Can My 12-Year-Old Son Perform Hajj on Behalf of His Deceased Grandfather?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

Can my 12-year-old son perform Hajj on behalf of his deceased maternal grandfather when we go for Hajj in 2026, In sha’ Allah?

Answer

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

I pray this finds you in the best of states.

Yes, it is permissible for a child close to adulthood to perform a Hajj for a deceased individual.

Nonetheless, it is better to have an adult do it because of the difference of opinion found in the Shafi‘i School. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Please see: Is It Permissible to Perform the Sacred Pilgrimage for a Deceased Person?

And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found. Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani. He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others. He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.