“Should I perform Hajj on his behalf?” The Prophet gave her permission. (1) But is it permissible to take payment for this, or should we say: Make an arrangement with the one who wishes to appoint you, but do not inquire about the amount—whether he gives you ten or a thousand?

As for voluntary Hajj, we have also previously stated under agency that, if the person is ill with an illness from which recovery is not expected, it may be said to be permissible by analogy with the obligatory Hajj. But if he is physically sound and strong, then the view we hold is that it is not valid. This is because acts of worship are meant to make a person feel that he is a worshipper of Allah, humble before Him—not someone who gives money to another person and has him perform Hajj on his behalf. Has the one who appointed another said, “Here I am, O Allah, here I am”? He has not. Has he circumambulated the House or made the journey between Safa and Marwah? Has he stood at Arafah? Then where is his Hajj? How can we say that this person has performed Hajj? And how can we say that he receives the reward of Hajj?

For this reason, we said that it is better for such a person to assist someone who is performing Hajj for himself than to say, “Perform Hajj on my behalf.” In any case, where it is permissible for someone to appoint another to perform Hajj on his behalf, may he enter into a hiring contract for this representation, or not? The established position of the school is that this is not permitted. They say: Hiring someone to perform Hajj is unlawful, because Hajj is a bodily act of worship that is performed only as a means of drawing near to Allah. It is not like teaching fiqh, hadith, and the like. Therefore, it is not permissible. There is, however, another opinion (2): that it is permissible to enter into a hiring contract for Hajj. This is what people follow today, and people have no practical alternative to it. That is, if we were to say that