Q.1. I know that it is appropriate to perform the pilgrimage or the Umrah on behalf of a relative who is dead, but is it permissible to offer either of these duties on behalf of a person who is alive, as many expatriates do?
Q.2. Is it appropriate to repeat the athan phrases if one is in the bathroom?
Q.3. If a married man comes here for work and stays two years before going back home, does he fail in his marital responsibilities?
P. Shareef Basha
A.1. Substitute pilgrimage may be offered on behalf of relatives who died without having fulfilled this duty. The same applies to the Umrah. The Prophet was asked whether one may offer the pilgrimage on behalf of a deceased parent and he said that this should be done. Similarly, if a relative is too ill to be able to do the journey, it is valid if someone else offers the pilgrimage on his behalf. This could be a relative who performs the substitute pilgrimage voluntarily, or the person himself may hire a man or a woman to do the pilgrimage for him, paying all the expenses of the person hired for the purpose. The only condition is that such deputy should have done his own pilgrimage first.
There are several Hadiths that confirm this. A woman told the Prophet that her father was too weak to be able to sit on the back of his camel. Could she offer the pilgrimage on his behalf? The Prophet told her to do so. Another Hadith mentions that when the Prophet was traveling for his own pilgrimage with many thousands of his companions, he heard someone declare that he was doing the pilgrimage on behalf of a man called Shibrimah. The Prophet asked him who Shibrimah was. The man said: “He is a brother of mine.” The Prophet asked him whether he had done the pilgrimage already. The man answered in the negative. The Prophet said to him: “Then offer the pilgrimage on your own behalf first, then you may offer it on behalf of Shibrimah.”
Some well-meaning expatriates feel that they should take the opportunity and save their relatives the trouble and expense of doing the pilgrimage or the Umrah by doing these duties on their behalf. Or they may do so because they know that their relatives are too poor to be able to afford the journey. This is not right, because if a person cannot afford the journey, he does not meet the condition that makes the pilgrimage a binding duty for him or her. This duty is conditional on one being able to undertake the journey, both physically and financially. If one does not meet this condition, he is exempt from doing it. If the relative concerned is one’s own parent, it is infinitely better to arrange for one’s parents to come over and do the pilgrimage themselves. If one cannot do that, he may pray for them in the Haram. If neither he nor they can afford the expenses, he may do the pilgrimage on their behalf as an act of dutifulness, knowing that it is not binding on them. He will be richly rewarded for that, God willing. But he need not go further and do the pilgrimage or the Umrah on behalf of other relatives who are similarly placed, because they are not required to do it themselves.
A.2. No, this is not correct. The athan, or call to prayer, consists of phrases that mention God’s name, and it is inappropriate to mention His name in the bathroom.
A.3. One may be absent from home in connection with his work for a period of four months, without having to have his wife’s agreement to his absence, provided he makes arrangements for her and their children to be well looked after. If he needs to be away from home for longer periods, this must be done with his wife’s consent. If she does not agree to his prolonged absence, she is entitled to seek divorce.
