If a person dies without having performed Hajj and bequeaths the construction of a mosque, is Hajj performed on his behalf first, or is his bequest executed?

The questioner : Shaykh, may Allah reward you. A person died without having performed the obligatory Hajj, but he bequeathed that a mosque like this be built with his money, and this is not obligatory. Is it built as he bequeathed, or is Hajj performed on his behalf?

The Shaykh : The obligatory act is not started first, because the obligatory act is a debt. If something remains, the bequest is executed from one-third of the remainder or less, unless the heirs permit it.

The presenter : Thank you.

The Shaykh : If a man leaves behind four hundred dinars, one hundred dinars are used to perform Hajj on his behalf. Three hundred dinars remain. We look at this mosque he bequeathed: does it cost more than one hundred dinars? No. If they say yes, we say the bequest is not executed except to the amount of one hundred dinars, unless the heirs permit it, provided they are of legal age, mature, and sane. As for if what he bequeathed costs one hundred dinars or less, it must be executed according to the bequest, because a bequest of one-third or less is valid whether the heirs permit it or not.