What is the ruling on giving in charity on behalf of one who has died the costs of doing ‘umrah?

Question: 503975

What is the ruling on what some people do, whereby they give in charity the costs of doing ‘umrah to someone who wants to do ‘umrah, with the intention of that being an ongoing charity (sadaqah jariyah) on behalf of someone who has died? Meaning that the reward of the charity will go to the deceased, and it will allow the pilgrim to do ‘umrah if he intends to do that ‘umrah on behalf of himself?

Answer

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

We have previously stated that it is permissible to give money to one in need so that he can do ‘umrah or Hajj. Please see the answer to question no. 346822.

Giving money to someone so that he can do ‘umrah with it is an act of kindness, so it is an act of charity.

Muslim (1005) narrated from Hudhayfah that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Every good deed is a charity.”

It says in al-Mawsu‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kuwaitiyyah (26/323):

In linguistic terms, sadaqah (charity) refers to what is given for the purpose of drawing closer to Allah, may He be exalted, not for the purpose of showing kindness to someone …

In Islamic terminology, it means giving something during one’s lifetime for nothing in return, for the purpose of drawing close to Allah, may He be exalted…

Al-Hattab said: If a gift (hibah) is given purely for the purpose of seeking reward in the hereafter, then it is charity (sadaqah). Something similar was stated by al-Ba‘li al-Hanbali in al-Mutli‘ ‘ala Abwab al-Muqni‘. End quote.

Giving charity on behalf of one who has died is prescribed according to scholarly consensus, and there is the hope that the reward will reach both the giver and the deceased person on whose behalf he gave charity.

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Giving charity on behalf of one who has died is prescribed, and will benefit the deceased. It is soundly narrated in as-Sahihayn from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he was asked about that. A man said to him: O Messenger of Allah, my mother has died; will she have reward if I give charity on her behalf? He said: “Yes.” Thus charity will benefit the deceased, and there is the hope that the giver will have a reward similar to that which reaches the deceased, because he has done a good deed voluntarily, so there is the hope that he will have a reward like what he gave…"(Fatawa Nur ‘ala ad-Darb 14/312).

For more information, please see the answers to questions no. 42384 and 219751 .

Conclusion:

It is prescribed for the Muslim to donate money to a needy person so that he can do ‘umrah, and to dedicate the reward for that money to a Muslim who has died.

But we should point out that this charity is not ongoing charity (sadaqah jariyah); rather it is charity that will come to an end. Ongoing charity refers to a waqf (Islamic endowment) that is not used up or consumed, and is not spent; rather it is wealth that is put into a permanent asset that can be used and reused, such as if wealth is used to build a mosque or donate books of knowledge as a waqf, and the like.

Helping a pilgrim to do Hajj or ‘umrah by giving him money is an act of charity on behalf of the deceased, and will help him in sha Allah, but it is not ongoing charity (sadaqah jariyah).

And Allah knows best.

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