Supplication for the deceased is better than performing the voluntary Hajj on his behalf
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Your Eminence! May I perform Hajj or 'Umrah on behalf of my deceased grandfather?
The Shaykh: On behalf of whom?The questioner: On behalf of my deceased grandfather? Knowing that he has many sons?The Shaykh: Is it an obligatory Hajj or a voluntary one? No, it is voluntary.
Voluntary,First: May Allah reward you. Do you know that when the dead pass away, their deeds are cut off? No righteous deed reaches them at all, except according to what the Shari'ah has prescribed,The evidence for that is: as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When a person dies, his deeds are cut off except for three: a continuous charity, or knowledge from which people benefit, or a righteous son who supplicates for him". Pay attention to the word "supplicates for him", even though the hadith is about deeds and the continuation of deeds after death,He says: they are cut off except for three: a continuous charity,Meaning: which he establishes,or knowledge from which people benefit: or being a scholar who teaches the people, so that people benefit from his knowledge,The third: or a righteous son who supplicates for him. So why did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) shift from doing deeds for the deceased—while the hadith is in the context of deeds—to supplication? Why? Because he wants the Ummah to make their righteous deeds for themselves, for they will need deeds just as this deceased person needed them. So make the righteous deed for yourself and follow the guidance of your Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Supplicate for your grandfather; that is sufficient in place of Hajj and 'Umrah, and it is also better than Hajj and 'Umrah. Do you understand? But what the Sunnah has brought is permissible,For example: such as giving charity on behalf of the deceased, which the Sunnah has brought. Indeed, Sa'd ibn Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) wanted to make his orchard a charity for his mother, so the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) permitted him to do so.
And also the man who said: (O Messenger of Allah! My mother was taken suddenly—Meaning: she died unexpectedly—and I think that if she had been able to speak, she would have given charity. May I give charity on her behalf?He said: “Yes.”
Similarly, performing the obligatory Hajj on behalf of the deceased is reported, as in the two Sahihs from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that a woman came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: (My mother vowed to perform Hajj but did not do so until she died. May I perform Hajj on her behalf?He said: “Yes.”
So do what the Sunnah has brought regarding deeds for the deceased, and turn away from what the Sunnah has not brought to what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) directed you to, which is supplication.
So I advise you now to make the 'Umrah for yourself and the Hajj for yourself, while you supplicate for your grandfather, and for your father and mother as well, at the places where the answering of supplication is hoped for, such as 'Arafah, and the morning of the night of Muzdalifah, and also when stoning the pillars, and during the tawaf, and during the sa'y. This is better for you. Yes.
The Shaykh: On behalf of whom?The questioner: On behalf of my deceased grandfather? Knowing that he has many sons?The Shaykh: Is it an obligatory Hajj or a voluntary one? No, it is voluntary.
Voluntary,First: May Allah reward you. Do you know that when the dead pass away, their deeds are cut off? No righteous deed reaches them at all, except according to what the Shari'ah has prescribed,The evidence for that is: as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When a person dies, his deeds are cut off except for three: a continuous charity, or knowledge from which people benefit, or a righteous son who supplicates for him". Pay attention to the word "supplicates for him", even though the hadith is about deeds and the continuation of deeds after death,He says: they are cut off except for three: a continuous charity,Meaning: which he establishes,or knowledge from which people benefit: or being a scholar who teaches the people, so that people benefit from his knowledge,The third: or a righteous son who supplicates for him. So why did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) shift from doing deeds for the deceased—while the hadith is in the context of deeds—to supplication? Why? Because he wants the Ummah to make their righteous deeds for themselves, for they will need deeds just as this deceased person needed them. So make the righteous deed for yourself and follow the guidance of your Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Supplicate for your grandfather; that is sufficient in place of Hajj and 'Umrah, and it is also better than Hajj and 'Umrah. Do you understand? But what the Sunnah has brought is permissible,For example: such as giving charity on behalf of the deceased, which the Sunnah has brought. Indeed, Sa'd ibn Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) wanted to make his orchard a charity for his mother, so the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) permitted him to do so.
And also the man who said: (O Messenger of Allah! My mother was taken suddenly—Meaning: she died unexpectedly—and I think that if she had been able to speak, she would have given charity. May I give charity on her behalf?He said: “Yes.”
Similarly, performing the obligatory Hajj on behalf of the deceased is reported, as in the two Sahihs from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that a woman came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: (My mother vowed to perform Hajj but did not do so until she died. May I perform Hajj on her behalf?He said: “Yes.”
So do what the Sunnah has brought regarding deeds for the deceased, and turn away from what the Sunnah has not brought to what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) directed you to, which is supplication.
So I advise you now to make the 'Umrah for yourself and the Hajj for yourself, while you supplicate for your grandfather, and for your father and mother as well, at the places where the answering of supplication is hoped for, such as 'Arafah, and the morning of the night of Muzdalifah, and also when stoning the pillars, and during the tawaf, and during the sa'y. This is better for you. Yes.