Section: Anyone whose recovery from illness is anticipated, and one who is imprisoned or the like, is not permitted to appoint a substitute. If he does so, it does not suffice him, even if he does not recover. Al-Shafi'i held this view. Abu Hanifa said: He is permitted to do so, and the matter is kept in view; if he becomes capable of performing Hajj himself, it becomes binding upon him, and otherwise, it suffices him, because he is incapacitated from performing Hajj himself, resembling one who is hopeless of recovery. Our evidence is that he hopes for the ability to perform Hajj himself, so he does not have the right to appoint a substitute, and it would not suffice him if he did, just like a poor person. This differs from one hopeless of recovery, because he is incapacitated absolutely and is hopeless of ever attaining the ability for the original act, thus resembling the deceased. Furthermore, the textual evidence (nass) was specifically regarding Hajj on behalf of an old man, who is among those from whom Hajj by himself is not expected, so no one is to be measured against him except one who is like him. Based on this, if he appoints a substitute while he hopes to gain the ability to perform Hajj himself, and then he becomes someone hopeless of recovery, he must perform Hajj on his own behalf once again; because he appointed a substitute during a state in which such substitution is not permissible for him, thus resembling a healthy person.

Section: It is not permitted, by consensus, for one who is able to perform Hajj himself to appoint a substitute for the obligatory Hajj. Ibn al-Mundhir said: The scholars have reached a consensus that for anyone upon whom the Hajj of Islam is due and who is able to perform Hajj, it does not suffice him for someone else to perform Hajj on his behalf. A vowed (mandhur) Hajj is like the Hajj of Islam in the permissibility of substitution when incapacitated and the prohibition of it when capable, because it is an obligatory Hajj. As for voluntary (tatawwu') Hajj, it is divided into three categories: The first is that he is one who has not yet performed the Hajj of Islam; it is not valid for him to appoint a substitute for a voluntary Hajj, because it is not valid for him to perform it himself, so it is even less valid for his substitute to do so. The second is that he is one who has performed the Hajj of Islam and is incapacitated from performing Hajj himself; it is valid for him to appoint a substitute for a voluntary Hajj, because whatever is permitted for substitution in its obligatory form is permitted in its voluntary form, such as charity. The third is that he is one who has performed the Hajj of Islam and is capable of performing Hajj himself; does he have the right to appoint a substitute for a voluntary Hajj?