The ruling on taking money for performing Hajj on behalf of another
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Question:
Honorable Shaykh, a man is in debt and wants to perform Hajj. Does he have
Answer:
the right to take a pilgrim? Yes. The Muslim. He should seek reward from Allah in that, provided the amount is equivalent to the cost of Hajj. Acting as a proxy for Hajj is permissible on behalf of a deceased person, or on behalf of a living person who is unable to perform the obligatory Hajj, the obligation of Islam. A living person who is unable to perform the obligation of Islam with his body, with an inability that is not expected to end, may have Hajj performed on his behalf. Likewise, Hajj may be performed on behalf of a deceased person, whether as an obligation or a voluntary act. It is permissible for the proxy to take money from what is given to him by the one who appointed him.
But the matter lies in the intention. If his intention is the money, then he has no Hajj and no reward. If his intention is for the sake of Hajj and seeking reward, and he takes the money in order to use it to assist himself in worshipping Allah, then there is no harm in that. However, he should not stipulate and say, "I will not perform Hajj except for such and such an amount." He takes what is given to him without stipulation and performs Hajj.
The criterion is the intention. If his aim is the money and he treats Hajj as a means to obtain money, then he has no Hajj, no reward, and no recompense, because he is seeking the worldly life with the deeds of the Hereafter. But if it is the opposite, and he wants to perform Hajj to draw near to Allah and benefit his brother for whom he is acting as proxy, and he takes the money in order to spend on himself during Hajj, taking it so that he can perform Hajj, then there is nothing wrong with that. For this reason, the scholars say: "Whoever performs Hajj in order to take money has no Hajj, and whoever takes money in order to perform Hajj, there is no harm in that."
Honorable Shaykh, a man is in debt and wants to perform Hajj. Does he have
Answer:
the right to take a pilgrim? Yes. The Muslim. He should seek reward from Allah in that, provided the amount is equivalent to the cost of Hajj. Acting as a proxy for Hajj is permissible on behalf of a deceased person, or on behalf of a living person who is unable to perform the obligatory Hajj, the obligation of Islam. A living person who is unable to perform the obligation of Islam with his body, with an inability that is not expected to end, may have Hajj performed on his behalf. Likewise, Hajj may be performed on behalf of a deceased person, whether as an obligation or a voluntary act. It is permissible for the proxy to take money from what is given to him by the one who appointed him.
But the matter lies in the intention. If his intention is the money, then he has no Hajj and no reward. If his intention is for the sake of Hajj and seeking reward, and he takes the money in order to use it to assist himself in worshipping Allah, then there is no harm in that. However, he should not stipulate and say, "I will not perform Hajj except for such and such an amount." He takes what is given to him without stipulation and performs Hajj.
The criterion is the intention. If his aim is the money and he treats Hajj as a means to obtain money, then he has no Hajj, no reward, and no recompense, because he is seeking the worldly life with the deeds of the Hereafter. But if it is the opposite, and he wants to perform Hajj to draw near to Allah and benefit his brother for whom he is acting as proxy, and he takes the money in order to spend on himself during Hajj, taking it so that he can perform Hajj, then there is nothing wrong with that. For this reason, the scholars say: "Whoever performs Hajj in order to take money has no Hajj, and whoever takes money in order to perform Hajj, there is no harm in that."
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام من أدلة الأحكام [ صالح الفوزان ]، باب الحضانة — islamhouse.com (25:58)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.