Dought & clear - Which should he give priority to – ‘Umrah or paying off his debt?

I would like to perform 'Umra. I vowed hat if my salary increases I
will perform 'Umra. But I have debts to pay off. Is it permissible if
I go for 'Umra now, or must I wait until my debt is paid? May Allah
reward you!.
Praise be to Allaah.
The rights of other people take precedence over the obligation to
perform Hajj and 'Umrah, so it is not permissible for a Muslim to go
for Hajj or 'Umrah if there is someone asking for repayment of a loan
that he took from him. This is because Islam places a great emphasis
on protecting people's rights and is keen for the spirit of love and
friendship to remain among them, so that none of them will consume the
wealth of others or transgress against them.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked the
following question:
I owe money to a number of people. Can I go to Makkah to fast there
with my children, noting that I will be ableto share the cost of rent
with my children?
His answer was as follows:
I will ask you a question:is charity better, or the zakaah that is
obligatory? Zakaah is better.
Is a voluntary act better, or an obligatory one? The obligatory one is better.
Is it logical to start with the obligatory action before the voluntary
one, or vice versa? Reason dictates that I should start with the
obligatory action before the voluntary one. So it is not permissible
for a person to go to Makkah to do a voluntary 'Umrahwhen he is in
debt. A debt must be paid off, but is a voluntary 'Umrahobligatory? No
it is not. Even the obligatory Hajj is waived in the event ofdebt.
Religion is not based on emotions. Even the duty that Allaah has
enjoined upon His slaves, which is to go on Hajj to the Ka'bah and to
do 'Umrah, if a person is in debt, it is waived in his case, and he
will meet his Lord without sin. If a man is in debt and he does not do
Hajj and it issaid that he has not done the obligatory duty, we say
that the words "has not done theobligatory duty" are mistaken. Why is
this a mistake? Because there was no obligation upon him, and there is
no obligation upon him until now. Hajj is only anobligation for the
one who is free of debt.
Hence we say to this brother: Don't be hard on yourself, keep your
money, stay in your country, and save the money in order to pay off
your debt. Do not be like the one who built a castle and destroyed a
country.
We think that this brother has to stay in hisown country.
Yes, if it so happens that someone offers him money to cover all the
expenses and he says Do not give me even a single dirham – in that
case we say: If his travelling for 'Umrah willnot affect his work
through which he earns money, then he should go, because in this case
will it affect his creditor or not? No it will not.
If someone says to him, I know that you owe ten thousand riyals, and I
know that debt must be given precedence over voluntary acts of
worship, but come with me, you and your family,for free, there and
back – can he go with him? In this case we say: If he has a job and
his absence from work will cause him a loss in salary, then he should
not go. But if he does not have a job, and going with him will not
affect anything, then there is nothing wrong with him going with him.
It makes no difference whether the debt is due now or later. But if it
is deferred, and he knows that when the time comes he will be able to
pay it off, then it does not matter, like a man who owes money that is
due in two months time, for example, and he knows that when the time
comes he will be able to pay it off – in that case we say: Go, because
staying in his country will not make a difference to the creditor. End
quote.
Al-Liqa' al-Shahri (no. 33,question no. 4)
This has been discussed previously on our website in the answer
toquestion no. 11771 , 36868 and 36852 .
What you must do is wait until you have paid off the entire debt.
Then if what you did was a vow, you must fulfil it, because it is
obligatory to fulfil a vowto do an act of worship.
But it was merely an intention to do 'Umrah out of gratitude to
Allaah, without making avow, then in that case it is mustahabb to
fulfil thepromise to do 'Umrah, which is one of the greatest acts of
worship by means of which the Muslims draw close to their Lord.
And Allaah knows best.