Istinabah in al‑Hajj al‑Mustahabb
According to the Imamiyyah and Hanafi legal schools; one who has performed the Hijjat al‑'Islam, if he wants to depute another for a voluntary, mustahabbHajj, may do so, even if he is capable of undertaking it in person. But according to the Shafi`i school, it is not permissible. There are two narrations from Ahmad ibn Hanbal, one indicating prohibition and the other permission. According to the Maliki school, it is permissible for an incurable sick person and for one who has performed the obligatory Hajj to hire another for the Hajj. The Hajj so performed is valid, though makruh (reprehensible). It is not considered as the Hajj of the hirer (mustajir)and is counted as the mustahabbHajj of the hired (ajir). The hirer gets the reward for providing assistance in the performance of the Hajj and shares the blessings of the prayers offered. When the Hajj is performed for the benefit of a dead person, irrespective of whether he has asked for it in his will or not, it is counted neither as fulfilment of the duty (fard) nor as a supererogatory (nafl)act, nor does it relieve him of the duty of the obligatory Hajj. (al‑Fiqh `ala al‑madhahib al‑'arba`ah).