What is the ruling on performing Hajj on behalf of one's deceased father more than once?
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The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
His EminenceThe Shaykh : If a person dies without having performed the Hajj of Islam, and his son performs Hajj on his behalf—meaning after the Hajj of Islam for the living person—this is a Hajj on behalf of his father or mother, three Hajjs or four. Then someone comes and objects to him, saying that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not guide people to performing Hajj frequently on behalf of the deceased. What is your opinion?
The Shaykh : I agree with the one who objected, and I say that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not guide his Ummah to perform Hajj on behalf of the deceased except for the obligatory one, as established in the authentic hadith. Performing Hajj on behalf of one's parents as a voluntary act has not been reported at all. However, we do not say that it is forbidden; rather, we say that leaving it is better. We should know an important issue: supplicating for the deceased is better than giving charity on his behalf, better than performing Hajj for him, and better than sacrificing an animal for him. The evidence for this is that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Abi Dawud 2880Sahih (Al-Albani) and he did not say "or a righteous son who does good deeds for him," even though the subject of the hadith is about that.
His EminenceThe Shaykh : If a person dies without having performed the Hajj of Islam, and his son performs Hajj on his behalf—meaning after the Hajj of Islam for the living person—this is a Hajj on behalf of his father or mother, three Hajjs or four. Then someone comes and objects to him, saying that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not guide people to performing Hajj frequently on behalf of the deceased. What is your opinion?
The Shaykh : I agree with the one who objected, and I say that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not guide his Ummah to perform Hajj on behalf of the deceased except for the obligatory one, as established in the authentic hadith. Performing Hajj on behalf of one's parents as a voluntary act has not been reported at all. However, we do not say that it is forbidden; rather, we say that leaving it is better. We should know an important issue: supplicating for the deceased is better than giving charity on his behalf, better than performing Hajj for him, and better than sacrificing an animal for him. The evidence for this is that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: