Short answer
Hajj is the pilgrimage to Makkah in Dhul Hijjah and the fifth pillar of Islam. It is fard once in a lifetime on every adult, sane Muslim who has the money and health to get there and back. In the Hanafi school you should go in the first year you are able.
Hajj is fard once in a lifetime on a Muslim who is adult, sane and free and has the means for the journey beyond his basic needs and his dependants' upkeep until he returns. Once it is due, the relied-upon view is that it must be done straight away (fawran): delaying it without an excuse is a sin, though a late Hajj is still valid.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Hajj becomes due once a person is able, but it may be delayed (ala al-tarakhi) as long as he is confident he will still perform it; dying without it after being able is a sin.
Explanation
Hajj means setting out for the Kaaba in Makkah to perform set rites on set days: ihram (the sacred state), standing at Arafah on 9 Dhul Hijjah, the night at Muzdalifah, stoning at Mina, sacrifice, shaving or trimming the hair, and tawaf (walking around the Kaaba) with sa'i between Safa and Marwah. The day-by-day steps are in our Hajj 2027 guide, and the three ways of doing it are in Types of Hajj.
The Quran makes Hajj a duty on whoever is able to find a way. Hanafi jurists explain ability as: money for the return journey, travel, lodging and food, after your debts that are due and your family's needs until you return are covered; a body healthy enough to travel; and a reasonably safe route. A woman also needs a husband or mahram for the journey (see Hajj without a mahram).
- Not due: on a child or an insane person. A child's Hajj is valid and rewarded, but it does not count as the fard Hajj, so it must be done again after puberty.
- Due once: after one fard Hajj, every further Hajj is voluntary.
- Too ill to travel for good: if you had the money while unable to go, you should send someone to do it for you (Hajj badal).
If you have the money one year, Hajj is fard on you from that year. Spending the savings on a car or a holiday after that does not remove the duty. If you die without doing it, you should leave a bequest for someone to perform it from your estate.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Aal-i-Imraan 3:97
فِيهِ ءَايَٰتٌۢ بَيِّنَٰتٌۭ مَّقَامُ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ ۖ وَمَن دَخَلَهُۥ كَانَ ءَامِنًۭا ۗ وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ حِجُّ ٱلْبَيْتِ مَنِ ٱسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًۭا ۚ وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَنِىٌّ عَنِ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ ﴿٩٧﴾
In it are clear signs [such as] the standing place of Abraham. And whoever enters it shall be safe. And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House - for whoever is able to find thereto a way. But whoever disbelieves - then indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds.
Hajj is a duty owed to Allah by everyone able to make the journey.
Quran, Surah Al-Hajj 22:27
وَأَذِّن فِى ٱلنَّاسِ بِٱلْحَجِّ يَأْتُوكَ رِجَالًۭا وَعَلَىٰ كُلِّ ضَامِرٍۢ يَأْتِينَ مِن كُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِيقٍۢ ﴿٢٧﴾
And proclaim to the people the Hajj [pilgrimage]; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant pass -
Ibrahim was told to call people to Hajj, and they come from every distant place.
Sahih Muslim 1337
Sahih... أيها الناس قد فرض الله عليكم الحج فحجوا ...
"O people, Allah has made Hajj obligatory on you, so perform Hajj."
Hajj is fard, and when asked whether it is every year he said it is not, so it is once in a lifetime.
Sahih al-Bukhari 8
Sahih... بني الإسلام على خمس شهادة أن لا إله إلا الله ...
"Islam is built on five: bearing witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, prayer, zakat, Hajj and the fast of Ramadan."
Hajj is one of the five pillars.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Hajj, opening section. Lists the conditions of the obligation: Islam, adulthood, sanity, freedom, provision and transport, and a safe route.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Hajj, on whether Hajj is due immediately. Gives Abu Yusuf's view that Hajj is due at once as the sounder position.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Hajj, on delaying Hajj. The Shafi'i view that Hajj may be delayed.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.