Question Summary:
Hajj or charity?

Question Detail:

assalamu alaikum respected sheikh/sheikhs. how do you respond to someone who says "people should stop going to hajj and help out the poor" or "Saudi Arabia is gaining large amounts of profit because so many people are going to hajj this year".   

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
If Hajj is fardh on someone, he has to fulfill it. He cannot leave out fardh Hajj in consideration of assisting poor people.
If one wishes to perform nafl Hajj, then that is supported from the following Hadith;
Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says,
تَابِعُوا بَيْنَ الْحَجِّ وَالْعُمْرَةِ فَإِنَّهُمَا يَنْفِيَانِ الْفَقْرَ وَالذُّنُوبَ كَمَا يَنْفِي الْكِيرُ خَبَثَ الْحَدِيدِ وَالذَّهَبِ وَالْفِضَّةِ وَلَيْسَ لِلْحَجِّ الْمَبْرُورِ ثَوَابٌ دُونَ الْجَنَّةِ
“Perform Hajj and Umrah consecutively, for they remove poverty and sin just as the bellows removes impurity from iron, gold, and silver. There can be no other reward for an accepted Hajj than Jannah.”[1] 
Shariah encourages people to do voluntary acts of virtue and does not regulate or impose such acts on them. While we should encourage people to fulfill the needs of the poor and needy, we also encourage people to perform nafl Hajj and Umra if possible and within their means.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Saad Haque
Student Darul Iftaa
New Jersey, USA
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.