for more than the cost of the Hajj itself indicates that he intended to benefit that particular person. Therefore, we give him the full thousand, even if he could perform Hajj for, say, three hundred.

The established position of the madhhab is that the surplus belongs to the heirs in all cases, whether he designated a particular person or not. The correct view, however, is that if he designated the beneficiary, the surplus belongs to him; otherwise, it belongs to the heirs.

If he says, “So-and-so is to perform Hajj on my behalf for one thousand,” we say: that person is to perform Hajj on his behalf repeatedly until the thousand is exhausted, because he did not restrict it to a single Hajj.

But if he says, “One Hajj is to be performed on my behalf for one thousand,” without designating a particular person, then Hajj should not be performed on his behalf for one thousand if we find someone who will perform it for less. For it is not apparent that he intended to benefit a particular person; rather, it is possible that he assumed that no one could be found to perform Hajj for less than one thousand, and so he stipulated that amount on the basis of that assumption.

People have differed greatly over this issue. We lived in a time when someone would perform Hajj for fifty riyals, whereas now Hajj is not performed on another’s behalf for less than three or five thousand. Circumstances have therefore changed. Thus, perhaps this testator, when he said, “One Hajj is to be performed on my behalf for one thousand,” assumed that no one could be found to perform Hajj for less than one thousand. If we find someone who will perform it for five hundred, then according to the madhhab, the surplus belongs to the heirs.

What should we do if the thousand is insufficient for one Hajj? The answer is: if the reason for the increased cost of Hajj is known and is expected to disappear, then we wait—for example, where the reason is danger on the roads and the like. But if the reason is not temporary, and we know that the cost of Hajj will not decrease unless it first rises, and we cannot find anyone from Mecca who can perform Hajj, then in this case we must either invalidate the bequest or spend it on other charitable works. The latter is what must be done, so it is to be spent