Question
Salam Imam,
Is it permissible to perform ʿUmrah on behalf of someone who has passed away, even though they already performed ʿUmrah during their lifetime?
JazakAllahu khayran.
Answer
Alhamdulillah, wassalatu wassalamu ‘ala Rasulillah, wa ‘ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma‘in.
Performing ʿUmrah on behalf of someone who has passed away is permissible and a form of ongoing charity (sadaqah jariyah), even if that person had already performed ʿUmrah once during their life.
1. The Basis in Shari‘ah
The permissibility of performing acts of worship on behalf of a deceased person is established in authentic hadith.
Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
A woman from the tribe of Juhainah came to the Prophet ﷺ and said,
“My mother vowed to perform Hajj but she died before doing so. Should I perform Hajj on her behalf?”
He ﷺ said, “Yes, perform Hajj on her behalf. If your mother had a debt, would you not pay it off for her? Fulfill Allah’s right, for Allah’s right has more priority.”
(Bukhari)
By analogy (qiyas), this ruling also applies to ʿUmrah, since both are forms of pilgrimage and acts of worship of the same nature.
2. The Ruling According to the Madhhabs
- Hanafi, Shafi‘i, and Hanbali schools:
They all agree that it is permissible to perform Hajj or ʿUmrah on behalf of a deceased person — whether or not the deceased had performed them before. The extra act counts as a voluntary (nafl) ʿUmrah, and the reward reaches the deceased by Allah’s mercy. - Maliki school:
They generally permit Hajj and ʿUmrah for the deceased if he requested it before death, but even without such a request, most later Malikis allowed it as a form of charity and goodwill.
Ibn Qudāmah said in al-Mughnī:
“Whoever performs ʿUmrah or Hajj on behalf of another, whether alive or deceased, it is valid if done with permission, and it benefits the deceased even without request.”
3. Intention and Conditions
- The person performing the ʿUmrah should have already performed ʿUmrah for themselves first.
- They should intend at the miqat that the ʿUmrah is on behalf of the deceased (“Labayka ʿumratan ʿan fulān”).
- The act is rewarded both as a voluntary act of worship and as a gift of reward (ihda’ thawab) to the deceased.
Final Ruling
It is permissible and praiseworthy to perform ʿUmrah on behalf of someone who has passed away, even if they had performed ʿUmrah before in their lifetime.
The second ʿUmrah will be counted as an act of voluntary charity, and its reward will, by Allah’s permission, reach the deceased.
And Allah knows best.