Hajj first, or a child first?

A question from a couple living in Saudi Arabia on whether to perform hajj or have a child first, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that hajj should be performed promptly, but its obligation is not immediate, so the order of priorities rests on the couple's needs. ¹

The questioner said she and her husband want a child, and her husband has saved for hajj to make use of their stay in Saudi Arabia; they must choose between having a child and postponing hajj for two years, since it is hard to leave a baby before its first birthday, or going on hajj and delaying a child, and she asked which is better. ¹

The Department answered that hajj is obligatory on a responsible adult who is able, ability meaning having the means for hajj beyond essential needs such as housing and maintenance, quoting Ibn Hajar al-Haytami's definition. ¹ It said priorities follow need, because hajj, though obligatory, need not be performed immediately, quoting al-Nawawi's Rawdat al-Talibin that someone who needs to marry for fear of falling into sin should spend his money on marriage before hajj, since that need is pressing and hajj is not immediate, and adding that each person is best placed to judge his own priorities. ¹ It noted that having children is among the sharia's great aims, the preservation of lineage, but can be postponed and is not a pressing need, especially when the wife is young. ¹ It concluded that hajj is a great pillar to be hastened to, but since its obligation is not immediate, the rules for weighing priorities apply when obligations compete. ¹

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 3823, dated 31 October 2023. ¹ The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.