Hajj is one of the pillars of Islam, and it has a very special status.
The main difference between Hajj and the other four pillars is that Hajj is only obligatory once in a lifetime. That is it. The other pillars are continuous or repeated. The shahadah is something we carry throughout our lives. We say it in every salah, we hear it in every adhan, and it remains the foundation of our faith.
The second pillar is salah. We have the five obligatory prayers every day, as well as the sunnah prayers before and after them, qiyam al-layl, voluntary prayers and special prayers. So salah is present daily in the life of a believer.
Then we have Ramadan. Fasting comes once every Islamic year. It returns every year in the Islamic calendar. Then we have zakah, which is also due once a year for those who can afford it and who meet the conditions. If a person’s wealth reaches the threshold, the nisab, then they pay zakah, usually 2.5 percent. In agricultural produce, it may be 10 percent, depending on the circumstances.
Then we come to the fifth pillar: Hajj. Hajj is once in a lifetime for those who are able to perform it.
So you can see the sequence. One pillar is continuous. One is daily. Some are annual, such as Ramadan and zakah. Zakah is not applicable to everyone, because it depends on whether a person has the required amount of wealth. Even Ramadan may not be physically possible for those who are very ill or unable to fast. But Hajj has its own distinct nature. It is an obligation once in a lifetime, for those who have the means and ability.
The gradual revelation of the pillars
To understand Hajj properly, it helps to look at the background of how the obligations in Islam were revealed. These obligations were not all given at once. They were revealed gradually.
Salah was one of the earliest obligations in Makkah. The history of salah is a long history. In the early years after revelation began, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to pray in the morning and in the evening. This was the practice of salah at that stage. The five daily prayers were not yet obligatory in the form we know today.
The five daily prayers became obligatory later, around year 10 or 11 of prophethood, before the Hijrah. According to the most authentic narrations, this was around one and a half to two years before the Hijrah. However, even before that, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his companions were praying from the very early years of revelation. It was not yet in the exact detailed form we have now, but there was salah, with bowing, prostration and recitation.
After the shahadah, salah was the next great obligation. The shahadah is to testify:
لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ، مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللهِ
There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
Then came salah, which became fully established as five daily prayers before the Hijrah.
The obligation of fasting
The third pillar, fasting, was made obligatory in the second year after the Hijrah. It was not obligatory in Makkah, although there are narrations that mention that the Muslims used to fast the day of Ashura, the tenth of Muharram.
The obligation of fasting Ramadan was revealed in Madinah, in the second year after the Hijrah, in Surat al-Baqarah:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
“O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may become mindful of Allah.”
(Surat al-Baqarah 2:183)
So fasting became an obligation in year two after the Hijrah.
The obligation of zakah
Zakah was also made obligatory in Madinah, in the second year after the Hijrah. So two major obligations were established in the same year: fasting and zakah.
Madinah was full of rulings, unlike Makkah. Makkah was the place where the foundations of belief were established: tawhid, iman, the Hereafter, the reality of revelation, and the relationship between the servant and Allah Almighty.
Madinah had a different role. In Madinah, the pillars of iman were confirmed, and the practical rulings of Islam were completed. The Muslim community was now being formed as a society, and therefore the laws and obligations were revealed in greater detail.
When was Hajj made obligatory?
This leaves the fifth pillar: Hajj. When was Hajj made obligatory?
The most authentic position is that Hajj was made obligatory in year nine after the Hijrah. This was towards the end of the life of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He performed the Farewell Hajj in year ten after the Hijrah, and he passed away soon after, in year eleven after the Hijrah.
So the fifth pillar was revealed very late, near the end of his blessed life ﷺ.
This helps us understand the Hadith of Jibril. Jibril عليه السلام came in the form of a man and sat with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the mosque. He began asking him questions:
يَا مُحَمَّدُ، أَخْبِرْنِي عَنِ الْإِسْلَامِ
“O Muhammad, tell me about Islam.”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied:
الْإِسْلَامُ أَنْ تَشْهَدَ أَنْ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللهِ، وَتُقِيمَ الصَّلَاةَ، وَتُؤْتِيَ الزَّكَاةَ، وَتَصُومَ رَمَضَانَ، وَتَحُجَّ الْبَيْتَ إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًا
“Islam is that you testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, that you establish prayer, give zakah, fast Ramadan, and perform Hajj to the House if you are able to find a way to it.”
(Muslim)
This hadith came after the pillars had been completed. It would not have been possible to list the five pillars before the fifth pillar had been revealed.
Many people assume that the Muslims knew the five pillars from the beginning, perhaps from the early Makkan period. But that was not the case. The five pillars, as a complete structure, were only known towards the last years of the Prophet’s life ﷺ, after Hajj had been made obligatory.
Today, we take this for granted. Even young children can memorise the five pillars and recite them easily. But historically, these pillars were revealed gradually, step by step, until the structure of Islam was completed.
The companions did not receive the five pillars in the way we receive them today. It took more than twenty years for the five pillars to be completed, whereas we learn them in five seconds. That is the difference.
So Hajj was revealed as an obligation in year nine after the Hijrah, but the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not perform Hajj that year.
The fiqhi perspective on Hajj
When the scholars speak about Hajj from a fiqhi perspective, they mention that Hajj is an obligation once in a lifetime. It is also an immediate obligation once the conditions are fulfilled.
They say:
الْحَجُّ فَرْضٌ عَلَى الْفَوْرِ
“Hajj is an obligation that must be performed immediately.”
This is especially emphasised in the Hanafi school. They are very strict on this point. When we read about Hajj in the hadith, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ connected Hajj to the ability to perform it:
وَتَحُجَّ الْبَيْتَ إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًا
“And that you perform Hajj to the House if you are able to find a way to it.”
So Hajj is connected to istitaʿah, the ability to perform it.
This is not stated in the same way for salah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not say, “Salah is an obligation for those who are able to pray.” He did not say, “Fasting is an obligation for those who are able to fast.” But with Hajj, the obligation is directly connected to ability, because Hajj is very different from the other pillars.
The different types of ability
The scholars divided this ability into different types.
The first is financial ability. Is the person able to cover the basic cost of Hajj? This does not mean the most luxurious package. A person cannot say, “I cannot afford a very expensive package,” if they are able to afford a basic one. The obligation is connected to the ability to cover the essential cost of Hajj.
So if a person is financially able, then in the Hanafi school, Hajj becomes an immediate obligation. They should not delay it unnecessarily.
The second type is mental ability. Is the person mentally sound enough to perform Hajj? Are they able to understand and cope with the journey?
The third is physical ability. Is the person physically well enough to go? Hajj is a tiring journey. Although the actual obligation can be completed in a few days, it is still physically demanding. We are not talking here about extended packages with ten days in Makkah and ten days in Madinah. The obligation itself can be completed in a shorter time, but it still requires strength, movement and endurance.
If a person is well enough, has the wealth, and has the ability, then Hajj becomes obligatory on them.
The fourth condition the scholars mention is safety. In the past, people travelled in caravans, on camels and through difficult routes. Robbery and attacks on the road were common. So even if a person had the money, health and means, if the route was not safe, Hajj would not be obligatory at that time.
A modern example would be the Covid period. A person may have had the money, health and intention, but if travel was impossible and everything was closed, then the obligation could not be fulfilled at that time.
Do not postpone Hajj unnecessarily
However, many people do have the conditions fulfilled. They have the finances, health, wealth, safety and ability, yet they continue to postpone Hajj.
In the Hanafi school, if a person has fulfilled the conditions and still delays without a valid reason, they are sinful. This is like someone who has made wudu, the time for salah has entered, and yet they sit watching something instead of praying. The obligation is there, but they are delaying it.
You might die before you pray. You might die before you perform your Hajj. You never know. You might fall ill. While you are able to perform Hajj, do it. Do not postpone it.
If you have never performed Hajj, then you have not yet fulfilled this obligation. Make the intention now. Say:
يَا رَبِّ، أُرِيدُ أَنْ أُؤَدِّيَ فَرِيضَتِي، فَيَسِّرْهَا لِي
“My Lord, I want to fulfil my obligation, so make it easy for me.”
Insist in your heart. Allah Almighty knows what is in your heart. Say, “Ya Rabb, I want to do this. I do not want to postpone it anymore.” When the intention is sincere, Allah can open the way for you.
Why did the Prophet ﷺ not perform Hajj in year nine?
This brings us back to the question: if Hajj was made obligatory in year nine, and Hajj is an immediate obligation, why did the Messenger of Allah ﷺ not perform Hajj that same year?
The scholars explained the reasons.
The first reason is that after the conquest of Makkah, the area was still affected by the rituals of shirk. The polytheists were still present, and they were still practising their old form of Hajj. Their rituals had not yet been fully removed.
One example of this was that some of them used to perform tawaf naked. This may sound surprising, but it was part of the old practices that had developed in Makkah before Islam purified the rites of Hajj.
There is a longer background to this, but in short, Quraysh had divided people into different classes.
The purification of Hajj from the practices of shirk
Quraysh had a group among themselves called al-Hums. They considered themselves to have a special status, and they had their own garments in which they would perform tawaf around the Kaʿbah.
Anyone who was not from Quraysh, and not from this particular group, had to hire garments from them in order to perform tawaf. If a person could not afford to hire those clothes, which was the case for many people, they would perform tawaf naked. Even women did this. It may sound surprising, but this was documented as part of the pre-Islamic practices around the Kaʿbah.
So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not go for Hajj in year nine. He waited until these practices had been stopped. Instead, he sent Abu Bakr (may Allah be please with him) as the Emir of Hajj, leading the Hajj delegation. He also sent Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) later, and Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) was there as well, along with many other companions.
The message the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent with them was announced publicly around the Kaʿbah:
لَا يَحُجُّ بَعْدَ الْعَامِ مُشْرِكٌ، وَلَا يَطُوفُ بِالْبَيْتِ عُرْيَانٌ
“No polytheist shall perform Hajj after this year, and no naked person shall perform tawaf around the House.”
(Bukhari and Muslim)
No one after that day was allowed to perform tawaf naked around the Kaʿbah. No mushrik was allowed to come after that and perform Hajj according to their old rituals. That was the end of those practices.
This is why the Messenger of Allah ﷺ waited until the atmosphere around Makkah and the Kaʿbah had been cleansed and purified. Then, in year ten, he went and performed Hajj. A huge number of the Ummah came with him. Some narrations mention 100,000, others mention 120,000, and others mention 140,000 people who performed Hajj with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The year of delegations
There is also another point that completes the picture. Year nine after the Hijrah is known in the seerah as عام الوفود, the Year of Delegations.
After the conquest of Makkah, people began coming to Madinah from all directions. Delegations came to meet the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, give their pledge to him and accept Islam. This is when Allah Almighty revealed:
إِذَا جَاءَ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ وَالْفَتْحُ وَرَأَيْتَ النَّاسَ يَدْخُلُونَ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ أَفْوَاجًا فَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ وَاسْتَغْفِرْهُ ۚ إِنَّهُ كَانَ تَوَّابًا
“When the help of Allah and the victory come, and you see people entering Allah’s religion in crowds, then glorify the praises of your Lord and seek His forgiveness. Indeed, He is ever Accepting of repentance.”
(Surat an-Nasr 110:1-3)
So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stayed behind in Madinah to receive these delegations, teach them about Islam and take their bayʿah. Had he left, there would have been no one else in his place to receive their pledge in the same way, because he was the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He was the one delivering the message, educating people and accepting their pledge.
Then in year ten, after the announcements had been made and the purification of Hajj had taken place, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ announced to the whole Ummah that he was going for Hajj. People began coming from Yemen, Bahrain and many other places. They flooded towards Makkah from all directions.
This is why such a huge number gathered. Today, 100,000 or 120,000 may not sound huge compared to two million pilgrims, but at that time it was an enormous number.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed Hajj on his camel. One of the main reasons was that he wanted people to see him performing the rituals. If he had walked, many people would not have been able to see him because of the size of the crowd. He was teaching them practically how to perform Hajj.
Was Hajj only for this Ummah?
The important question is: was Hajj an obligation specific to this Ummah, or was it also an obligation upon previous nations?
Without doubt, Hajj was a common obligation, just as fasting was a common obligation. Fasting is not exclusive to this Ummah. Ramadan, in its particular form, is specific to this Ummah, but fasting itself existed among previous nations. We see fasting in Judaism and Christianity as well.
In the same way, Hajj was known before this Ummah. Who built the Kaʿbah? Ibrahim and Ismaʿil (peace be upon him). It would not make sense to say that Ibrahim and Ismaʿil built the Kaʿbah but never performed Hajj. They built the Kaʿbah, they performed Hajj, their people performed Hajj, and the messengers after them performed Hajj.
Musa (peace be upon him) and Isa (peace be upon him) also knew Hajj. It was an obligation known among the messengers before the final Messenger ﷺ.
There are narrations which mention that Adam (peace be upon him) built the Kaʿbah, but the most firmly established account is that Ibrahim عليه السلام built it. Some scholars discussed whether Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was the first to establish the foundations of the Kaʿbah, or whether he rebuilt it upon the foundations originally laid by Adam (peace be upon him). This is a discussion among the scholars.
What is confirmed clearly in the Qur’an is that Ibrahim and Ismaʿil عليهما السلام built the Kaʿbah. Allah Almighty says:
وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ إِبْرَاهِيمُ الْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ وَإِسْمَاعِيلُ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّا ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
“And remember when Ibrahim was raising the foundations of the House, along with Ismaʿil, saying, ‘Our Lord, accept this from us. Indeed, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.’”
(Surat al-Baqarah 2:127)
So it is confirmed in the Qur’an that Ibrahim and Ismaʿil (peace be upon him) established and built the Kaʿbah.
When Ibrahim عليه السلام finished building the Kaʿbah, Allah Almighty commanded him to call people to Hajj:
وَأَذِّن فِي النَّاسِ بِالْحَجِّ يَأْتُوكَ رِجَالًا وَعَلَىٰ كُلِّ ضَامِرٍ يَأْتِينَ مِن كُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِيقٍ
“And proclaim Hajj to the people. They will come to you on foot and on every lean camel, coming from every distant path.”
(Surat al-Hajj 22:27)
Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was an old man by then. Some narrations mention that he was around eighty, while others mention that he was close to one hundred. He said, “My Lord, how can my voice reach the people?”
Allah Almighty told him, in meaning: “You make the call, and We will deliver it.”
So Ibrahim (peace be upon him) obeyed the command of Allah. He made the announcement, and Allah delivered the call. Everyone who has been invited to Hajj has heard the call of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) in some way.
Based on the talk delivered to the Al Manaar Convert Club on 12th May 2026