The Case of a Person Who Dies During His First al-Hajj, or One Who Has Made a Will to Perform al-Hajj in His Behalf

“If a man in his will says to perform al-Hajj on his behalf, abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘If it is his first al-Hajj, it is performed from his entire legacy. It is like debts, but if it is other than his first al-Hajj, then it is performed from one-third of his legacy. If one dies without performing Hajjahta al-Islam, whose legacy is just enough for transportation, and leaves behind heirs, then they are more rightful to have his legacy. If they like they can use it, or if they like they can perform al-Hajj on his behalf.’”

“I once asked abu al-Hassan, Musa (a.s.), about a man who has not performed any al-Hajj, performs al-Hajj on behalf of a deceased. He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, he can do so if he does not find any means to perform al-Hajj for himself. However, if he has enough to perform al-Hajj for himself, then it is not enough until he performs al-Hajj from his own assets. It (al-Hajj that he has performed) is sufficient for the deceased regardless of whether al-Sarura (one who performs al-Hajj for the first time) has any asset or not.’”

“About the case of an al-Sarura (one who performs al-Hajj for the first time) who dies without performing Hajjahta al-Islam and has an asset, abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘An al- Sarura (one who performs al-Hajj for the first time) who does not have any asset performs al-Hajj on his behalf.’”

“I once asked abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about a man who dies and says in his will to perform al-Hajj on his behalf, and a man is given expenses of al-Hajj to perform al-Hajj on behalf of the deceased but he also dies before performing al-Hajj, then dirhams are given to someone else. He (the Imam) said, ‘If he dies on the way or in Makkah before completing the acts of al-Hajj, it is sufficient for the first deceased.’ I then asked, ‘What happens if he (one hired to perform al-Hajj) is involved in something that invalidates his al-Hajj which requires him to perform al-Hajj in future, is it sufficient for the first deceased?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, it is sufficient.’ I then asked, ‘Is it because a person on hire is responsible for al-Hajj?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, that is correct.’”

“About a man who pays another man to perform al-Hajj but something happens to him, abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘If he (the second man) goes for al-Hajj and something happens somewhere on the way, it is sufficient for the first one.’”

“I once asked abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), about a man who left a certain amount in deposit with me and he died. His sons do not have anything and he had not performed Hajjahta al-Islam. He (the Imam) said, ‘Perform al-Hajj on his behalf and whatever is left, give it to his heirs.”’