The Permissibility of Performing 'Umrah on Behalf of the Deceased and the Incapable

Question:
We begin first with a message from Ahmad Mahmoud of Sudan, in which he asks: Is it permissible to perform 'Umrah on behalf of a deceased person, or should I dedicate its reward to him? If it is permissible, please mention the intention, or the formula I should say in that regard?
May Allah guide you.

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon His slave and messenger, His intimate friend and His trustee over His revelation, our Prophet and our Imam Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah, and upon his family and his Companions, and whoever follows his guidance. As for what follows:
There is no doubt that performing 'Umrah on behalf of another, whether a deceased person or one unable to reach Makkah due to old age, is permissible, just as Hajj is. So you, O questioner, may perform 'Umrah for any of your Muslim brothers who have passed away. When you enter the state of ihram, you enter it on behalf of the deceased, just as you enter it for yourself, and you intend the 'Umrah for the person for whom you wish to perform it. It is better to say: "O Allah, here I am responding to You with 'Umrah on behalf of so-and-so." This is the best. If you do not say "on behalf of so-and-so" but intend it for him, that is sufficient, and there is no need for the verbal formula. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to specify the type of worship in his talbiyah. It is established from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that in the Farewell Pilgrimage he said: .
Informing about the type of worship a person intends in his talbiyah is a prescribed matter. If he intends it on behalf of another, he should name him; this is the best. For this reason, it was reported in the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas that he heard a man saying: "Here I am responding to You on behalf of Shubrumah." He said: The man said: "He is my brother, or a relative of mine." He said: The man said: "No." He said: This indicates that it is best to name the person for whom one is performing Hajj in the talbiyah. Yes.