UK Hajj Tour Operators must provide full refunds
Question
Many people in the UK paid large amounts of money to Hajj tour operators. Some paid as much as £10,000 per person. However, the Saudi authorities have decided to change the system altogether for some countries including the UK. Those wanting to travel for Hajj have to register their interest online and if selected, their booking is to be done online. The Hajj tour operators in the UK have no role in this. My question is are the Hajj tour operators required to refund the full money to the customers from an Islamic perspective? What if some of them have already paid the hotels?
بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم
Answer
Hajj tour operators are required to refund all the customers in full. The customers are not responsible if the tour operators have used the money for hotel bookings or otherwise, as explained in an earlier answer entitled: Covid-19: Hajj and Travel Refunds.
Fundamentally, this year, Hajj tour operators and their customers should not have entered into any transactions until the tour operators were authorised and given quotas and permission from the Saudi authorities. It was wrong for the tour operators to advertise their packages and take money from customers. The transactions were defective from the outset. The tour operators were not given permission, and even if some were given permission later, there was no guarantee that all Hajj tour operators would be authorised, and even if authorised, the quota was not certain. Some tour operators advertised a price whilst adding a caveat that customers will be liable for any additional charges from Saudi authorities. Transactions with such ambiguity (jahālah/garar) are not compatible with Shariah. Tour operators and customers would not be in this predicament if the Shariah guidelines were followed from the outset.
قال الله تعالى: وأوفوا بالعهد، إن العهد كان مسئولا. وقال تعالى: يا أيها الذين آمنوا أوفوا بالعقود. وقال تعالى: إن الله يأمركم أن تؤدوا الأمانات إلى أهلها۔
وعن أبي هريرة قال: نهى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن بيع الحصاة وعن بيع الغرر، رواه مسلم (١٥١٣). وقال محمد في الموطأ (٧٧٥): بيع الغرر كله فاسد، وهو قول أبي حنيفة والعامة، انتهى۔
وقال القدوري في مختصره (ص ١٠١): ولا تصح حتى تكون المنافع معلومة والأجرة معلومة، وما جاز أن يكون ثمنا في البيع جاز أن يكون أجرة في الإجارة، انتهى. وفي الهندية (٤/٤٥٨) عن فتاوى قاضيخان (٢/٢٧٠): ومشايخنا وفقوا فقالوا: إن كانت الإجارة لغرض ولم يبق ذلك الغرض أو كان عذر يمنعه من الجري على موجب العقد شرعا، تنتقض الإجارة من غير نقض، انتهى. وقال السمرقندي في التحفة (٢/٣٥٠): الأجر يجب شيئا فشيئا بمقابلة استيفاء المنافع. وقال (٢/٣٥٧): المستأجر إذا كان مجهولا أو الأجر مجهولا أو العمل أو المدة فالإجارة فاسدة، لأنها جهالة تفضي إلى المنازعة كما في البيع، انتهى۔
Allah knows best
Yusuf Shabbir
12 Dhū al-Qaʿdah 1443 / 12 June 2022
Approved by: Mufti Shabbir Ahmed and Mufti Muhammad Tahir
