A man from Khathaam came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, "My father is an elderly man, unable to ride, and the obligation of Hajj from Allah has come upon him. Is it acceptable for me to perform Hajj on his behalf?"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked, "Are you his eldest son?"The man replied, "Yes."He said, "Tell me, if your father owed a debt, would you pay it off for him?"The man answered, "Yes."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Then perform Hajj on his behalf."
جاء رجل من خثعم إلى رسول الله ﷺ فقال: إن أبي شيخ كبير لا يستطيع الركوب وأدركته فريضة الله في الحج فهل يجزئ أن أحج عنه؟ قال: أنت أكبر ولده؟ قال: نعم. قال: أرأيت لو كان عليه دين أكنت تقضيه؟ قال: نعم. قال: فحج عنه.
Nasai (2638) narrated it from Ishaq bin Ibrahim, [who said] Jareer informed us, from Mansur, from Mujahid, from Yusuf bin Zubayr, from Abdullah bin Zubayr, and he mentioned it. Its chain is hasan because of Yusuf bin Zubayr, for his hadith is hasan, a group of narrators transmitted from him, and Ibn Hibban mentioned him among the reliable narrators.Imam Ahmad (16102) also narrated it in abridged form, as did Abu Yaala (6812), Darimi (1879), and Bayhaqi (4/329), all of them through the route of Mansur with his chain, except that some of them said, "from Ibn Zubayr, that Sawda bint Zama said, 'A man came...'" and mentioned it, as in the narration of Imam Ahmad (27417) and Tabarani in al-Kabir (24/37). Bayhaqi graded as sahih the hadith of Mujahid, from Yusuf bin Zubayr, from Ibn Zubayr, from the Prophet ﷺ.Moreover, this disagreement does no harm, since it is possible that Ibn Zubayr heard the hadith through both routes, so no attention should be paid to anyone who considers this disagreement, or the other disagreement concerning Mujahid's uncertainty in saying "Yusuf bin Zubayr or Zubayr bin Yusuf," or the mursal transmission of whoever transmitted it as mursal, to be a cause of confusion, because the sahih is not invalidated by the daif, as is well known among students of this field.Dhahabi graded as sahih another hadith with this chain in al-Mizan, in the biography of Yusuf bin Zubayr. Haythami said in Majma (3/282), after attributing it to Ahmad and Tabarani, "Its narrators are reliable." Daraqutni mentioned it in Ilal (4032) and said, "The statement of Jareer and those who followed him is closer to being correct," meaning those who narrated it from Mujahid without doubt, as is the case with Nasai and others.On this subject there is also what was narrated from Abu Ghawth bin Husayn, a man from Fara, that he asked the Prophet ﷺ for a ruling about a hajj obligation owed by his father, who had died without performing hajj. The Prophet ﷺ said, "Perform hajj on behalf of your father," and said, "Likewise, fasting owed for a vow is to be fulfilled on his behalf."Ibn Majah (2905) narrated it from Hisham bin Ammar, [who said] Walid bin Muslim narrated to us, [who said] Uthman bin Ata narrated to us, from his father, from Abu Ghawth bin Husayn, and he mentioned it.Busiri said in al-Zawaid, "Abu Ghawth bin Husayn has no narration in Ibn Majah other than this hadith, and he has no narration in any of the five books. The chain of his hadith is daif. As for Uthman bin Ata Khurasani, Ibn Main, Muslim, and Daraqutni all said of him that his hadith is daif, Fallas said his hadith is rejected, Nasai said he is not trustworthy, and Hakim said he narrated fabricated hadiths from his father."