• Pilgrimage: On behalf of others — the order of preference
My father-in-law is very old and physically too weak to undertake the pilgrimage himself from India. He has requested me to perform the pilgrimage on his behalf and he will meet the expenses. Is this permissible? May I add that I lost both my parents many years ago. Neither of them offered the pilgrimage during their lifetimes. Can I offer the pilgrimage on their behalf now? If so, to whom should I give priority? Is it permissible to offer the pilgrimage or the Umrah on behalf of a person who is not alive?
Of course it is permissible to offer the pilgrimage or the Umrah on behalf of a deceased person, particularly a parent or a close relative. You have only to make your intention clear before you embark on your pilgrimage journey that you are offering the pilgrimage on behalf of the person concerned. If you do it on behalf of a deceased parent, it is a mark of dutifulness for which Allah will undoubtedly reward you and He will, if He so wishes, credit its reward to your parents.
A living person who is too ill or too old to undertake the journey may ask someone else to do the pilgrimage on his behalf. When you do so, you have to cover his expenses. Indeed, the case of your father-in-law is a classic one for a person who may appoint someone else to do the pilgrimage on his behalf. Since he is too old and too weak to undertake the journey, he is unlikely to acquire enough strength to do the pilgrimage later. Therefore, he should appoint someone else to do it. That person need not be a relative.
A person in this situation should cover all the expenses of the person offering the pilgrimage on his behalf. The latter should be careful what he spends. He should always be reasonable. He may not invite others to anything at the expense of the person who appointed him. However, if the first person tells him: Do the pilgrimage on my behalf and I will give you, say, ten thousand Riyals, he is free to spend it as he wishes, provided that he makes sure to fulfill the duties of pilgrimage in the right manner. Scholars are of different views on whether such a person may receive wages for undertaking the pilgrimage on behalf of someone else. Imam Abu Hanifah says that this is not permissible, while Al-Shaf’ie and Malik say that he may have some wages. [In either case, it is better that a mutually agreed sum is handed out for expending to the person appointed for performing the pilgrimage on your behalf; as thus providing him with a free hand to spend as he wishes without worry about accountability. His only concern shall be the fulfillment of all the duties of pilgrimage.]
With regard to my first reader's question about the priority, I would say that his deceased parents have a stronger claim on him. He should begin by offering the pilgrimage on behalf of his mother. He then tries to offer another pilgrimage on behalf of his father. Subsequently, he may offer the pilgrimage on behalf of his father-in-law, if he so wishes. The reason for this ruling is that his father-in-law may appoint someone else to do the pilgrimage on his behalf. My reader may wish to write to his father-in-law and explain this to him. He may suggest to him to appoint a friend whom my reader trusts as a man of integrity, honor and piety.
• Pilgrimage: Order of performing pilgrimage duties
When I did the pilgrimage, I shaved my head after stoning at the Grand Jamrah on the day of the Eid. I had bought a voucher for the sacrifice from the bank. I intended to delay my Tawaf of Ifaadah, so that I could do it with my elderly mother. Other pilgrims in our party objected to what I did on account of their inquiry at the Bank and learning that the sacrifice would only be done the following day. They advised that I had to compensate for the error by sacrificing a sheep. I acted on what I had read in a book that the sequence of these duties is merely recommended. Please advise.
There are two points involved in your question. The first is which duties of the day of the Eid need to be accomplished before a pilgrim may release himself from the state of consecration, or Ihraam. The duties concerned are three only, not four as many people think. These are the stoning at the Grand Jamrah, Tawaf of Ifaadah and the shaving of one’s head, or shortening of one’s hair. Any two of these are sufficient for the release from Ihraam, except that conjugal relationship with one’s wife remains restricted until after the Tawaf of Ifaadah. In other words, all other restrictions are relaxed after one has stoned at the Jamrah and shaven his head or shortened his hair. That is exactly what you did, and it is perfectly legitimate. No compensation is needed because there was no offense.
Many people add to these three duties the duty of sacrifice, which is incumbent on any one doing the pilgrimage in the Tamattu’ or Qiran methods, and a Sunnah for those doing the Ifraad method. This is a duty, which becomes due on the same day as well, but could be performed later as well. It has no bearing on the release from Ihraam. Therefore, the timing of the sacrifice in the voucher system is immaterial in as far as the release from Ihraam is concerned. There is no need for the reader to worry about.
The second point in the question is that the sequence of the three or four duties is not an important factor. Some scholars argue that it is a Sunnah because the Prophet, peace be upon him, did them in a certain order. That is true in as far as it goes. We have learnt that the Prophet, peace be upon him, did these duties in a certain order, and we wish to do likewise. However, the Prophet, peace be upon him, was asked by many of his companions about the sequence they performed their tasks, and they gave him every possible permutation. In all cases, he approved what they did; saying that there was no harm in that. His answer emphasizes a basic principle of Islam, which ensures the removal of difficulty and the desire to maintain ease. Today, if only one quarter of pilgrims insist on doing these duties in the same order the Prophet, peace be upon him, did, there is bound to be much disruption and difficulty. This is what Islam is keen to avoid.
• Pilgrimage: Prayers at Arafat and the Azaan
On the day of Arafat, people in our party called the Azaan twice for the prayers of Zuhr and Asr with one Iqamah for each prayer. Is this correct?
The section of the group you joined was wrong. One call to prayers, i.e. Azaan, for both prayers is required. Two Iqamahs, or call to being the congregational prayers, are needed, one for each prayer. All scholars agree this, and it applies to any combination of prayers.