Hajj, which Allah has imposed upon His servants, has come upon my father in his old age, and he is unable to remain seated upright on a mount. May I perform Hajj on his behalf?” He replied, “Yes.” (1)
Allah the Exalted says: “Whoever disbelieves, then indeed Allah is free of need of all the worlds.” Ibn Abbas, al-Hasan, and Ata said: This means one who denies that Hajj is an obligation. Mujahid said: One who disbelieves in Allah and the Last Day.
Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib said: It was revealed concerning the Jews, when they said, “Pilgrimage to Mecca is not a duty.”
Al-Suddi said: It refers to one who possesses the means to perform Hajj, but does not perform it until he dies; this is disbelief in it. Abu Sa‘id Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Shurayhi informed us; Abu Ishaq al-Tha‘labi informed us; Abu al-Hasan al-Kalamati informed us; Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Umar informed us; Sahl ibn Ammar informed us; Yazid ibn Harun informed us; Sharik informed us, from al-Layth, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Sabit, from Abu Umamah, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Whoever is not prevented by an evident necessity, a debilitating illness, or an unjust ruler, yet does not perform Hajj, then let him die, if he wishes, a Jew, or, if he wishes, a Christian.” (2)
“Say: O People of the Book, why do you turn those who believe away from the path of Allah, seeking to make it crooked, while you are witnesses? And Allah is not unaware of what you do.” (99)
Allah the Exalted says: “Say: O People of the Book, why do you disbelieve in the signs of Allah, while Allah is Witness over what you do?”
“Say: O People of the Book, why do you turn away from the path of Allah?” That is, why do you divert people from Allah’s religion—“those who believe, seeking to make it”
(1) Reported by al-Bukhari in Hajj, chapter: “The Obligation and Merit of Hajj,” 3:378; and in the chapters “Performing Hajj on Behalf of One Unable to Remain Seated on a Mount” and “A Woman Performing Hajj on Behalf of a Man.” Also reported by Muslim in Hajj, chapter: “Performing Hajj on Behalf of One Incapacitated by Chronic Illness, Old Age, and the Like,” no. 1334, 2:973; and by the author in Sharh al-Sunnah, 7:25.
(2) This hadith has been narrated in similar wordings from a number of Companions through weak chains. Ibn al-Jawzi included it in al-Mawduat, and al-Uqayli and al-Daraqutni said: “Nothing concerning it is sound.” Ibn Hajar said: “It has several chains. The first was reported by Said ibn Mansur in al-Sunan, Ahmad, Abu Yala, and al-Bayhaqi, through chains from Sharik, from Layth ibn Abi Sulaym, from Ibn Sabit, from Abu Umamah. Layth is weak, and Sharik had poor retention; Sufyan contradicted him by narrating it as a mursal report [with a missing link]. Ahmad also narrated it in his Kitab al-Iman, from Waki, from Sufyan, from Layth, from Ibn Sabit, as a mursal report. Ibn Abi Shaybah likewise narrated it from Layth as a mursal report, while Abu Yala related it through another chain from Sharik, from Layth, differing from the first chain.
“The second is a marfu report [attributed to the Prophet] from Ali: ‘Whoever possesses provisions and a mount sufficient to take him to the House of Allah, yet does not perform Hajj, then it is of no consequence whether he dies a Jew or a Christian.’ Al-Tirmidhi narrated it and said: ‘It is gharib [unfamiliar], and its chain is subject to criticism; al-Harith is considered weak.’ Kitab al-Hajj, chapter: ‘The Severe Warning against Neglecting Hajj,’ 3:541.
“The third is a marfu report from Abu Hurayrah, narrated by Ibn Adi through Abd al-Rahman al-Qattabi, from Abu al-Muhazzim; both are abandoned narrators. It also has authentic chains, but they are mawquf reports [stopped at a Companion], transmitted by Said ibn Mansur and al-Bayhaqi from Umar ibn al-Khattab.” He then said: “When this mawquf report is combined with Ibn Sabit’s mursal report, it becomes clear that this hadith has a basis. It applies to one who regards abandoning Hajj as lawful, and this demonstrates the error of those who claimed that it is fabricated. And Allah knows best.” Talkhis al-Habir, 2:222-223; al-Kafi al-Shaf, p. 28. See also al-Zaylai, Nasb al-Rayah, 4:410-411.