Hajj costs have skyrocketed by more than 85% in the past year. This enticed many Egyptian banks to offer loans to those seeking to perform the religious duty, stirring wide controversy.
Mention that, in 2022, Hajj costs ranged between EGP 94,500 per person for the at-cost pilgrimage trip and up to EGP 193,500 per person for commercial prices.
While this year, Hajj costs have doubled on average from EGP 175,500 to EGP 310,000 per person.
Moreover, luxury Hajj deals exceeded EGP 1.5 m per person, according to the “Ahram Online” website.
This resulted in, many Egyptians who were well-off enough to perform the obligatory religious pillar in past years finding themselves unable to do so now due to soaring costs.
Hereby we found several banks offer “Haij Loans”, like Banque Misr which offers a Hajj loan of up to EGP 400,000 per person and an Ummrah loan of up to EGP 100,000 per person, with competitive returns.
Also, United Bank offers Hajj loans without a maximum limit or returns, with the loan amount depending on the client’s ability to repay and monthly income. The loan period is one year for all citizens who are over 21 years old.
Meanwhile, Faisal Islamic Bank offers Hajj loans with a maximum amount of EGP 500,000 ($16,100) for pilgrims to be paid back over a five years.
AlBaraka Bank’s Hajj loan covers up to 50 percent of the total cost of the Hajj, with a repayment period of one year for those who have a minimum monthly income of EGP 3,000.
Controversy
The idea that people would have to resort to taking a loan from a bank to perform the fifth pillar of Islam has sparked controversy among the public.
In a related context, Dar Al Iftaa, the official body responsible for issuing religious edicts, weighed in on the issue.
Khaled Omran, the secretary of Dar Al Iftaa, said Muslims who would have to borrow money for Hajj are not obliged to perform it.
