What is the ruling on a son performing Hajj on behalf of his deceased father who was unable to perform it?

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The Shaykh : Here, a questioner asks: If a person is unable to perform Hajj and dies while still unable, does his son’s ability obligate the son to perform Hajj on behalf of his father?
Answer: Yes, and this is explicit in the hadith of al-Khath'amiah, where she described her father

That she found him in a state where Hajj had become obligatory, and he was an old man who could not stay on the mount. She said: Should I perform Hajj on his behalf? He (peace be upon him) said: Perform Hajj on his behalf.

بأنه أدركه الحج وهو شيخ فان لا يثبت على الراحلة قالت : أفأحج عنه ؟ قال عليه السلام : حجي عنه

and in some hadiths:

Do you think that if your father had a debt, you would pay it off on his behalf? She said: Yes. He (peace be upon him) said: The debt of Allah is more deserving of being paid off.

أرأيت إن كان على أبيك دين أفكنت تقضينه عنه ؟ قالت بلى قال عليه السلام فدين الله أحق أن يقضى

However, one must note what is mentioned in the question within the hadith, and in the question here, namely that he is unable; the father is unable to perform Hajj. This means: regarding the hadith, when Hajj became obligatory, the man was elderly and unable to perform Hajj. Regarding what might be asked today: a man reaches a certain age and then dies without having been able to perform Hajj, either due to a lack of money, or strength and health, or any of the causes that make Hajj obligatory. In this case, he was unable to perform Hajj, meaning: Hajj was not obligatory upon him. Thus, if a person dies and Hajj was not obligatory upon him, meaning he was unable to perform Hajj, and he has a child, even if it is a female, and she is able to perform Hajj, she must perform Hajj on his behalf, based on the aforementioned hadith of al-Khath'amiah.

Source alathar.net

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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