Ash-Shaykh Abdurahman al-Barraak , may Allah preserve him, said:

الدين الذي يمنع من فعل الحج فهو الدين الذي يطالب به صاحبه، ويترتب على الحج تفويت الحق، فإذا كان الدين له وفاء، ولا يترتب على الحج منعُ أداء الدين لصاحبه في الوقت الذي يطالبه به، فهذا لا يمنع من الحج،

The debt which prevents hajj is the debt where the person who it is due to is demanding it and performing hajj will make him miss out in his right. And if the debt has (another) means to be payed off, and if he was to perform hajj, it won’t result in preventing him from paying the person in a time which he is demanding it, then this doesn’t prevent (him) from performing hajj

فعلم من ذلك أن صاحب الدين إذا كان يسمح بتأخير الوفاء فلا حرج على المدين في الحج.

Therefore it becomes known that if the person who the debt due to is okay to delay paying it back, then there is no harm upon the person in debt to perform hajj

كله فيما إذا كان المدين سيحج من ماله، لأن هذا هو الذي يفوت على صاحب الدين دينه، أو يؤخر وفاءه، أما إذا كان يحج على حساب غيره، بأن كان ضيفا مع حملة، أو يتبرع له أحد فيحج به، فلا يكون الدين الذي عليه مانعا من الحج.

All of this is relating to if the person who is in debt is going to do hajj from his own money. (This is) because this is what makes the person who the debt is due to miss out from his debt or for his pay-return to be delayed. And as for if he is going to perform hajj upon the expense of someone else, such as if he were to be a guest amongst a group of people, or someone were to donate to him, and he were to perfom hajj with it, (then) here the debt doesn’t prevent him from performing hajj

ومن العجب أن من الناس من يذهب للعمل في الحج، ولا يحج مع تمكنه من ذلك، بحجة أن عليه دينا، وهذا من الجهل، فإنه فوت على نفسه الفرصة، مع أن تركه للحج في هذه الحال لا ينفع صاحب الدين، والله أعلم. حرر في غرة ذي الحجة 1435ه.

And from what amazes us is that some people go to work (in makkah) for hajj, yet they do not perform hajj although they were capable of it. (This is) under the excuse (that) they have a debt (to still pay off). This is from ignorance, being (that) they made themselves miss out from this opportunity, (and) at the same time them not performing hajj in this state will be of no benefit to the person who the debt is due to. Allah knows best.

Translated by

AbdulFattaah bin Uthman
Abu Fajr