A man authorized another man to stand at ‘Arafah on his behalf with the excuse that he could not reach it because he is paralyzed, and he had come to Hajj from Algeria. He performed Tawaaf (circumambulation) and Sa‘y (walking between Mounts Safa and Marwah) on a stretcher and also authorized someone to throw the pebbles on his behalf. Please advise, as this is a problem.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

It is not valid to authorize another person to stand at ‘Arafah on one’s behalf. It is, however, valid to do so for throwing the pebbles. A person who authorized another to stand at ‘Arafah on his behalf is required to perform Hajj the following year. This is because he missed the standing at ‘Arafah which is a main pillar of Hajj, the missing of which entails missing the entire Hajj and this is specific to it. There is conclusive evidence from the Quran, the Sunnah, and consensus on the standing being a pillar of Hajj.

As regards evidence from the Quran, Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Then depart from the place from where [all] the people depart.} [Quran 2:199] This verse is proven to command standing at ‘Arafah.

Concerning evidence from the Sunnah, there are many Hadeeths, the most famous of which is: “Hajj is ‘Arafah.”

Also a number of scholars declared consensus on this issue. Ibn Rushd said, “They (the scholars) unanimously agreed on it being a pillar of Hajj and that anyone who misses it must perform Hajj in the following year.”

If the pilgrim failed to stand at ‘Arafah intentionally or forgetfully or out of ignorance until the dawn of the day of Nahr broke (the 10th of Thul-Hijjah), his Hajj is invalid and he cannot compensate for it and thus must end his Ihraam by making ‘Umrah (lesser pilgrimage).

Scholars of Fiqh (jurisprudence) differentiate between the Rukn (pillar) and Waajib (obligation) as far as Hajj and ‘Umrah are concerned, as agreed upon by the four schools of Fiqh. They state that Hajj and ‘Umrah have distinctive pillars and obligations. The distinction between the two is obvious in the consequence of missing any of them. If someone missed a pillar of Hajj or ‘Umrah then his rite is incomplete. If he can do it, whether it is Tawaaf or Sa‘y, then he must do it. If he cannot do it, like the person who missed the standing at ‘Arafah by failing to stand there until the dawn of the Day of Nahr broke, then he has missed the Hajj of that year. He should end his Ihraam by performing ‘Umrah and has to perform Hajj in the next year, because Hajj cannot be completed unless all its pillars are fulfilled.

Unless this brother (the questioner) made a condition or ended his Ihraam by making ‘Umrah, then he remains in the state of Ihraam. He should thus either return and end his Ihraam by making ‘Umrah or maintain his Ihraam and avoid whatever violates it until he makes Hajj in the following year.

Allaah Knows best.