Is it Permissible To Operate an Agency Business For Hajj al-Badl (Hajj by proxy)?

[ummtaalib]

Is it Permissible To Operate an Agency Business For Hajj al-Badl (Hajj by proxy)?

 

Question:

We were considering to open a service to perform Hajj al-Badl and charge a service fee for the Hajj in addition to the package costs.  Is that permissible?

 

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

 

The Answer:

According to the Hanafi school of Fiqh, it is not permissible to charge a service fee for Hajj al-Badl (Hajj by proxy).  It is not permissible to make such a service a business venture where the objective is profit[1].

 

The proxy is entitled to have his expenses covered for travel, accommodation and other necessities.  However, he cannot pocket or profit from such an endeavour.

 

The Fiqh (jurisprudence of the answer):

The default position of the Hanafi school is that it is not permissible to hire or pay for worship to be performed.

 

Employment and hiring (Ijarah) is a service to humans for which the service provider receives a fee in exchange.  Whereas, worship is for Allah for which a worshipper gets reward in lieu of worship.  Thus, worship cannot be compensated by monetary means as service is not delivered to humans; rather, one receives reward from Allah.  In other words, a person who performs worship for others has not given any material benefit to that human, therefore, he cannot take a fee for such practices[2].

 

The above ruling should not be confused with certain necessary practices like ‘Imāmah for Salah, teaching etc. which can be compensated monetarily[3].

 

And Allah Ta’ālā Alone Knows Best

 

Mufti Faraz Adam al-Mahmudi,

www.darulfiqh.com