Jurisprudential Study of the Excused Pilgrims’ Duties in Hajj

In this research, through a descriptive-analytical method, with the purpose of analyzing a number of jurisprudential issues concerning the excused pilgrims of Hajj including the women’s emergency staying, scarification, performing the acts after Mina, a part of women’s rituals during the menstrual cycle and the issues related to the sick and elderly pilgrims, the authors have scrutinized the Islamic jurists' opinions and proofs from two aspects: the difference between gratuitous and paid representation; and the ancillary and principal excuses. According to Imam Khomeini and some other jurists' fatwas, in case the pilgrim is not excused from the beginning and an excuse happens to him/her while performing the act, appointing an agent for him/her is not valid, either gratuitously or for reward. Likewise, appointing agents for the excused pilgrims has been studied from two perspectives: first, from the viewpoint of the permissibility of the act and the validity of the Hajj performed by the agent and second, from the viewpoint of the agent’s entitlement to remuneration and commission. The majority of Islamic jurists believe that if an individual is bound to perform Hajj as a strict duty, he/she may not become another’s agent, otherwise, his/her Hajj is invalid; but if he/she is unable to perform his/her own Hajj or his/her Hajj of Nazr or Istijari Hajj (Hajj by hire) is not limited to the same year, there is no difference of opinion among the Islamic jurists that the individual may not act on behalf of another. Unlike the past Islamic jurists, the contemporary jurists distinguish between ancillary and principal excuses and as afar as principal excuse is concerned, they maintain that: if an individual is excused from performing Hajj acts, he may not act on another’s behalf; otherwise, it is difficult to be satisfied by his Hajj and it does not release the principal duty-bound, but there is no single opinion among them regarding the ancillary excuse.