If a minor attains puberty before the Day of `Arafah and has time to put on ihram again and recite Talbiyah and goes to the miqat in Makkah and performs all Hajj rituals, the Hajj will be valid and accepted as the obligatory Hajj. However, the question arises regarding one who attains puberty on the Day of `Arafah or just before the Day of `Arafah and has no time to enter ihram again. This issue is subject to disagreement among scholars; some say that the Hajj is counted as the obligatory Hajj while others say that it is not.
Dealing with this issue in detail, we’d like to cite the following words of the Muritanian scholar Muhammad Muhammad Al-Faal:
“Muslim Jurists agree that if a child reaches the age of puberty before standing in `Arafah and thus he or she takes ihram and stands in `Arafah and completes the other rituals, the Hajj will be considered valid and it suffices him or her as an obligatory Hajj.
But the question arises as to the child who attains puberty before standing in `Arafah or while standing there and he or she has already put on the ihram attire. Will the Hajj be considered? Will it suffice for the obligatory Hajj?
There are two views here. The Shafi`is and the Hanbalis are of the view that such Hajj suffices for the obligatory Hajj and he or she is not asked to perform any obligatory Hajj. They quote as evidence the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that reads: “Hajj is standing at `Arafah.”
The Malikis and the Hanafis are of the view that such a Hajj is not counted as the obligatory Hajj because it is necessary to have attained puberty when putting on the ihram attire. In this case, he or she put on ihram before attaining puberty, which means that the Hajj is nafl (voluntary) and thus, it cannot be considered an obligatory Hajj.”
The prominent Muslim scholar Dr. `Abdul-Azim Assidiq, professor at the American Open University, adds:
“If the child attains puberty before standing at `Arafah or during it, he or she will not have to perform Hajj again. Malik maintained that this Hajj will not suffice the child, while the Hanafis held that it does suffice if he or she renews ihram after attaining puberty.”
In his book Fiqh As-Sunnah, the late Sheikh Sayyed Sabiq wrote: If a minor attains the age of puberty on or before day `arafah, hajj is then credited to him her. same applies slave who liberated `arafah. however, malik and ibn al-mundhir say: to both these people their cannot be as (replacement for) obligatory hajj, for they intended supererogatory worship while putting ihram; its status transformed into an worship.
