Should I pay off my late father's debt or go for Hajj?
It depends on whether Hajj is even obligatory for you yet, and on whether the debt is legally yours. A debt owed to a person is a claim that generally takes precedence over a pilgrimage you are not yet obliged to make. But whether an heir must settle a parent's debt from their own money — as opposed to from the estate — is a separate question worth asking precisely.
The honest answer turns on your circumstances. What it hinges on is below.
Two obligations appear to compete here, and the resolution usually comes from noticing that one of them has not yet attached.
Hajj is conditional. “In it are clear signs such as the standing place of Abraham. And whoever enters it i.e., the Ḥaram 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 i.e., refuses - then indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds.” (Qur’an 3:97) If the money you hold is needed to discharge a debt, most scholars would say you are not “able” in the sense the verse means — so there is no competing obligation, and the question dissolves.
Debt is a person's right. Rights owed to people are treated with particular seriousness, because Allah may forgive what is owed to Him while a claim belonging to a human being is theirs to release. This is why debt is generally settled from an estate before inheritance is distributed, and before optional acts of worship.
What your answer actually turns on:
1. Whose debt is it now? A debt is normally settled from the deceased's estate. If the estate covers it, your own money is not the question. 2. If the estate does not cover it, whether an heir is obliged to pay from their own wealth, or whether doing so is a voluntary act of great virtue, is discussed by scholars and is worth asking directly. 3. Would paying it leave you unable? Then Hajj is not owed anyway. 4. Is this your obligatory Hajj or a repeat one? A voluntary pilgrimage does not compete with a debt at all.
The Qur’an’s instruction on debt is worth having in view, since it points at leniency rather than severity: “And if someone is in hardship, then let there be postponement until a time of ease. But if you give from your right as charity, then it is better for you, if you only knew.” (Qur’an 2:280)
Because this turns on the size of the estate, the legal position where you live, and the specific facts, take it to a scholar with the details rather than deciding from the general shape. What can be said generally: settling a debt on behalf of a parent is among the most highly regarded things a child can do for them after death, and it is not in competition with anything.
- Qur’anQur’an 2:280
- Qur’anQur’an 3:97