When is it permissible to perform Hajj on behalf of a living person?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
This is a message from the brother Ali Sudani, who resides in the Kingdom and works. He says: My father has passed away, and I want to perform Hajj, or rather, I want to take my mother, who is eighty-five years old, to perform Hajj. Since it is stated in the hadith that a woman may not travel without a mahram, and I am unable, due to financial circumstances, to cover the costs for both my mother and her mahram, is it permissible for me to perform Hajj on her behalf? Please note that I have already performed the Hajj of Islam and 'Umrah five times, praise be to Allah. Please inform us, may Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows, it is not permissible to perform Hajj on behalf of a living person, especially the Hajj of Islam, unless he is completely unable to perform Hajj himself due to old age or a chronic illness. In that case, he may appoint someone to perform the obligatory Hajj of Islam on his behalf. However, as long as the Muslim is able to perform Hajj with his own body, able to perform the obligation of Islam with his own body, it is not permissible for him to appoint someone [to do it]. As for your mother, if she is capable of performing Hajj herself but cannot find a mahram, she should wait until a mahram is available in the future. If she loses hope of finding a mahram, meaning she loses hope of the presence of a mahram, then she may appoint someone. But right now, since you are present, she is not without hope of a mahram, because you are able to go to her and bring her. Yes.
The questioner:
But he complains of his inability to afford her expenses along with her mahram.
The Shaykh:
He should wait until he is able, or he should go and bring her. Yes.
This is a message from the brother Ali Sudani, who resides in the Kingdom and works. He says: My father has passed away, and I want to perform Hajj, or rather, I want to take my mother, who is eighty-five years old, to perform Hajj. Since it is stated in the hadith
A woman may not go out from
لا تخرج امرأة منThe Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for what follows, it is not permissible to perform Hajj on behalf of a living person, especially the Hajj of Islam, unless he is completely unable to perform Hajj himself due to old age or a chronic illness. In that case, he may appoint someone to perform the obligatory Hajj of Islam on his behalf. However, as long as the Muslim is able to perform Hajj with his own body, able to perform the obligation of Islam with his own body, it is not permissible for him to appoint someone [to do it]. As for your mother, if she is capable of performing Hajj herself but cannot find a mahram, she should wait until a mahram is available in the future. If she loses hope of finding a mahram, meaning she loses hope of the presence of a mahram, then she may appoint someone. But right now, since you are present, she is not without hope of a mahram, because you are able to go to her and bring her. Yes.
The questioner:
But he complains of his inability to afford her expenses along with her mahram.
The Shaykh:
He should wait until he is able, or he should go and bring her. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 5652- متى يجوز الحج عن الحي ؟ - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.