Can I perform Hajj on behalf of someone else?

Who may be stood in for

The scholars set out the categories clearly. The ruling turns on why the person cannot go themselves.

• Someone who has died: Hajj may be performed for them, and this is the strongest case. The Prophet ﷺ permitted the woman of Khath'am to perform Hajj for her father, and the scholars took this as the basis for the whole chapter.
• Someone permanently unable: an elderly person who cannot ride, or someone with an illness from which recovery is not expected. Ibn Baz states that Hajj and Umrah may be performed for such a person.
• Someone whose incapacity is temporary: if the illness is ordinary and recovery is hoped for, Ibn Uthaymeen explains that no one should be appointed on their behalf — and the Hajj would not be valid — because the incapacity is expected to pass.

The woman of Khath'am asked the Prophet ﷺ about her father, who was an old man unable to hold himself on a mount, and he answered:

"Perform Hajj on his behalf."— Sahih al-Bukhari, from Ibn Abbas

Ibn Uthaymeen draws a further point from this narration: the Prophet ﷺ did not ask whether she had her father's permission, which shows the Hajj may be performed for another without their consent. He also notes it establishes that a woman may perform Hajj for a man, and by the same reasoning a man for a woman, a woman for a woman, and a man for a man.

You must have performed your own first

This is the condition that decides most real cases. The scholars who hold it — and this is the position of the Hanbali school, al-Shafi'i, al-Awza'i and Ishaq — base it on the man who was heard saying "Labbayk on behalf of Shubrumah." The Prophet ﷺ asked him whether he had performed Hajj for himself; he said no, and the Prophet ﷺ told him:

"Perform Hajj for yourself, then perform Hajj for Shubrumah."— Sunan Abi Dawud 1811, from Ibn Abbas

Ibn Qudamah records in al-Mughni that if someone performs Hajj for another before having performed his own, the Hajj falls to himself, and he must return whatever he was paid, because the Hajj did not take place on the other's behalf. Al-Bayhaqi reports the same position for al-Shafi'i, and notes that Ahmad ibn Hanbal graded the narration's chain sound, saying there is nothing stronger on the subject.

The Hanafi school differs here: al-Sarakhsi's Khazana al-Muftin and al-Bayhaqi both record that Abu Hanifah held it valid to perform Hajj for another even if one has not performed Hajj for oneself. The majority answer that Hajj is not like other acts of worship in this respect — Ibn al-Qayyim's teacher's argument, as al-Barak reports it, is that Hajj permits an unrestricted intention, an intention suspended on another's, and even converting Hajj into Umrah after the tawaf, all of which distinguish it from prayer and fasting.

How the intention is made

Ibn Baz explains the practical mechanics simply: the one performing Hajj for another is like the one performing it for himself — he does everything he would do for his own Hajj. He enters ihram at the miqat if he is coming from outside, and the intention in the heart is what counts. It is recommended, though not required, to say at the ihram: "Labbayk for Hajj on behalf of so-and-so," or "Labbayk for Umrah on behalf of so-and-so." He then continues with the talbiyah, the tawaf, the sa'i, the standing at Arafah, and the stoning — intending all of it for the person he is standing in for.

The Hanafi text adds that the pilgrim may say in the talbiyah: "O Allah, I intend Hajj, so make it easy for me and accept it from me and from so-and-so."

If you want to perform a second one

Ibn Baz was asked whether someone who has come for Hajj or Umrah may then perform another Umrah for himself or another in the same season. His answer is that there is no objection: he goes out from Mecca to al-Tanim or al-Ji'ranah, enters ihram there, then returns and performs tawaf, sa'i and shortening — whether for himself, for a deceased relative or friend, or for someone unable to perform it. He cites that Aisha رضي الله عنها did exactly this with the Prophet's ﷺ permission, going with her brother Abd al-Rahman to al-Tanim.

Two cautions

Do not combine two people in one Hajj. Ibn Uthaymeen was asked whether a person could include a relative in his own Hajj and Umrah. His answer is that this is not valid — an Umrah cannot belong to two people, nor a Hajj to two. If you wish to benefit your parents, his advice is that you perform Hajj for yourself and supplicate for them, and he cites the hadith that when a person dies his deeds cease except for three, among them a righteous child who supplicates for him — noting that Hajj is not mentioned in it.

Do not turn Hajj into a transaction. Al-Shanqiti warns strongly against taking payment in a manner that makes the Hajj itself a commodity — for instance agreeing to perform it for a fixed sum and keeping the surplus. The sound position, he says, is that one may take only what will cover the expenses of the journey, so that one sets out for Hajj's sake and not for the money. If you take what carries you there and return the surplus, seeking only Allah's face, then your reward is with Allah.

Key takeaways

• Hajj on behalf of another is valid, established by the Prophet's ﷺ instruction to the woman of Khath'am concerning her father.
• You must have performed your own obligatory Hajj first; otherwise the Hajj counts for you, and you must return what you were given — the Hanbalis, Shafi'is and others hold this, while the Hanafis permit it without that condition.
• The one it counts for is the person stood in for, and the intention in the heart is what secures this; saying "Labbayk on behalf of so-and-so" is recommended.
• It is valid for the deceased, the permanently unable, and without their permission — but not for someone whose incapacity is expected to pass.
• One Hajj cannot be shared between two people, and the payment should cover expenses only, not be a price for the worship.

Further reading

• Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni
• al-Sarakhsi, al-Mabsoot; Khazana al-Muftin
• al-Bayhaqi, al-Khilafiyyat

And Allah knows best.