Friday, August 24, 2012

He died and did not perform Hajj because he was negligent – can someone perform Hajj on his behalf?

There is a person who diedin his 40s. He was able to do Hajj, and he
prayed all five prayers regularly. He used to say each year, "I will
go for Hajj this year," but then he died. He has heirs – can they
perform Hajj on his behalf? Is there any sin on him?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The scholars differed concerning such cases. Some of them said that
others may perform Hajj on his behalf and that will benefit him, and
it will be as if he did Hajj for himself.Others said that no one can
perform Hajj on his behalf, and even if people performed Hajj on his
behalf a thousand times, itwould not be accepted and would not
discharge his duty. This view is correct, because this man failed to
do an act of worship that was obligatory for him and should have been
done straight away, with no excuse. So how can we make it up for him
after his death after he neglected it? Now the estate has to do with
the rights of the heirs – how can we deprive them of the costs of this
Hajj, whenit is not going to be accepted? This is what Ibn al-Qayyim
(may Allaah have mercy on him) mentioned in Tahdheeb al-Sunan and this
is also my view. If a person fails to do Hajj out of negligence when
he is ableto do it, no Hajj will ever count for him, even if the
people do Hajj on his behalf a thousand times.
As for zakaah, there are some scholars who say that if a person dies
and zakaah is paid on his behalf, that is sufficient, but the basic
principle thatI have mentioned implies that it does not discharge his
duty of paying zakaah. But I think that the zakaahmay be paid from the
estate, because it has to dowith the rights of the poorand those who
are entitledto zakaah, unlike Hajj, the cost of which cannot be taken
from the estate, because it does not have to do with anybody's rights,
whereas zakaah hasto do with people's rights. So zakaah should be
given to those who are entitled to it, but that does not discharge the
person's duty, and he will be given the punishment of those who do not
pay zakaah. We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound.
The same applies to fasting. If it is known that this person did not
fast and was negligent in making it up, then it cannot be made up on
his behalf, because he was negligent and failed to do this act of
worship, which is one of the pillars of Islam, with no excuse. If it
is made up on his behalf it will not benefit him. The hadeeth of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), "Whoever dies
owing fasts, his heir should fast on his behalf," applies to one who
has not been negligent, and with regardto the one who failed to make
up missed fasts out of negligence with no legitimate shar'i excuse,
what is the point of making it up on his behalf? End quote.
Fataawa Ibn 'Uthaymeen,

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