Some laypeople may form erroneous notions that develop, in their minds, into established principles that should be observed and adopted. They even try to convince others of them. It is the duty of those well-versed in knowledge to separate truth from falsehood and to dispel the clouds of ignorance.
Attending to this issue, Dr. Salah Al-Sawy, secretary-general of the Assembly of Muslim Jurists in America (AMJA), stated,
What was mentioned — that a Muslim’s Hajj will not be complete as long as he is not married — is not true. This is merely an imagination of some unlearned people, and it has no share of authenticity.
By saying this, however, we do not underestimate the importance of marriage; we simply want to undo the association between it and Hajj, except in one case: if a person fears for him- or herself from adultery. If one’s wealth is enough only for one of the two — marriage and Hajj — then marriage should come first because preventing harm takes priority over attaining benefit. In addition, it is well established that keeping away from prohibited matters in general is to be advanced over doing prescribed matters.
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “If you are forbidden from doing something, avoid it, and if you are ordered to do something, do it as best as you can” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)