Is it permissible to perform 'Umrah on behalf of a sick relative who is unable to perform it?

The questioner : The issue of performing 'Umrah on behalf of someone else, for example, her grandmother is paralyzed and unable to move, or her grandfather. Is it permissible to perform 'Umrah on his behalf after performing 'Umrah for himself?

The Shaykh : If he returns to the miqat from which he entered the state of ihram for his 'Umrah, and if he returns to it and enters the state of ihram from there again on behalf of his father and mother only, then it is permissible; otherwise, it is not. What many pilgrims or those performing 'Umrah do is that they intend to go to a place called al-Tan'im in the Shari'ah, and in the terminology of the common people, the Mosque of 'A'ishah. What many of these pilgrims or those performing 'Umrah do is that after they complete their Hajj or 'Umrah, they depart from Makkah to al-Tan'im or to the Mosque of 'A'ishah, then they enter the state of ihram from there and enter Makkah and perform the 'Umrah. This has no basis in the Sunnah. Yes, it has a basis in the Sunnah in the authentic hadith, specifically for a certain type of women, not men. That is, it is not specific to women in general, but to some of them. Who are they? They are those who were overtaken by the monthly period known as menstruation, so she was unable to perform the 'Umrah of Hajj. If she had entered the state of ihram for tamattu' (combining 'Umrah and Hajj), her tamattu' would be converted. If menstruation occurred and surprised her before the Tawaf of Arrival, then her tamattu' is converted to ifrad (Hajj alone). So in this case, she is unable to perform the Tawaf of Arrival, and she is unable to pray or fast, as is well known. She remains in this state until she completes all the rituals of Hajj. When she becomes pure, she performs the Tawaf of Ifadah, and thereby her Hajj, which was Hajj Tamattu', is converted to Hajj Ifrad. And in order to make up for the 'Umrah that she missed before her Hajj, this menstruating woman is the one who goes to al-Tan'im and enters the state of ihram for 'Umrah. Which 'Umrah? It is not the additional 'Umrah on top of Hajj, but rather the 'Umrah that she had intended before Hajj, in accordance with the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He: This is the best Hajj, that the Muslim should perform tamattu' with 'Umrah to Hajj. If the woman who is accustomed to menstruate is unable to perform the 'Umrah before Hajj, she makes it up after completing all the rituals of Hajj. She is the one who goes out to al-Tan'im and performs the 'Umrah that she missed. From here, we say, and this is a derived opinion from the story of the Lady 'A'ishah in the Farewell Pilgrimage, where she performed Hajj with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), before entering Makkah to perform the Tawaf of Arrival, stopped at a place near Makkah known as Saraf. There, as was the custom of the Arabs in ancient times, they would set up their tents and take shelter in them and rest from the hardship of the journey. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was with all his wives, including the Lady 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her). When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered upon her in her tent in that place called Saraf, he found her crying. He said: Meaning, has menstruation come to you? She said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah." She was sad, so he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And therefore, she did not perform the Tawaf of Arrival, which is necessary for every pilgrim or one performing 'Umrah. So she remained in her menstruation until she completed all the rituals of her Hajj, and she became pure while she was at 'Arafah. Then, when she performed the Tawaf of Farewell and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) announced to the people that they should depart to Madinah, that they should return to Madinah after performing the Tawaf of Farewell, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also visited the Lady 'A'ishah in her residence and found her crying again. He said: She said: "Why do the people return with Hajj and 'Umrah, while I return with Hajj without 'Umrah?" Because she had menstruated and was unable to perform the 'Umrah of Hajj before the Hajj. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as is well known, was compassionate and merciful to his family, so he ordered 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf, excuse me, Ibn Abi Bakr al-Siddiq, the brother of 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with them all), to have her ride behind him on the camel and take her out to al-Tan'im, and she would enter the state of ihram from there for 'Umrah. So she returned as one performing 'Umrah from al-Tan'im to Makkah, performed the Tawaf, and completed the 'Umrah. From here, we say that going out from Makkah after Hajj, or other than Hajj, to al-Tan'im for 'Umrah is only the 'Umrah of the menstruating woman. It is only the 'Umrah of the menstruating woman. It is not prescribed for the pure woman to go out from Makkah to al-Tan'im while she may menstruate. What about the men whom Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has purified from menstruation? They do not have the right to perform 'Umrah from al-Tan'im. And therefore, I think you have understood the answer to your question? Whoever performs 'Umrah, whether the 'Umrah is ifrad or whether it is the 'Umrah before Hajj, this person, if he wants to perform 'Umrah on behalf of his mother or father, and no one else, as is said, he must return to his miqat. If his miqat is, for example, Dhul-Hulayfah for the people of the West, then he returns to this miqat, or to another of the known miqats surrounding the Sacred Mosque. He returns to this miqat and from there begins the 'Umrah on behalf of his father or his mother, and he has no right to do anything other than that.