Conditions of the naib:

a. Maturity

b. Sanity

c. Faith

d. Confidence in performing the rites

e. Knowledge of Hajj rites and rituals

f. Exemption from the obligatory Hajj that particular year

g. Having no excuses to abstain from certain Hajj rites

Conditions of one for whom a naib is hired:

For the obligatory Hajj, the person for whom a naib is hired should be a deceased one, and in case he is alive. Hajj should be incumbent on him, while he cannot personally go on Hajj due to an incurable disease or old age. In the Hajj Istihbabi, this is not a condition, and the person who hires a naib does not have to be mature and sane. There is no need for the naib and one who hires him to have familiarity. One who has not so far gone on Hajj and is mustati can become a naib for another person.

Hiring a person who has little time for Hajj at-Tamattu and who is compelled to perform the Hajj al-Ifrad is not correct for a person on whom Hajj at-Tamattu is incumbent. But if the naib was hired with ample time and then the time ran out, he should engage in udul. This would suffice for Hajj at-Tamattu. The naib should be paid in return.

One on Whom Hajj had become obligatory but had not gone on Hajj pilgrimage in the first year of istitaah due to ailment or inability to walk because of old age or of imminent distress and difficulty by going on Hajj should hire a naib in case there is no hope of his recovery. Based on ihtiyat wajib, he should immediately hire a naib. If Hajj does not become incumbent on him, he will definitely face no obligation in this regard.

When the naib performs the Hajj, the one who hired him does not need to personally go on Hajj later even if the excuse he had no longer exists. But if this excuse is removed before the completion of Hajj, the pilgrimage on behalf will not suffice.

One on whom Hajj is incumbent, whether through having istitaah or being duty-bound, should not engage in niyabah for another person.

If the hired person dies after ihram and entrance into the Haram, (Sacred Mosque of the Kabah) this would suffice for the Hajj of the one whom he represented. But if he dies after ihram and before entrance into the Haram, it would not suffice based on ihtiyat wajib. In this case there is no difference whether the Hajj was supererogatory, by hire (on behalf), the Hajj in Islam or the obligatory Hajj, the same decree that applies to one who goes on Hajj in person would apply here.

If a naib is hired to carry out the religious duty of one who hires him - as is the case for hiring the naib for Hajj - and if he dies after ihram and entrance into the Haram, he deserves the entire wage (of naib).

One who has gone to Makkah as a naib without having personally performed the obligatory Hajj should follow the ihtiyat mustahabb and, after niyabah, perform Umrah Mufradah for himself. This ihtiyat is not binding. Nevertheless, it is highly recommended.

One who cannot perform some Hajj rites due to valid reasons cannot be hired as a naib for Hajj. If such a person who has excuses not to perform some rites, gratuitously and voluntarily goes on Hajj on behalf of another person, this would not suffice.

Secondary Issues Related To Niyabah

The caravan attendants who are compelled to leave Mashar at midnight to perform the required tasks in Mina or who have to accompany the weak pilgrims to Mina, would be among those having excuses for not being able to have ikhtiyari wuquf in Mashar. Therefore, their niyabah will be invalid. But, if they have been hired as a naib before employment (as a caravan attendant), they have to perform the Hajj and observe ikhtiyari wuquf.

For a living person who can hire a naib, it would suffice to employ the naib at the miqat.

One who performed the Hajj for the first time, say as a caravan attendant, could go on Hajj as a naib for his deceased father or mother, unless he was not mustati in the first year and has become mustati in the next year.

Ihram would be incorrect for one who, as a naib, becomes a muhrim at the Masjid ash-Shajarah and goes to Makkah where he realises he was personally mustati. He should return and become a muhrim for his own Umrah Tamattu and perform his own religious duties.

The condition of faith and belief of the naib, being a prerequisite for niyabah in Hajj, also applies to other rites in which niyabah is permissible, such as ramy and tawaf.

It is incumbent on the naib to perform the rites in accordance with the decrees of his own Marja Taqlid.

A naib who, at the time of accepting niyabah, was fully capable of representing another person at the Hajj but who has an excuse at the time of becoming a muhrim or even before, could continue his niyabah if his excuse does not make him violate some Hajj rites. But if his excuse makes him violate some Hajj rites, the contract for his niyabah could be declared null and void. Based on the ahwat, the naib and one who has hired him should make a compromise on the former's wages, and the duty of the Umrah and Hajj would be vested with the latter.

Gratuitous or wage earning niyabah is not acceptable from those hired to render services and unable to have ikhtiyari wuquf in Mashar, as well as all other people who have excuses and who have performed such incomplete forms of Hajj. Their niyabah would not be acceptable as the Hajj of the persons who have hired them, and they do not deserve wages.

One who cannot perform the ikhtiyari rites of the Hajj is exempt and cannot become a naib.

The niyabah of a person who lacks the ability to correct his qiraah is null and void. If he has the ability, the niyabah of such a person is valid, provided he corrects his qiraah.

Question 1: Suppose a person who registers his name, receipt of payment, and specifies in his will that after his demise his son should go on Hajj and perform it on behalf of him, passes away. Upon the father's death, the son obtains financial istitaah but he can only go on Hajj using his father's receipt of payment. Now by using this receipt and arriving at miqat should he perform the Hajj on behalf of his father? Or would he obtain istitaah and have to perform Hajj for himself.

Answer: The son can go on Hajj using the receipt based on his father's will in case the will for what is additional to the Hajj Miqati does not exceed one third and the heirs have allowed it. He should perform the Hajj on behalf of his father.

Question 2: In the past two cases, if the son shoulders the duty of performing Hajj on behalf of his father but performs his own Hajj, would it be considered his obligatory Hajj of Islam or not?

Answer: No.

Question 3: A person's father who was mustati passes away. The son takes his father's receipt and goes on Hajj with the intention of representing his father. He reaches miqat where he himself is mustati. What should he do? I should explain that there is no will. Nor has he been asked to engage in niyabah. For instance, he was the sole heir and Hajj would not be possible for him unless in this way.

Answer: In this case, he should perform his own Hajj and hire a naib for his father.

Question 4: Being responsible for the Hajj caravan, I had to take care of the sick and disabled people in my group and, therefore, performed idhtirari wuquf. Please explain my religious duty.

Answer: If you accompanied disabled and sick persons who had excuses not to engage in ikhtiyari wuquf, here is no problem for you. But if served as a naib for someone else, your niyabah would not be acceptable.

Question 5: A person served as naib for a deceased person without having any excuses not to perform some Hajj rites at the time of being hired as naib. But several years after performing the Hajj, he realised that in the Mashar al-Haram he had engaged in idhtirari wuquf with women and sick persons for whom he was guide and went to Mina. He was unaware of the fact that the naib should engage in inkhtiyari wuquf. What duty does he shoulder?

Answer: This should not have been done on a Hajj in which he was hired as naib and he does not deserve any wages. In terms of the wages, he should refer to the person who hired him. Or in case his contract for niyabah has not expired, he should once again go on Hajj as a naib and correctly perform the rites.

Question 6: My late father had stated that his eldest son should go to Makkah on his behalf. I am the eldest son and have become mustati with the inheritance. So far, I have not been able to convert my share of the inheritance into cash. Under such conditions, can I perform the Hajj on my father's behalf or not?

Answer: Supposing that you have financial istitaah through converting your share of the inheritance into cash, you should primarily perform your own-obligatory Hajj and later on perform it on behalf of your father or hire a naib for him.

Question 7: A lady for whom the Hajj was obligatory said in her last will that the executor of her will should go on Hajj on her behalf using money from what she left behind. Now the executor of her will has physical, financial, and other types of istitaah, but has not registered name for Hajj based on an excuse and lacks istitaah for travelling. Could the executor of the will engage in Hajj Niyabi?

Answer: If the executor of the will did not previously have istitaah, if the route is not open to him now, and if he is not mustati, he can be hired for Hajj Niyabi. But if he can reach the miqat without being hired, he should not perform Hajj Niyabi and should perform his own Hajj.

Question 8: While hiring someone for Hajj, if the person hiring the naib is unaware that the latter has excuses and hires him, would the niyabah wages be halal for the naib? Would his Hajj Niyabi be correct and be considered the obligatory Hajj of Islam or other type of Hajj for the one who has hired him?

Answer: In case he had an excuse and was hired, he does not deserve wages and it would not suffice for the Hajj Niyabi.