Question

First Question

Our beloved Ameer, may Allah protect you, take care of you, and grant you victory,

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ قَالَ (جَاءَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ خَثْعَمَ إلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ : إنَّ أَبِي أَدْرَكَهُ الْإِسْلَامُ وَهُوَ شَيْخٌ كَبِيرٌ لَا يَسْتَطِيعُ رُكُوبَ الرَّحْلِ ، وَالْحَجُّ مَكْتُوبٌ عَلَيْهِ أَفَأَحُجُّ عَنْهُ ؟ قَالَ: أَنْتَ أَكْبَرُ وَلَدِهِ ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ ، قَالَ: أَرَأَيْتَ لَوْ كَانَ عَلَى أَبِيكَ دَيْنٌ فَقَضَيْتَهُ عَنْهُ أَكَانَ يُجْزِي ذَلِكَ عَنْهُ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، قَالَ: فَاحْجُجْ عَنْهُ) رواه أحمد والنسائي بمعناه.

It is narrated from Abdullah Ibn az-Zubair that he said, "A man from Khath'am came to Prophet Mohammad (saw) and said, ‘My father converted to Islam when he was old and cannot ride on an itinerant, and Hajj is required from him, may I perform Hajj on his behalf?' He said, ‘Are you his oldest son?' He said, ‘Yes.' He said, ‘Don't you think that if your father owed a debt and you paid it off, that would be good enough?' He said, ‘Yes.' He said, ‘Then perform Hajj on behalf of your father.'" [Narrated by Ahmad and an-Nasa'i in its meaning.]

Is it understood from the hadeeth that the Hajj of a son on behalf of his father is obligatory or is it just for the sake of the son honoring his father?

As the man has showed to the blessed Prophet (saw) that his father is old and cannot ride on an itinerant...
And it is known that Hajj is obligatory for those who are able financially and physically.
And what we know that it is not obligatory for the unable.

Second Question

Isn't (يُحْيِ الْعِظَامَ) (give life to bones) in the verse (قَالَ مَنْ يُحْيِ الْعِظَامَ وَهِيَ رَمِيمٌ) He (swt) says, "Who will give life to bones while they are disintegrated?" Is a metaphor; where a part is mentioned but the whole is meant?

I asked him under this subject

May Allah reward you goodness, and may He preserve you support and treasure for the great Muslim Ummah. May He (swt) grant you victory.
A. Hamza

Answer

Wa Alaikum Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,

The answer to your first question, O dear brother,

As to the hadeeth you have mentioned:

عَنْ يُوسُفَ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ، قَالَ: جَاءَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ خَثْعَمَ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ: إِنَّ أَبِي شَيْخٌ كَبِيرٌ، لَا يَسْتَطِيعُ الرُّكُوبَ، وَأَدْرَكَتْهُ فَرِيضَةُ اللَّهِ فِي الْحَجِّ، فَهَلْ يُجْزِئُ أَنْ أَحُجَّ عَنْهُ؟ قَالَ: «آنْتَ أَكْبَرُ وَلَدِهِ؟» قَالَ: نَعَمْ، قَالَ: «أَرَأَيْتَ لَوْ كَانَ عَلَيْهِ دَيْنٌ أَكُنْتَ تَقْضِيهِ؟» قَالَ: نَعَمْ، قَالَ: فَحُجَّ عَنْهُ»

It is narrated from Yusuf Ibn as-Zubair, from from Abdullah Ibn az-Zubair that he said, "A man from Khath'am came to Prophet Mohammad (saw) and said, ‘My father converted to Islam when he was old and cannot ride on an itinerant, and Hajj is required from him, may I perform Hajj on his behalf?' He said, ‘Are you his oldest son?' He said, ‘Yes.' He said, ‘Don't you think that if your father owed a debt and you paid it off, that would be good enough?' He said, ‘Yes.' He said, ‘Then perform Hajj on behalf of your father.'"

An-Nasa'i extracted it, and Yusuf Ibn az-Zubair is the only one who has mentioned the word "أنت أكبر ولده" "Are you his oldest son?". For that, scholars have said something about this issue, and the rest of the hadeeth is sound 'Sahih' for most of the scholars. Some have corrected it even with this spelling "أكبر ولده" "his oldest son". Though this hadeeth has been narrated without mentioning "أكبر ولده" "his oldest son" from Ibn Abbas:

أخرج ابن حبان في صحيحه عن سُلَيْمَانُ بن يسار قال: حَدَّثَنِي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَبَّاسٍ، أَنَّ رَجُلًا سَأَلَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَقَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ أَبِي دَخَلٍ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ وَهُوَ شَيْخٌ كَبِيرٌ، فَإِنْ أَنَا شدته عَلَى رَاحِلَتِي، خَشِيتُ أَنْ أَقْتُلَهُ، وَإِنْ لَمْ أَشُدَّهُ، لَمْ يَثْبُتْ عَلَيْهَا، أَفَأَحُجُّ عَنْهُ؟ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «أرأيت لَوَ كَانَ عَلَى أَبِيكَ دَيْنٌ فَقَضَيْتَهُ عَنْهُ أَكَانَ يُجْزِئُ عَنْهُ؟» قَالَ: نَعَمْ، قَالَ: فَاحْجُجْ عن أبيك»

It is narrated in Sahih of Ibn Hibban that it is narrated from Sulayman Bin Yasar that he said: Abdullah Ibn Abbas told me that a man asked the Messenger of Allah (saw) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, my father converted to Islam when he was old and cannot sit firmly in the saddle; if I tie him, I fear that he may die, and if I did not, he won't be fastened, Can I perform Hajj on his behalf?" The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: "Do you think that if your father owed a debt, and you paid it off, that would be good enough?" He said, "Yes." He said: "Then perform Hajj on behalf of your father."

From this, it is apparent that the Messenger (saw) has made the disability of the old man, who cannot settle on an itinerant, a debt on him that is an obligation even if he could not ride due to his old age and weakness. The jurists have talked about the hadeeth, taking into consideration that Allah (swt) has made the obligation of Hajj depending on the ability ﴾ وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًا ﴿ "And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House - for whoever is able to find thereto a way." Some of the jurists (fuqaha) have made the hadeeth of the Sheikh al-Kabeer specific to that questioning man and not for anybody else, so that the hadeeth will not conflict with the ability that the ayah has mentioned. As to other than this condition, it is not obligatory for the son to perform Hajj on behalf of his incapable father, except for the sake of honoring the parents, on the grounds that that ruling is specific to that questioning man. This is the same as the ruling specific to Abu Burda regarding the sacrifice of the she-goat.

أخرجه البخاري عن البَرَاءِ بْنِ عَازِبٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا، قَالَ... فَقَالَ أَبُو بُرْدَةَ بْنُ نِيَارٍ خَالُ البَرَاءِ: قَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، فَإِنَّ عِنْدَنَا عَنَاقًا لَنَا جَذَعَةً هِيَ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ شَاتَيْنِ، أَفَتَجْزِي عَنِّي؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ وَلَنْ تَجْزِيَ عَنْ أَحَدٍ بَعْدَكَ

It is narrated by al-Bukhari that it is narrated from al-Baraa Bin Azeb (ra), he said... So Abu Burda Bin Niyar, the uncle of al-Baraa said, "O Messenger of Allah, I have a young she-goat which is dearer to me than two sheep. Will that be sufficient as a Nusuk on my behalf? "The Prophet (saw) said, "Yes, it will be sufficient for you, but it will not be sufficient for anyone else after you." The young she-goat is not sufficient as an animal sacrifice, but it is specific for Abu Burda.

It is likely that the combination of the hadeeth and the ayah prior to moving along to the specific because the origin is that the rulings are addressed to people, and none of it should be turned to the specific unless a verse is mentioned about it. For example, the case of Abu Burda and the saying of the Messenger (saw) to him, «نَعَمْ وَلَنْ تَجْزِيَ عَنْ أَحَدٍ بَعْدَكَ» "Yes, it will be sufficient for you, but it will not be sufficient for anyone else after you" and if the combination is difficult... Here, there is no specific verse, and the combination is not difficult, so the ayah and hadeeth can be combined saying that Hajj is not obligatory except in the case of financial and physical ability. An exception from that is the case of the son with his father; if the son is able, and the father is not, then it is an obligation on the son to perform the Hajj on behalf of his father because the Messenger (saw) has considered the Hajj on behalf of the father, in this case, as a debt that a son should pay off for his father.

If you are able to perform Hajj on behalf of your father, even if he cannot or died before performing Hajj, then you have to perform Hajj on behalf of your father, as it is similar to a debt on the father, and paying it off is an obligation on the son then the inheritors according to the Islamic rulings in this section.

Whereas if you are unable, neither by yourself nor by paying for somebody else, then Allah will not ask you what you cannot do, and when you are able you do it if Allah wills.

The answer to your second Question

We do not rely on metaphor unless applying the reality is impossible; for example يَجْعَلُونَ أَصَابِعَهُمْ فِي آذَانِهِمْ مِنَ الصَّوَاعِقِ حَذَرَ الْمَوْتِ "They put their fingers in their ears against the thunderclaps in dread of death", "أصابعهم" "their fingers" is a metaphor for the ends of the fingers because the fingers, in reality, (altogether) cannot be put in the ears, but only the ends of the fingers can be put in the ears.
Another example of the like ((وَدَخَلَ مَعَهُ السِّجْنَ فَتَيَانِ قَالَ أَحَدُهُمَا إِنِّي أَرَانِي أَعْصِرُ خَمْرًا)) "And there entered the prison with him two young men. One of them said, "Indeed, I have seen myself [in a dream] squeezing wine." Here wine is a metaphor for grapes because wine cannot be squeezed in reality, but grapes is squeezed to form wine...
Whereas if the reality is not impossible, we don't rely on metaphor, so Allah's (swt) saying: وَضَرَبَ لَنَا مَثَلًا وَنَسِيَ خَلْقَهُ قَالَ مَنْ يُحْيِ الْعِظَامَ وَهِيَ رَمِيمٌ "And he presents for Us an example and forgets his [own] creation. He says, "Who will give life to bones while they are disintegrated?" The reality of giving life to bones is not impossible for Allah (swt); for that, we said "يُحْيِ..." "Give life..." in reality and not metaphorically, and we understood from it that bones of the dead bodies are dead as well.

Your brother,
Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah

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