Performing Hajj on behalf of the deceased from their estate


A: If, when your father died he was physically and financially able to perform Hajj, but he had not done so, perform Hajj for him using what he left to pay for the expenses, because performing Hajj was obligatory on your father. Allah (Exalted be He) says (what means): And Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) to the House (Ka‘bah) is a duty that mankind owes to Allâh, for those who are able to undertake the journey. It is also narrated in the Two Sahih (authentic) Books of Hadith (i.e. Al-Bukhari and Muslim) in the wording of Al-Bukhari, on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them), who said, “Al-Fadl ibn ‘Abbas was riding behind the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) when a woman from the tribe of Khath‘am came. Al-Fadl started looking at her and she started looking at him. The Prophet (peace be upon him) turned the face of Al-Fadl to the other side. She said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! The obligation of Hajj enjoined by Allah upon His servants has become due on my father when he is an old man, cannot sit firm on the back of the mount. Can I perform Hajj on his behalf?’ He (peace be upon him) said, ‘Yes.’ This was during the Farewell Hajj.” It is also narrated in "Sahih Al-Bukhari": “A woman from the tribe of Juhaynah came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said, ‘My mother had vowed to perform Hajj, but she died before performing it. May I perform Hajj on her behalf?’ The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied, ‘Yes, perform Hajj on her behalf. Tell me, if your mother had left a debt, would you not repay it? So, repay the debt owed to Allah, as Allah has more right to be repaid.’” (Part No. 11; Page No. 102) These two Hadith constitute the evidence that obligations on a servant of Allah are not removed by death; they remain owing debts in which responsibility to do them is only discharged by performing them. If a son performs Hajj on behalf of his father from his money, it will be sufficient, as long as the son has performed Hajj for himself first. If the father had not the ability to perform Hajj until he died, it was not obligatory on him, but if the son performs it on behalf of his father, provided that he has performed Hajj for himself, it will be good, but if he does not do so, then nothing is binding on him. The questioner mentioned that his father only left a piece of land. If the father used this land for residential or farming purposes, he would not be considered by owning it financially able to perform Hajj. If he only owned this piece of land, Hajj would not be obligatory on him. If the father had prepared the land to be used for a business purpose and its value was enough to cover his Hajj expenses and the expenses of his family until he would return from Hajj, it is obligatory to perform Hajj on behalf of the father from its price. The same applies to ‘Umrah, because ‘Umrah is obligatory on those on whom Hajj is obligatory, as Allah (Exalted be He) says (what means): And perform properly (i.e. all the ceremonies according to the ways of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم), the Hajj and ‘Umrah (i.e. the pilgrimage to Makkah) for Allâh. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to Abu Razin Al-‘Uqayliy, when he came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said that his father was very old and could not perform Hajj or ‘Umrah nor could he go on a journey, “Perform Hajj and ‘Umrah on behalf of your father.” (Related by the Five Compilers of Hadith [Imams Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Al-Tirmidhy, Al-Nasa’y, and Ibn Majah] and classed as Sahih [a Hadith that has been transmitted by people known for their uprightness and exactitude; free from eccentricity and blemish] by Al-Tirmidhy) (Part No. 11; Page No. 103) May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.


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