Hajj Badal on Behalf of a Deceased Person without a Bequest

Question

In “Takmil al-Qubur”, the translation of “Sharh al-Sudur”, among several hadiths there is a hadith with this content: al-Bazzar and al-Tabarani narrated with a good (hasan) chain from Anas ﵁ that he said: a man came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, “My father has died, and he had not performed the Hajj of Islam, that is, the obligatory Hajj.” He ﷺ said, “Tell me: if there were someone’s debt upon your father, would you not pay it on his behalf?” He said, “Yes, certainly I would.

Answer

Having Hajj performed on behalf of a deceased person is wajib when he made a bequest, and even then from a third of the estate; without a bequest it is not wajib. If, without a bequest, one of the heirs has Hajj performed out of his own share, or performs it on his own behalf from his own wealth, then it is hoped that the deceased will be released from being held to account.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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