Answer
Wa `alaykum As-Salamu waRahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
If a man needs to get married, and it will be too difficult for him to delay that, then he should give marriage precedence over Hajj. But if he does not need to get married, then he should give precedence to Hajj.
Answering your question on what takes priority; hajj or marriage, the Fatwa Center at Islam Q and A, states:
Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in al-Mughni (5/12):
If one needs to get married and he fears that it will be too difficult for him otherwise, then he should give priority to that, because it is obligatory for him and he cannot do without it, so it becomes part of his essential spending.
But if he has no such fears, then he should give priority to Hajj, because marriage is voluntary and should not take precedence over Hajj which is obligatory.
Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:
Is it permissible to delay Hajj until after marriage for one who is able to do it? That is because of the temptations, both great and small, that young men are faced with these days.
He replied:
“Undoubtedly marriage when one has a strong desire for it takes precedence over Hajj, because if a man has a strong desire to get married, in his case marriage is a necessity of life for him, and it is like food and drink. Hence it is permissible for the one who needs to get married and does not have money to be given some of the Zakah funds in order to get married, just as a poor man may be given food and clothing to cover his awrah from the Zakah.
Based on this, if one needs to get married, then he should give marriage precedence over Hajj, because Allah has stated that one of the conditions of Hajj being obligatory is that one is able to afford it. Allah says:
{And Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) to the House (Ka`bah) is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can afford the expenses (for one’s conveyance, provisions and residence)} (Aal `Imran 3:97)
But if he is young and it does not matter to him if he gets married this year or next year, then he should give precedence for Hajj because marriage is not a priority for him.” (Fatawa Manar al-Islam, 2/375).
Almighty Allah knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.