All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and companions.

 

Haj and Umra are two obligatory acts of worship in Islam. Allah The Almighty Allah Says {What means}: "And complete the Hajj or ’umra in the service of God….." {Al-Baqara, 196}. Therefore, it is not permissible to ban them just because there is a disease. Rather, they are banned in two cases:

First: The pandemic has taken root-God forbid-in Al-Haramain Al-Sharifain (Mecca and Medina). If the scholars, there, issued a Fatwa-based on medical opinion of specialized doctors-banning Haj and Umra, then people must comply following the order of the Prophet (Peace be upon him). Narrated Saud: The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: "If you hear of an outbreak of plague in a land, do not enter it; but if the plague breaks out in a place while you are in it, do not leave that place." {Related by Bukhari}.

Second: The pandemic has settled in a Muslim country-God forbid- and this will not happen Insha`Allah, because Sharia forbids having swine or dealing with such animal. However, in the event this pandemic outbroke and the state told citizens to stay at home and banned them from travel, then it is permissible for them not to go to Haj and Umra.

However, if people were allowed to go to countries in which the pandemic outbroke, but weren`t allowed to go to Haj and Umra, then this is hindering them from the way of Allah and underestimating the rulings of Sharia. We pray that the latter won`t happen Insh`Allah. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.