Ruling on performing one Hajj on behalf of his parents

7-9-2015 | IslamWeb

Question:

May I perform one Hajj on behalf of my father and mother? And how can I do it?

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

If both of your parents died after Hajj had become due upon them because of having met the requirements of the obligation, then it is mandatory to take money from the estate of each of them and pay it as a wage to a person who will perform Hajj on his or her behalf. This is according to the preponderant scholarly opinion. This is because it was established that they had become subject to the obligation of Hajj.

However, if one or both of them died before Hajj had become incumbent on them, then it is not obligatory to perform Hajj on behalf of the deceased unless he met the requirements of obligation.

A descendant is not required to perform Hajj on behalf of his parents or one of them. If he does it voluntarily, then he shall be greatly rewarded. In both cases, it is necessary that he himself has already performed the obligation of Hajj.

Moreover, if a person wants to perform Hajj on behalf of his parents, it is not valid to perform one Hajj for both of them, since acts of worship that are required of each one personally may not be shared by more than one person.

You may perform Hajj or ‘Umrah for yourself and grant the reward to both of them.

However, if your parents or one of them are still alive, then know that it is not valid to perform Hajj on behalf of a living person unless he has a disability that is not likely to go away. 

Allaah Knows best.