Fatawa al-Hajj
- Author died
- 1421 AH
- Editions
- Dār Ibn al-Qayyim
Fatawa al-Hajj (Legal Rulings on the Pilgrimage) is a collection of legal responsa on the rituals of Hajj and Umrah delivered by the Saudi scholar Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin (d. 1421 AH / 2001 CE) and published by Dar Ibn al-Qayyim.
Structure and Scope
The collection was assembled by the publisher from practical questions presented to al-Uthaymin concerning doubts, errors, and scenarios encountered by pilgrims during the performance of the pilgrimage. The primary text is organized into 123 numbered queries (masa'il), followed in standard printings by an appendix of supplementary rulings excerpted from al-Uthaymin's guide Manasik al-Hajj wa-al-Umrah.
The responsa are divided into thematic sections that follow the chronological progression of the rites:
- Pre-Islamic pilgrimage customs and the adjustments instituted in Islam (al-Hajj qabl al-Islam)
- The designated spatial stations of consecration (al-mawaqit) and the rulings on passing them by air or land
- Prohibitions and regulations of the state of ihram (madha yalzam al-muhrim)
- Rites at Muzdalifah (al-wuquf bi-Muzdalifah) and overnight stays in Mina (al-mabit bi-Mina)
- Circumambulation (al-tawaf) and pacing between al-Safa and al-Marwah (al-sa'y)
- The stoning of the pillars (al-ramy) and its permissible timings
- Types of pilgrimage rites (al-ansak), rulings concerning menstruating and postpartum women (al-ha'id wa-al-nufasa'), proxy pilgrimage (al-istinabah), outstanding debts, and the rules of the sacrificial animal (al-udhiyah).
Juridical Approach and Key Rulings
In his answers, al-Uthaymin evaluates legal scenarios by direct reference to Quranic verses and hadith traditions, recurrently invoking the Prophetic maxim: لتأخذوا عني مناسككم ("Learn your rites from me").
A central theme across the text is the distinction between deliberate transgressions and actions committed out of ignorance, forgetfulness, or necessity. Citing verses such as رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِنْ نَسِينَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا (Surat al-Baqarah: 286), al-Uthaymin holds that a pilgrim who breaches an ihram prohibition out of ignorance or error incurs no sin and no compensatory penalty (fidyah).
He addresses frequent misunderstandings among lay pilgrims regarding ritual terminology. For example, he clarifies that the prohibition against al-makhit denotes garments tailored to fit the shape of the body or limbs (such as shirts and trousers) rather than anything possessing stitches, meaning that patched sheets, money belts, or stitched footwear remain permissible. Similarly, he cautions muftis against issuing uninformed opinions or routinely demanding animal sacrifices (dam) from questioning pilgrims without sound textual evidence.
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