Istita'a (hajj)

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Al-Istiṭāʿa (Arabic: اَلاِستِطاعَة) is a term in fiqh referring to a condition under which hajj will be obligatory or compulsory. Scholars of fiqh from different Islamic sects refer to the Quranic verse, "Pilgrimage thereto is a duty men owe to Allah; those who can afford the journey" ( Qur'an 3:97), and the Islamic tradition and hadiths to show that istita'a is a significant condition for the obligation of hajj.

According to the majority of Shiite faqihs, a person has financial ability or istita'a when they can afford to meet their ordinary needs, such as accommodation and furniture, and can afford to provide support and maintenance for people that they are obliged to do so on the basis of common sense and shari'a. Moreover, they have to have provisions for their journey or the money. Financial istita'a or ability can also be obtained by someone else providing support or provisions for the person. According to faqihs from all Islamic sects, if a person has debts (to people or to God, such as zakat and khums) such that they cannot provide for the hajj travel after paying the debts, then they will not count as having financial istita'a or ability.

Literal and Technical Meaning

The word "istita'a" is from the Arabic root, "ṭ-w-'a" (Arabic: ط و ع), which means the power to do something.[1] Technically, istita'a has two meanings: the power to perform one's religious duties, and the power to perform hajj rituals.[2] The former notion of istita'a is a general condition of religious duties discussed in kalam (Islamic theology), though in fiqh, it is referred to as "qudra" (Arabic: اَلقُدرَة), that is, the power. The latter notion of istita'a (as used in the Quran),[3] is specifically used in the case of hajj as a condition for its being an obligation.

Financial Istita'a

According to the majority of Shiite faqihs, a person has financial istita'a or ability when they can afford to provide their ordinary needs such as accommodation and furniture, provide support and maintenance for people they are obliged to do so on the basis of common sense and shari'a, and have provisions or money for their hajj travel. A person does not count as having financial istita'a if they can find provisions for the hajj travel during the travel.[4] However, Naraqi believed that if a person can earn enough money to afford for their hajj travel during the travel by doing works that do not hurt their reputation and dignity or works that count as their occupations in their hometowns, then they will count as having financial istita'a.[5] The amount and the quality of travel provisions differ from place to place and from person to person. It is a matter of what one's lifestyle and social place demand.[6]

Expenses for the return from the hajj travel should also be taken into account when evaluating whether or not one has financial ability.[7] According to some Imami faqihs, the requirement of travel provisions is only necessary when the hajj pilgrimage requires a long-distance travel. However, in cases where travel provisions are not needed, as is the case for people who live in Mecca or its adjacent areas, financial istita'a or ability will obtain even without the ability to provide travel provisions (since no travel is involved in this case).[8]

Having Debts

Faqihs from all the Islamic sects maintain that if a person has debts (be it to people or to God, such as zakat and khums) and cannot afford the hajj travel after paying them, then they will not have financial istita'a or ability. And a creditor who cannot receive his or her money from the debtor does not count as having financial istita'a.[9] According to some faqihs, if a person has debts but one does not have to pay them back immediately (e.g. the deadline to pay the debts is such that one can go on the hajj travel and then pay them) or the creditor does not want them back immediately, then they count as having financial istita'a or ability.[10]

Istita'a by Bestowal

One might gain financial istita'a or ability by receiving support and provisions from someone else. For example, if a father bestows money and provisions to his son to go on the hajj travel, then the son will have financial istita'a. This is called "Istita'a by bestowal" (al-istiṭā'a al-badhlīyya; Arabic: اَلاِستِطاعَة البَذلِیَّة). Imami faqihs appealed to the Holy Qur'an,[11] and some hadiths to show that in this case, it is compulsory for the person to accept the bestowal and hence go to hajj.[12] But according to the majority of Sunni faqihs, it is not compulsory to accept such a bestowal. According to al-Shafi'i, however, it is compulsory to accept such bestowals if no return of favor is expected, such as a father providing for the hajj travel of one's son. And according to Malikis, hajj is compulsory for people who usually receive financial supports from others who can, during the hajj travel, receive sufficient financial help from others.[13]

According to some Imami faqihs, it is not permissible for one to intentionally lose his or her financial ability or istita'a, for example, by donating the money to others. However, it is not obligatory for one to keep their financial ability when they do not have other types of ability or istita'a.[14]

Physical Istita'a

According to some Hanafis, hajj is not obligatory for those who are sick, physically weak, paralyzed and blind even if they have guides. According to other Sunni faqihs, hajj is obligatory for a blind person who has a guide. According to Shafi'is, it suffices for physical ability that one can get on the horse (or any vehicle) without excessive effort. And according to Malikis, for a person to have physical ability they have to be able to go to Mecca with a vehicle or on foot.[15]

According to Shiite faqihs, bodily ability or istita'a is a condition for the obligation of hajj. So a sick person who cannot easily get on or in a vehicle (including cars and airplanes) is not obliged to perform hajj.[16]

Safety of the Travel Path

Another condition for having istita'a for hajj is the safety of the path to Mecca, that is, the pilgrim's life or money (and property) should not be in serious jeopardy.[17] The phrase, "mukhallā sarbuh" (Arabic: مُخَلّی سَرْبُه, an open and safe path) in hadiths[18] refers to this type of istita'a. According to Shafi'is, it is obligatory to employ a guard if it guarantees the safety of the travel. According to Malikis and some Shafi'is, if the only way to Mecca is through the seas and it is very probable for one to lose their life on the way, then hajj will not be compulsory.[19]

Temporal Istita'a

According to Shafi'is, Hanbalis, and Imami faqihs, there is another type of istita'a—the temporal one—that is, one should have enough time to arrive in Mecca during the time in which hajj rituals are performed.[20]

Women's Istita'a

According to the majority of Sunni faqihs, in addition to the above conditions, for a woman to have istita'a (ability) for hajj, it is required that her husband or one of her mahrams accompany her. In case no husband or mahram is available or they cannot attend the hajj rituals, then according to Shafi'is and Malikis, a group of reliable women should accompany her.[21]

According to Imami faqihs, for a woman to have istita'a it is not required that her husband or mahram accompany her; assurance about her safety is sufficient.[22] According to some Sunni sects, it is prohibited for women to perform hajj rituals during their 'idda after divorce or her husband's death.[23]

According to the majority of faqihs from all the Islamic sects, a man cannot prohibit his wife from performing hajj rituals, though he can do so in the case of mustahab or recommended hajj.[24]

Notes

  1. ↑ Zubaydī, Tāj al-ʿarūs, under the word «طوع»
  2. ↑ Yazdī, al-ʿUrwa al-wuthqā, vol. 4, p. 363.
  3. ↑ Qurʾān, 3:97.
  4. ↑ Ibn Saʿīd, al-Jāmiʿ li-l-sharāʾiʿ, p. 174; Ḥillī, Tadhkirat al-fuqahāʾ, vol. 7, p. 53; Khomeini, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, vol. 1, p. 373-374.
  5. ↑ Narāqī, Mustanad al-Shīʿa, vol. 11, p. 27.
  6. ↑ Mūsawī al-ʿĀmilī, Madārik al-aḥkām, vol. 7, p. 40; Khalkhālī, Muʿtamad al-ʿurwa al-wuthqā, vol. 1, p. 88, 92-93.
  7. ↑ Khomeini, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, vol. 1, p. 373; Narāqī, Mustanad al-Shīʿa, vol. 11, p. 26.
  8. ↑ Ḥillī, Tadhkirat al-fuqahāʾ, vol. 7, p. 53; Ḥillī, Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām, vol. 1, p. 165; Narāqī, Mustanad al-Shīʿa, vol. 11, p. 27.
  9. ↑ Ḥillī, Tadhkirat al-fuqahāʾ, vol. 7, p. 53; Ibn Qudāma, al-Mughnī, vol. 3, p. 172-173; Nawawī, al-Majmūʿ, vol. 7, p. 68-69.
  10. ↑ Mūsawī al-ʿĀmilī, Madārik al-aḥkām, vol. 7, p. 43; Nawawī, al-Majmūʿ, vol. 7, p. 68.
  11. ↑ Qurʾān, 3:97.
  12. ↑ Ḥillī, Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām, vol. 1, p. 165; Khalkhālī, Muʿtamad al-ʿurwa al-wuthqā, vol. 1, p. 88, 92-93.
  13. ↑ Ibn Qudāma, al-Mughnī, vol. 3, p. 170; Zuḥaylī, al-Fiqh al-Islāmī, vol. 2, p. 122.
  14. ↑ Khalkhālī, Muʿtamad al-ʿurwa al-wuthqā, vol. 1, p. 130-134; Qummī, Jāmiʿ al-shatāt, vol. 1, p. 318-319.
  15. ↑ Nawawī, al-Majmūʿ, vol. 7, p. 68-69; Zuḥaylī, al-Fiqh al-Islāmī, vol. 3, p. 27-29.
  16. ↑ Ḥillī, Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām, vol. 1, p. 165-166; Khomeini, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, vol. 1, p. 380.
  17. ↑ Ibn Saʿīd, al-Jāmiʿ li-l-sharāʾiʿ, p. 175; Nawawī, al-Majmūʿ, vol. 7, p. 79-80.
  18. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 4, p. 267; Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, vol. 2, p. 296.
  19. ↑ Nawawī, al-Majmūʿ, vol. 7, p. 68-69; Zuḥaylī, al-Fiqh al-Islāmī, vol. 2, p. 122.
  20. ↑ Ḥillī, Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām, vol. 1, p. 165; Narāqī, Mustanad al-Shīʿa, vol. 11, p. 30; Nawawī, al-Majmūʿ, vol. 7, p. 88-89.
  21. ↑ Nawawī, al-Majmūʿ, vol. 7, p. 68-69.
  22. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Nihāya, p. 274-275.
  23. ↑ Zuḥaylī, al-Fiqh al-Islāmī, vol. 3, p. 36-37.
  24. ↑ Ḥillī, Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām, vol. 1, p. 165; Zuḥaylī, al-Fiqh al-Islāmī, vol. 3, p. 35.

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