💰 Family finances · #61
Is a husband obliged to pay for his wife's hajj?
According to the Shafi'i school, a husband is not obliged to pay for his wife's hajj, because hajj is only obligatory on those able to afford it from their own means; if he does pay for it, that is a great kindness.
Allah makes hajj obligatory on those who are able to make the journey to the House (Al ʿImran 3:97). Ability is judged for the wife herself: if she has sufficient savings of her own after basic needs, she must perform it when she has the opportunity, with a mahram or in safe conditions. The maintenance owed by a husband is food, clothing and housing, not the hajj. Yet many husbands pay for their wives' hajj as a gift, and that is highly praised. In Malaysia the hajj queue is long; open a Tabung Haji account for your wife and children as early as possible and register for hajj when eligible. In polygamy, paying for one wife's hajj does not necessarily oblige the same immediately for another, but fairness must be kept. See the question on hajj without a mahram.
Allah makes hajj obligatory on those who are able to make the journey to the House (Al ʿImran 3:97). Ability is judged for the wife herself: if she has sufficient savings of her own after basic needs, she must perform it when she has the opportunity, with a mahram or in safe conditions. The maintenance owed by a husband is food, clothing and housing, not the hajj. Yet many husbands pay for their wives' hajj as a gift, and that is highly praised. In Malaysia the hajj queue is long; open a Tabung Haji account for your wife and children as early as possible and register for hajj when eligible. In polygamy, paying for one wife's hajj does not necessarily oblige the same immediately for another, but fairness must be kept. See the question on hajj without a mahram.
Sources
Surah Ali 'Imran 3:97Surah at-Talaq 65:7Sahih al-Bukhari 1862