ الْهَمْدَانِيُّ، عَنِ الْحَارِثِ، عَنْ عَلِيٍّ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ مَنْ مَلَكَ زَادًا وَرَاحِلَةً تُبَلِّغُهُ إِلَى بَيْتِ اللَّهِ وَلَمْ يَحُجَّ فَلاَ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَمُوتَ يَهُودِيًّا أَوْ نَصْرَانِيًّا وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَقُولُ فِي كِتَابِهِ ‏:‏ ‏(‏وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلاً ‏)‏ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ غَرِيبٌ لاَ نَعْرِفُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ هَذَا الْوَجْهِ وَفِي إِسْنَادِهِ مَقَالٌ ‏.‏ وَهِلاَلُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ مَجْهُولٌ وَالْحَارِثُ يُضَعَّفُ فِي الْحَدِيثِ ‏.‏

Man malaka zādan wa rāḥilatan tuballighuhū ilā bayti'llāhi wa lam yaḥujja falā ʿalayhi an yamūta yahūdiyyan aw naṣrāniyyā

The Messenger of Allah said: "Whoever has the provisions and the means to convey him to Allah's House and he does not perform Hajj, then it does not matter if he dies as a Jew or a Christian. That is because Allah said in His Book: 'And Hajj to the House is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, for whomever is able to bear the journey.'

tirmidhi 812, from Zujajah.org

At-Tirmidhi notes that this hadith is gharib (unique in its chain), but a similar warning is narrated through another chain in Musnad ad-Darimi, from Abu Umamah: whoever is not prevented from Hajj by a genuine need, an oppressive ruler, or a debilitating illness, and dies without performing it, may die as a Jew or a Christian if they wish. This hadith establishes the obligation of Hajj, because a stern warning against neglecting an act is proof that the act is obligatory.

Farḍmust do

Hajj is obligatory once in a lifetime; anyone who performs it more than once does so voluntarily.

In Sahih Muslim, Abu Hurairah narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said in a sermon, "O people, Hajj has been made obligatory upon you, so perform Hajj." A man asked, "Is it every year, O Messenger of Allah?" The Prophet ﷺ remained silent until the question was repeated three times, then said, "If I had said yes, it would have become obligatory, and you would not have been able to fulfil it." He then said, "Leave me as I leave you. The people before you were destroyed by their excessive questioning and their disputes with their prophets. When I command you to do something, do it to the best of your ability, and when I forbid something, avoid it."

Narrated by Abdullah ibn Abbas (Musnad Ahmad, Sunan an-Nasa'i, Sunan ad-Daraqutni)

الحج مَرَّةً فَمَنْ زَادَ تَطَوَّعَ

Al-ḥajju marratan, fa-man zāda taṭawwaʿ

Hajj is obligatory once in a lifetime, and anyone who performs it more than that, it is voluntary.

Narrated by Ibn Abbas (Sunan Abi Dawud)

حَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ، مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ خَازِمٍ عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو، عَنْ مِهْرَانَ أَبِي صَفْوَانَ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ "‏ مَنْ أَرَادَ الْحَجَّ فَلْيَتَعَجَّلْ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

Man arāda'l-ḥajja falyuʿajjil

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: He who intends to perform hajj should hasten to do so.

abudawud 1733, from Zujajah.org

Wājibmust do

According to Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Malik, once a person is able to perform Hajj it is wajib to do so promptly, in the very year the obligation arises; delaying it without a valid excuse is sinful, and, on the view that stresses urgency, such a person's testimony may even be rejected. Imam Muhammad and Imam Shafi'i hold that immediate performance is not required so long as the person expects to remain healthy and safe. All scholars agree, however, that when illness or old age raise real concern, performing Hajj immediately becomes obligatory, and that being able is itself a condition throughout.

Two positions on when Hajj must be performed once a person becomes able
Position Held byWhat it means
Immediate (fawr) Abu Hanifah, Abu Yusuf, MalikWajib to perform Hajj in the very year of ability; unexcused delay is sinful and, on the stricter reading, disqualifies one's testimony.
Not immediate (tarakhi) Muhammad, ash-Shafi'iHajj may be delayed, provided the person reasonably expects to remain healthy, safe and able until they do perform it.
Where all agree Every schoolOnce illness or old age makes continued ability doubtful, performing Hajj immediately becomes obligatory, since the underlying condition of ability must be met at all.

The Prophet's ﷺ own Hajj came in the tenth year after Islam, six years after Hajj was made obligatory; the tarakhī position cites this as evidence, the fawr position answers that a valid excuse, not yet being able, accounts for the delay.

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