Assalamu Alaykum,
I am sure some of our brothers and sisters have noticed new phenomena of people starting up new Haj companies that advertise and try and get people to give them money so they can do Haj on their behalf. Like some unfortunate people who use Islam for their own monetary gain, they paste many hadith and verses from Quran all over their flyers and websites etc its all advertising rather than actually teaching people Islam.
The following is from the ArabNews and is
Scholars Warn Against Demanding Money to Perform Substitute Haj
Mohammad Murad, Arab News TAIF, 23 December 2006 — A flyer distributed in mosques around Taif recently advertises a special type of Haj service. The service is to perform Haj on behalf of the sick, the elderly or the dead who were unable to perform Haj.
Sheikh Abdullah Al-Muneia, a member of the higher scholars committee, has warned against demanding monetary compensation for performing Haj on behalf of others.
He explained that the aim of worship is to be faithful and honest to God. He stressed the fact that a person must have performed Haj first before performing Haj on behalf of others and that the performance should be voluntary.
Sheikh Abdullah Al-Mutlaq, also a member of the committee, said, “These advertisements are not acceptable because the aim is to make money rather than seek God’s reward. If someone needs a person to perform Haj on his or her behalf, then they should seek someone they know to be good, religious and faithful, rather than a stranger.”
He added that people could perform Haj on behalf of dead relatives who did not make their obligatory pilgrimage. He stressed that the advertisements were illegal according to the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.
Sheikh Othaimeen had stated that it was acceptable for a person to perform Haj for his dead parents; whether obligatory or supererogatory, the person can do it or he can ask somebody else to do it on behalf of his mother or father.
Arab News met a man who is providing this service. His name is Abu Zaraa and he is an Arab. He said, “It is acceptable and there is plenty of evidence from the sayings of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that this is an acceptable act from the Shariah point of view. I have been doing this for more than 17 years.”
As for the money taken, he said, “We need money to cover the expenses of Haj.”
When asked how he was able to provide the service every year since Haj permits are given only once every five years, he said, “We go to Makkah without permission because most of the time we do not encounter any difficulties and we have our ways to get through the checkpoints.”
He added that some people misuse the service. “I found the imam of a mosque who was performing Haj on behalf of three people; this is wrong. I also know of some dishonest people who used the Haj money for other purposes and then they go back to the family and tell them that they performed Haj on behalf of their loved ones,” he said.
Abu Zaraa said he worked with 10 others who only seek reward from God. He said that if he were seeking money, he would have been asking for more than what he gets. He said he only asks for the minimum amount of money needed to cover the Haj expenses.
I am sure some of our brothers and sisters have noticed new phenomena of people starting up new Haj companies that advertise and try and get people to give them money so they can do Haj on their behalf. Like some unfortunate people who use Islam for their own monetary gain, they paste many hadith and verses from Quran all over their flyers and websites etc its all advertising rather than actually teaching people Islam.
The following is from the ArabNews and is
Scholars Warn Against Demanding Money to Perform Substitute Haj
Mohammad Murad, Arab News TAIF, 23 December 2006 — A flyer distributed in mosques around Taif recently advertises a special type of Haj service. The service is to perform Haj on behalf of the sick, the elderly or the dead who were unable to perform Haj.
Sheikh Abdullah Al-Muneia, a member of the higher scholars committee, has warned against demanding monetary compensation for performing Haj on behalf of others.
He explained that the aim of worship is to be faithful and honest to God. He stressed the fact that a person must have performed Haj first before performing Haj on behalf of others and that the performance should be voluntary.
Sheikh Abdullah Al-Mutlaq, also a member of the committee, said, “These advertisements are not acceptable because the aim is to make money rather than seek God’s reward. If someone needs a person to perform Haj on his or her behalf, then they should seek someone they know to be good, religious and faithful, rather than a stranger.”
He added that people could perform Haj on behalf of dead relatives who did not make their obligatory pilgrimage. He stressed that the advertisements were illegal according to the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.
Sheikh Othaimeen had stated that it was acceptable for a person to perform Haj for his dead parents; whether obligatory or supererogatory, the person can do it or he can ask somebody else to do it on behalf of his mother or father.
Arab News met a man who is providing this service. His name is Abu Zaraa and he is an Arab. He said, “It is acceptable and there is plenty of evidence from the sayings of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that this is an acceptable act from the Shariah point of view. I have been doing this for more than 17 years.”
As for the money taken, he said, “We need money to cover the expenses of Haj.”
When asked how he was able to provide the service every year since Haj permits are given only once every five years, he said, “We go to Makkah without permission because most of the time we do not encounter any difficulties and we have our ways to get through the checkpoints.”
He added that some people misuse the service. “I found the imam of a mosque who was performing Haj on behalf of three people; this is wrong. I also know of some dishonest people who used the Haj money for other purposes and then they go back to the family and tell them that they performed Haj on behalf of their loved ones,” he said.
Abu Zaraa said he worked with 10 others who only seek reward from God. He said that if he were seeking money, he would have been asking for more than what he gets. He said he only asks for the minimum amount of money needed to cover the Haj expenses.