Is it permissible for me to perform ‘Umrah on my own behalf and on behalf of my deceased father and a number of my deceased relatives? What is the allowed number and what are the conditions of this? Is the intention of doing so stipulated before travelling to the Sacred Places?

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.

If you mean assuming Ihraam for one ritual on behalf of yourself and on behalf of others, then this is not permissible because Ihraam is valid for only one person. If you mean sharing the reward of your ‘Umrah with them, then this is allowed by many scholars and there is no limit for the number.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:

There is no limit to how many people may share in the reward. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, offered a sacrifice on behalf of his entire Ummah (i.e. Islamic nation), and a man may offer a single sheep on behalf of himself and the members of his household, even if they are one hundred.

However, it is more appropriate and better to keep the reward for yourself and to strive hard in supplicating Allaah Almighty for those deceased individuals. If you would like to perform ‘Umrah on their behalf, you can go out to the nearest place from which you can assume Ihraam again – which is At-Tan‘eem – after doing the ‘Umrah that you offer on behalf of yourself, then assume Ihraam for performing ‘Umrah on behalf of whomever you want. You can repeat that in the same journey for as many times as you want.

No intention is stipulated for that before traveling. If it occurs to you to share the reward of your ‘Umrah with a deceased person, according to the opinion that allows that, or if it occurs to you to do ‘Umrah on behalf of whomever you want after traveling, then there is nothing wrong with that at all. We have repeatedly pointed out such rulings in many fatwas.

Allaah Knows best.