According to the Qur’an, a true Muslim should refer to scholars to get himself well-acquainted with the sound image of Islam. we’d like to state that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said, “Whoever performs Hajj and does not commit any obscenity [rafath] or commit any evil will go back (free of) sin as on the day his mother bore him.”

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: What is meant by the words of the above-mentioned hadith is that if a person performs Hajj and avoids rafath, which is intercourse with women, and fusooq which is anything that goes against obedience to Allah, and he does not fail to do anything that has been enjoined by Allah, and he does not do anything that has been forbidden by Allah, then he will emerge from that free of sin, just as when a person emerges from his mother’s womb, there is no sin on him. So if a man performs Hajj and fulfils these conditions, he will be free of sin. He will come back with a clean slate and start a new life free from all past sins.

It becomes clear with Hajj mabrur (the one accepted by Allah), all major and minor sins are forgiven. Also, it should be clear that committing sins affects the acceptance of good deeds and it is most proper for a Muslim to stay away from sins and to be sincere while doing good deeds in order for them to be accepted by Allah. Among the conditions of sincerity is do a certain good deed such as Hajj or `Umrah for the sake of Allah without having the intention to come back to sins again.

Elaborating on the conditions for the acceptance of Hajj and `Umrah, Dr. Salah Sultan, President of Islamic American University, Detroit, US, and former professor of Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) at Cairo University, Egypt, answers:

“There are two main conditions for the acceptance of Hajj and `Umrah:
1. To have complete sincerity (Ikhlas) by performing those rituals solely for the sake of Allah the Almighty.
2. To perform both Hajj and `Umrah the same way it is mentioned in the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).“

Sincerity in doing Hajj and `Umrah does not involve one who did sins and then go for Hajj or `Umrah in order for his sins to be forgiven while having the intention to commit sins again. This is not sincerity nor it be the same way it is mentioned in the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

Furthermore, persistence in sins really affects the acceptance of good deeds. Almighty Allah says, “Forgiveness is only incumbent on Allah toward those who do evil in ignorance (and) then turn quickly (in repentance) to Allah. These are they toward whom Allah relenteth. Allah is ever Knower, Wise. The forgiveness is not for those who do ill deeds until, when death attendeth upon one of them, he saith: Lo! I repent now; nor yet for those who die while they are disbelievers. For such We have prepared a painful doom.” (An-Nisa’: 17-18)

Having stated the above, it becomes clear that forgiveness of sins does not involve one who does a good deed with the aim of forgiving bad deeds while having the intention to resume doing bad deeds afterwards.

To conclude: we should stress the fact that those whom Allah favored to perform Hajj and `Umrah, should be thankful to Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, Who has chosen them from among His servants to perform these acts of worship, and they should implore Almighty Allah to accept their good deeds. That is very important, for it reflects their belief that being so favored by Allah to accomplish the task of traveling to the Sacred Land to perform Hajj and `Umrah is a favor that deserves gratitude to Allah.

Allah Almighty knows best.