Q434 :A friend of mine came to Makkah on the first
day of Thul-Hajjah and started Umrah. He then fell sick and his
condition deteriorated and did not respond to medication. Four days
later, when his temperature was still too high, he was advised that it
would be wrong if he went to pilgrimage in this condition. A friend
residing in Makkah told him that he would do the pilgrimage on his
behalf. Therefore, he went back to where he lived. On arrival, he was
admitted into hospital for four days and he was discharged on the 10th
Thul-Hajjah. Please netment on the validity of his Umrah and
pilgrimage, bearing in mind that he did not do the tawaf of
farewell.
A434 : Scholars are unanimous that a person who is
able to undertake the journey of pilgrimage himself may not appoint
someone else to do the pilgrimage on his behalf. This is due to the
fact that pilgrimage is a personal duty, which every single person, man
or woman, owes to Allah, once he or she is able to perform it.
Substitute pilgrimage is permissible only when there is a legitimate
reason to prevent someone from fulfilling this task, with a strong
likelihood that this condition is permanent. Thus, substitute
pilgrimage may be offered on behalf of someone who died before he could
perform this duty himself, or when it is done voluntarily on behalf of
a deceased person, or when someone is physically unable to go on the
journey of pilgrimage because of old age or chronic illness. In any of
these situations, substitute pilgrimage may be offered. If someone is
physically and financially able to offer the pilgrimage, he must do it
himself. Temporary incapacitation, through illness, does not allow that
person to ask someone else to do the pilgrimage on his behalf because
his handicap is temporary. He may wait until he has recovered. Our
friend here has had a bout of influenza. It might have been very
severe, raising his temperature and weakening him considerably. He
tried to treat his illness by himself, using antibiotics and cough
mixtures. He apparently needed proper medical treatment which, he felt,
was not readily available to him in Makkah. He listened to the first
person’s advice that he could not do the pilgrimage in that condition
and returned home. After a three-day stay in hospital, he is netpletely
recovered. This is no justification for using someone else, paid or
unpaid, to do the pilgrimage on one’s behalf. What our friend should
have done was to seek proper medical advice in Makkah. He was able to
travel to his home town. Had he stayed, he would have been able to go
to Arafat on 9th Thul-Hajjah and return to Mina the following day. He
could have stayed in Mina, or returned to Makkah, asking someone else
to do the duty of stoning on his behalf. He could have delayed in tawaf
of ifaadah until he was strong enough. If our friend thinks that he
has done the pilgrimage, I have some disappointing news for him. That
pilgrimage undertaken on his behalf by the person he hired for the
purpose is not valid. If this was his first pilgrimage, he still owes
that duty to Allah. Allah will reward him for the expense he had
incurred and for doing the Umrah. But the duty of pilgrimage remains to
be fulfilled. No netpensation is due from him since he has done the
Umrah only.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )