Can I perform Umrah on behalf of my parent who live in India; they have performed their obligatory Umrah? He is willing to do again, but he is physically unable to do it as he is suffering from a disease. Should I perform his Umrah as I’m working in Saudi Arabia? It would be appreciated to receive your earliest reply.

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.

It is lawful to perform Hajj or Umrah on behalf of another person provided that person is dead or with a chronic disease or so old that he/she cannot go by himself/herself.  If your father fits into any of the above categories, then it is lawful for you to perform Hajj or Umrah on his behalf whether it is an obligatory or a supererogatory Hajj or Umrah.

The evidence for this is the following Hadith:

Narrated Abu Razeen that he came to the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) and said: ‘My father is an old man who can neither perform Hajj nor Umrah nor can he travel.’  The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: "Perform Hajj on behalf of your father and Umrah as well." [Ahmad]

However, we would like to point out that your Hajj or Umrah on behalf of your father is invalid unless you yourself have already performed them for your own self.

Allah knows best.