Answer
Wa `alaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings.
In this fatwa:
What was mentioned to your father — that his Hajj will not be complete as long as he is not married — is not true.
Answering this question, Dr. Salah Al-Sawy, secretary-general of the Assembly of Muslim Jurists in America (AMJA), states:
What was mentioned to your father — that his 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)
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.
Source: Excerpted with modifications from http://www.amjaonline.com