Q435 :My father-in-law is very old and physically
too weak to undertake the pilgrimage himself from India. He has
requested me to perform the pilgrimage on his behalf and he will meet
the expenses. Is this permissible? May I add that I lost both my
parents many years ago. Neither of them offered the pilgrimage during
their lifetimes. Can I offer the pilgrimage on their behalf now? If so,
to whom should I give priority? Is it permissible to offer the
pilgrimage or the Umrah on behalf of a person who is not alive?
A435 : Of course it is permissible to offer the
pilgrimage or the Umrah on behalf of a deceased person, particularly a
parent or a close relative. You have only to make your intention clear
before you embark on your pilgrimage journey that you are offering the
pilgrimage on behalf of the person concerned. If you do it on behalf of
a deceased parent, it is a mark of dutifulness for which Allah will
undoubtedly reward you and He will, if He so wishes, credit its reward
to your parents. A living person who is too ill or too old to
undertake the journey may ask someone else to do the pilgrimage on his
behalf. When you do so, you have to cover his expenses. Indeed, the
case of your father-in-law is a classic one for a person who may
appoint someone else to do the pilgrimage on his behalf. Since he is
too old and too weak to undertake the journey, he is unlikely to
acquire enough strength to do the pilgrimage later. Therefore, he
should appoint someone else to do it. That person need not be a
relative. A person in this situation should cover all the expenses of
the person offering the pilgrimage on his behalf. The latter should be
careful what he spends. He should always be reasonable. He may not
invite others to anything at the expense of the person who appointed
him. However, if the first person tells him: Do the pilgrimage on my
behalf and I will give you, say, ten thousand riyals, he is free to
spend it as he wishes, provided that he makes sure to fulfill the
duties of pilgrimage in the right manner. Scholars are of different
views on whether such a person may receive wages for undertaking the
pilgrimage on behalf of someone else. Imam Abu Hanifah says that this
is not permissible, while Al-Shafie and Malik say that he may have some
wages. [In either case, it is better that a mutually agreed sum is
handed out for expending to the person appointed for performing the
pilgrimage on your behalf; as thus providing him with a free hand to
spend as he wishes without worry about accountability. His only concern
shall be the fulfillment of all the duties of pilgrimage.] With regard
to my first reader’s question about the priority, I would say that his
deceased parents have a stronger claim on him. He should begin by
offering the pilgrimage on behalf of his mother. He then tries to offer
another pilgrimage on behalf of his father. Subsequently, he may offer
the pilgrimage on behalf of his father-in-law, if he so wishes. The
reason for this ruling is that his father-in-law may appoint someone
else to do the pilgrimage on his behalf. My reader may wish to write to
his father-in-law and explain this to him. He may suggest to him to
appoint a friend whom my reader trusts as a man of integrity, honor and
piety.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )