Q: My mother is old and suffering from chronic diseases. She wishes to perform Haj, but cannot find a mahram, a relative to accompany her. She is wealthy. Can she have someone perform the Haj on her behalf? Is this permissible? If so, how do we go about it?
A: Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Mohammed and upon all his Family and Companions.
May Allah reward you for your Birr (filial devotion) to your mother. If the only reason for not performing the Haj is the lack of a mahram, then your mother must look for one. If unavailable, your mother can join a reliable and trustworthy Haj and Umrah group. However, if her health status is hindering her from travelling, then according to the Maliki School it is not right for anyone to perform the Haj on her behalf, irrespective of whether she is sick or not. This is because the Maliki school considers performing Haj on someone’s behalf unlawful and that appointing someone to perform Haj on behalf of an alive person is prohibited regardless of the reason or reasons. This is due to Maliki scholars seeing the Haj alongside prayer as an act of worship that a person must undertake themselves, as the Quran says: “And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House for whoever is able to find thereto a way.”
So we advise you to give some charitable donations instead on her behalf, and supplicate to Allah to accept this, for Allah is the All-Knower.
However, if she wishes to take a dispensation and does not follow the Maliki school, then according to the Shafi school, if an ill person is financially capable to have someone perform the Haj on his/her behalf, they are allowed to do so.
Q:A single lady died before performing the Haj. In her will, she asked us to sell her gold to have someone perform the Haj on her behalf. What shall we do with the remaining gold? Should we give it away as charity, or should we distribute it to her heirs? Please note that her relative who will perform Haj on her behalf is not an heir.
A: If a person requests in his/her will to perform Haj on one’s behalf, a third of his/her inheritance may be spent on this deed. The remaining amount (two thirds) must go towards inheritance. Also, please note that in case the third of her inheritance exceeds the amount needed for someone to perform the Haj on her behalf, then the rest will also be distributed to her heirs.
In summary, it is permissible to spend a maximum of a third of one’s inheritance to have someone perform Haj on behalf of a deceased person. Whatever is remaining of the third in addition to the other two thirds must be distributed to the heirs.
If you have a question for Awqaf, email newsdesk@thenational.ae with the subject line ‘Fatwa Q&As’.
