If a person has the ability to perform Hajj but does not, may his son perform Hajj on his behalf? Is it obligatory for him to do so?

The questioner : Regarding the father who has the ability to perform Hajj but did not perform it during his lifetime, his son, after his death, naturally has the ability to perform Hajj. They say that when he performs Hajj, he does it for his father. What is the ruling regarding the son?

The Shaykh : The situation you described, where that father was able to perform Hajj but did not, means that no one, not even his son, can perform Hajj on his behalf. Yes, that is correct. This is different from the case where he was excused, either due to poverty or illness, meaning that Hajj was not obligatory upon him. This is because Allah says in the clear text of the Noble Qur'an: , . So, if the father was able to perform Hajj as you asked, his son’s performance of Hajj will not benefit him or relieve him of his obligation in any way. However, if he was not able to, then the son’s role comes into play. In this case, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has placed the son in the position of his father. Naturally, the son’s ability must be considered here; because if he is not able, his ruling is the same as his father’s. Do you see?

The questioner : If the son is not able, is he not obligated to perform Hajj on behalf of his father?

The Shaykh : Is he able or not able?

The questioner : In this case, if the father is not able, the son does not perform Hajj on behalf of his father?

The Shaykh : No; on the contrary, I want to clarify to you now the exact opposite; but according to the detail I concluded with. I said that if the son is not able to perform Hajj, he cannot perform it for himself, let alone for his deceased father. Do you see how it is?

The questioner : Correct.

The Shaykh : But if he is able to perform Hajj, first he must perform it for himself.

The questioner : In the first year?

The Shaykh : In the first year; then, if his ability continues, it is an individual obligation for him to perform Hajj on behalf of his father or his mother, if neither of them was able to perform Hajj. Do you see how it is? Why? We have a hadith in "al-Sahihayn," in al-Bukhari and Muslim, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), during the Farewell Pilgrimage, after stoning the Jamarat al-Aqabah, a woman from the Khath'am tribe of Banu Khath'am stopped him on his way. The one riding behind the Messenger (peace be upon him) on the camel was al-Fadl ibn al-Abbas, the brother of the famous Abdullah ibn al-Abbas. This woman said—and the narrator of the hadith says she was beautiful, and al-Fadl was handsome—she said: "O Messenger of Allah, my father is an old man who cannot stay on the mount, and the obligation of Allah, Hajj, has come upon him. Shall I perform Hajj on his behalf?" He said: . What is the meaning of her question? It is not hidden from any of you that the legal rulings were not all revealed at once, but rather gradually and with deliberation. And Hajj was among the last of the five pillars to be made obligatory; it was even said that Hajj was made obligatory in the last year of the life of the Messenger (peace be upon him); and therefore his pilgrimage was delayed until the last year of his life.
When the obligation of Hajj was revealed, the father of the woman from Khath'am was an old man who could not stay on the mount, meaning: he was excused. After the obligation of Hajj was revealed, he was an old, frail man; and therefore she asked, saying: "Shall I perform Hajj on his behalf?" He said: . In another hadith, he (peace be upon him) said: . She said: "Yes." He said: . From here, Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him), regarding the command of the Messenger (peace be upon him) for the woman from Khath'am to perform Hajj on behalf of her father, said: "The wise Lawgiver considered the son’s ability as an extension of the father’s ability"; because he was the cause of his existence, do you see? And this meaning is confirmed by his (peace be upon him) saying: .
This hadith was reported regarding material things—meaning money—but the ruling regarding spiritual matters is exactly the same meaning, as we mentioned earlier: .
Therefore, if there is a father for whom Hajj was not obligatory, but Hajj is obligatory for the son, he performs Hajj for himself first, then it is obligatory for him to perform another Hajj on behalf of his father, and a third Hajj on behalf of his mother if she was like his father; meaning they were not able to perform Hajj.

The questioner : So, Shaykh, does the intention—for example—become the second one?

The Shaykh: No.

The questioner : The father—for example—in the second Hajj—also performs Hajj on behalf of his father and his mother, for example?

The Shaykh : No, no, it is not permissible except for one person.

The questioner : Okay; he is not able.

The Shaykh : Each one, each Hajj is for one person. It is not permissible for one person to perform two Hajjs on behalf of one person, one Hajj on behalf of...