The Ruling on Promising to Pay for Hajj After Death
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
My father said that if I remained in my job this year, he would cover the costs of Hajj for so-and-so, and he named him. The season of Hajj came, but he was unable to pay the full costs because the expenses had risen compared to previous years. My father passed away several months after that season. The question is: Is my father’s statement considered a vow, and what is our obligation after his death?
Answer:
If he said, “I vow” or “I have vowed that if so-and-so comes, I will take him for Hajj from my money,” then it is a vow that must be fulfilled. If he dies, it is paid on his behalf, because it is a debt to Allah the Exalted. But if it was in the nature of a promise, where he said, “If so-and-so comes, I will cover the cost,” purely as a promise and not as a vow, then it is not obligatory.
My father said that if I remained in my job this year, he would cover the costs of Hajj for so-and-so, and he named him. The season of Hajj came, but he was unable to pay the full costs because the expenses had risen compared to previous years. My father passed away several months after that season. The question is: Is my father’s statement considered a vow, and what is our obligation after his death?
Answer:
If he said, “I vow” or “I have vowed that if so-and-so comes, I will take him for Hajj from my money,” then it is a vow that must be fulfilled. If he dies, it is paid on his behalf, because it is a debt to Allah the Exalted. But if it was in the nature of a promise, where he said, “If so-and-so comes, I will cover the cost,” purely as a promise and not as a vow, then it is not obligatory.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما حكم من نوى فعل شيء، ثم لم يستطعه، ومات؟ وهل يلزم على ورثته الوفاء به؟ للشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.