Is it better to give charity on behalf of the deceased and build a mosque for him, or to perform Hajj on his behalf, given that he had already performed Hajj in his lifetime?

Question : This questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, my mother passed away this year, and she had performed Hajj only once. After her death, we gathered the jewelry she had left behind, and we now have thirteen thousand Saudi riyals for her. We bought a cow this year, and we will take out a pilgrim to perform Hajj for her. The person who will perform Hajj on her behalf asked us for seven thousand riyals. What is your opinion (may Allah preserve you) in this matter? May Allah reward you.

Answer : I see that since the mother has fulfilled her obligatory duty—like the questioner said, I think—yes, Shaykh—then Hajj for her would be voluntary. Spending seven thousand riyals on a voluntary Hajj when there is a better deed available is contrary to wisdom. Therefore, I see that you should spend these seven thousand riyals on another matter that is more beneficial for her, such as participating in the construction of a mosque through which Allah benefits the Muslims and the deceased, since the reward of a mosque is great. For whoever builds a mosque for Allah, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise. Also, Muslims frequent the mosque to perform the greatest obligatory duty in Islam after the two testimonies, which is the five daily prayers. Muslims also frequent the mosque to memorize the Qur'an, to study knowledge, and for other public benefits.
So if you spent these seven thousand riyals on participating in building a mosque, that would be better and more appropriate. Then, on this occasion, I would like to remind my brothers who accept the agency for Hajj that their concern should not be money. Because if their concern is money and they do not perform Hajj except for its sake, it is feared that they will not have a reward, since they sought worldly gain with a deed of the Hereafter. Whoever seeks worldly gain with a deed of the Hereafter will not be recorded a reward in the Hereafter. For this reason, the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Whoever performs Hajj to take money has no share in the Hereafter," meaning that this Hajj is not accepted from him. This is unlike the one who takes money to perform Hajj, meaning he takes it to help him with the Hajj; this does not harm him in any way, if Allah wills. So I advise my brothers who accept the agency that their concern not be greed and avarice for money, so that they take this large amount, even though they could perform Hajj with the best groups for about three or four thousand riyals. In any case, this is a matter that concerns them, and I have no intervention in it, but I direct them to sincerity of intention so that their concern is not money in the agency for Hajj. If someone asks, "Then what do they want?" We say: They want to do good to their brother who asked them, who appointed them for Hajj, and to reach those noble sites in these blessed days, the ten days about which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days." They said: "Not even jihad in the cause of Allah?" He said: "Not even jihad in the cause of Allah, except for a man who went out with himself and his wealth and did not return with anything." The person who acts as a proxy for another wants to do good to his brother by fulfilling his need, and also to benefit from the supplication and other things that occur in these great sites and in these blessed days. Also, if he is a person of knowledge, he benefits his Muslim brothers by teaching them what they do not know and guiding them to what benefits them. Yes. May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you.