Question
_Assalāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh, brother.
This year, during Ḥajj, my parents ended up in different tents in Minā.
On the 12th of Dhul-Ḥijjah my mother (age 65) waited in her tent to do the stoning (Rami), hoping my father would arrive so they could go together with the kafela. My father searched all over Minā but could not find her.
Because the kafela leaders would not wait past 10 a.m. and the heat was intense, my father feared that both of them would miss Rami. He therefore gave two trusted members of the group clear permission to perform the Rami on behalf of both himself and my mother.
Those two individuals carried out the Rami, making the intention for both parents and in the presence of witnesses. Later that day my father finally found my mother, but by then the Rami had already been completed for them.
1. Is this Rami valid for both parents?
2. Was the proxy (niyābah) acceptable in these circumstances?
3. Is any dam (compensatory sacrifice) required of either parent?_
Answer
Wa ʿalaykum as-salām wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh.
1. Validity of the Rami
Yes, the Rami counts for both parents, provided the stones were thrown at the correct pillars and within the permitted time. Islamic jurists agree that a delegate’s stoning is attributed to the pilgrim as long as the delegate forms the proper intention and is specifically authorised to act.
2. Acceptability of proxy (niyābah)
Delegating the stoning is allowed when a pilgrim has a reasonable excuse—such as sickness, old age, crowding, extreme heat, or fear of missing the rite altogether.
Your mother is elderly and was alone in the tent; the congestion and heat posed genuine difficulty.
Your father was pre-occupied with finding her and risked missing the rite himself.
These are recognised excuses, so the proxy was permissible for both.
3. Need for a dam (sacrifice)
If the Rami was performed at its valid time (the official Saudi authorities sometimes permit weak pilgrims to stone after Fajr, otherwise the classical time begins after ẓawāl), then no dam is due.
No dam is required when the rite is completed—whether personally or by an authorised proxy—within its time.
A dam would only be necessary if the stones were thrown outside the allowed time or not thrown at all.
Allah knows best, and may He accept everyone’s Ḥajj and deeds.
Wa-Allāhu aʿlam.