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Fatwa CenterGoing to Hajj without the husband’s permission
Question
What is the ruling on a woman who has three children and decides to go for Hajj without having permission from her husband? When I advised her and told her she is not allowed to do that, she objected by saying that Allaah made things easy for her and summoned her for Hajj and thus she can do nothing but obey Him. In addition, she says that she saw a vision that would come true. She also mentions that she hears verses from the Quran about Hajj when she is asleep. She is determined to go even if she gets a Fatwa that her Hajj is impermissible.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
The majority of scholars maintain that it is permissible for a woman to go on her obligatory Hajj even if her husband does not permit her. Their evidence is that no precedence is to be given to the rights of husband over her individual obligations. Consequently, a husband is not allowed to prevent his wife from performing Hajj because this is a personal obligation upon her to perform.
In the soundest opinion held by them, the Shaafi‘i scholars 
ruled that a women must seek the permission of her husband for performing obligatory and optional acts of worship, because when she goes for Hajj, she will fail to observe the rights of her husband. They argued that priority should be given to people’s rights over personal ones, and that the obligation of Hajj can be delayed.
The preponderant view, however, is that of the majority of scholars, who said that a woman is allowed to go to Hajj without permission from her husband.
Consequently, it is permissible for the woman in to go to Hajj if she is going to perform the obligatory Hajj. However, she must be in the company of a Mahram or a trustworthy group of people.
If she had performed Hajj before, then she cannot go without the permission of her husband. In this case, she is not permitted to object to the rulings of Allaah and transgress the limits of Sharee‘ah if she truly seeks to please Allaah; Allaah Says (what means): {It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allaah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error.}[Quran 33:36]
It is impermissible for a believer to give precedence to his desires and wishes over what Allaah Decrees and Legislates. If the woman in question wishes to perform voluntary Hajj, then she is advised to gently ask her husband and treat him well and try to convince him to permit her to travel. If he does not permit her, she is not permitted to go on a voluntary Hajj.
Allaah Knows best.
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