Hajj queries from elderly couple
| Fatwa #2175 | Category: Hajj & Umrah | Country: Zambia | Date: 6th May 2026 |
| Fatwa #2175 | Date: 6th May 2026 |
| Category: Hajj & Umrah | |
| Country: Zambia | |
Question
Assalaamualaykum
We are an elderly couple Alhamdulliah going for Hajj.
My wife has anxiety issues and rare panic attacks. I may be able to do a walking tawaf in the mataf but we may not be able to walk the Sae’e and also scared of possible health effects.
Are we supposed to still walk or can we hire wheelchairs.? Will this reduce our sawaab or the sunnat
Due to the above can we stay in Azizia from 10 – 13 during the day and try to wheel chair it to mina after Magrib 10-13. If it is not permissible or it proves difficult for us to go to mina are we allowed to stay in Azizia from 10th to 13th. Will this reduce our sawaab or the sunnat
Is it permissible to collect 7 pebbles from Musdalifa and the rest of the rest of the pebbles from our home town? Will this reduce our sawaab or the sunnat.
In Medinah when iqamah starts namaziz move forward to the extent that namaz starts.
To what extent should we move forward
Untill
-Takbirullah
-Rukuh
-Right until we reach a suitably filled serf.Miss rakaats
-Untill right to the filled serfs May Miss jamaat
May Allah Reward you
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
First and foremost, it must be understood that Shari’ah offers discretions for those who genuinely need them. In such cases, using said leniencies would not reduce one’s reward. However, using them without cause may result in reduced reward or in some instances, invalidity of the act itself.
You have stated you are an elderly couple. Anxiety and panic attacks is very dependent on circumstance; therefore, we advise you to first seek the advice of a competent pious Muslim doctor who understands the importance of fulfilling the fardh Hajj appropriately. If he/she advises that your wife can push through, then practice on that. If he/she advises that it would be better to take caution, then practice on that.
Accordingly,
- It is waajib to walk during tawaaf and sa’ee if one is able to walk. If your age is such that walking itself is very difficult (putting aside the anxiety and panic attacks), then it will be permissible to use the carts. However, if you are able to walk, then it is necessary to walk, otherwise a damm penalty will be necessary. In order to reduce the potential of panic attacks and anxiety, you should perhaps perform the Tawaaf at a time when there are less people, or in the outer ring of the mataaf, or on the upper floors of the mataaf where there are less people. Similarly, sa’ee can be performed on the upper floors at times when there are less people.[1]
- Staying in Mina from the 10th to the 13th is a great sunnah and extremely virtuous. It is makrooh to spend the major portion of these nights away from Mina. If due to valid reasons one stays in Azizia, then one can hope for the mercy of Allah to grant full reward. Otherwise, leaving the sunnah results in drastic reduction of reward. If it is a fardh hajj being performed, it reduces the quality of the Hajj overall.
- It is mustahab to collect the pebbles from the plains of muzdalifah. If one were to collect them from elsewhere, that would also be permissible provided it is not collected from Masjid Khayf or another masjid.[2]
- When iqaamah is called out, just as every normal masjid, one needs to join the closest filled saff. Ofcourse, it is not possible to check the whole masjid to see whether it is a filled saff. Therefore, use one’s own discretion and see whether it looks like a full joined saff without any gaps between it and the sufoof before it.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Bilal Pandor
Concurred by
Mufti Muhammad Patel
Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah
Lusaka, Zambia
معلم الحجاج ص163