It is also reported from him in the Sahīh:

“A woman came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, ‘My sister died owing two consecutive months of fasting.’ He said, ‘Tell me, if your sister had owed a debt, would you have paid it?’ She replied, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Then Allah’s right takes precedence.’”

In Sahīh Muslim, ‘Abdullāh ibn Buraydah ibn al-Husayb narrated from his father:

“A woman came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, ‘My mother died owing a month of fasting. Would my fasting on her behalf discharge her obligation?’ He said, ‘Yes.’”

These authentic hadiths explicitly establish that fasts which the deceased had vowed to observe may be performed on their behalf, and that this was likened to paying a debt. The imams differed on this matter. Those whom these authentic, explicit hadiths reached did not oppose them; only those whom they had not reached held a contrary view. The hadith of ‘Amr has already been cited, stating that when people fast on behalf of a Muslim, it benefits him. As for Hajj, the imams generally hold that performing it on behalf of the deceased discharges their obligation; there is only an isolated dissenting view.

In the two Sahīh collections, Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported:

“A woman from Juhaynah came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, ‘My mother vowed to perform Hajj, but died without having performed it. Should I perform Hajj on her behalf?’ He said, ‘Perform Hajj on her behalf. Tell me, if your mother had owed a debt, would you have paid it on her behalf? Settle what is owed to Allah, for Allah has a greater right