A woman may perform proxy الحج on behalf of a man, and a man may perform proxy الحج on behalf of a woman. Gender does not affect the validity of proxy الحج عند جمهور العلماء. This is based on the hadith where a woman from Khath'am asked about performing الحج for her father, and النبي permitted it without objecting to the cross-gender arrangement.
A woman may perform proxy الحج on behalf of a man, and a man may perform proxy الحج on behalf of a woman. There is no gender restriction on proxy الحج عند the consensus of the four schools. The evidence for this is the hadith of the woman from Khath'am, where a woman asked النبي about performing الحج for her elderly father, and النبي permitted it without any objection to the fact that the proxy was female and the person was male.
الشيخ ابن باز explicitly stated that gender does not matter in proxy الحج. A daughter may perform الحج for her deceased father, a son may perform الحج for his deceased mother, and so on. The conditions for a valid proxy are the same regardless of gender: the proxy must be Muslim, sane, mature, and must have completed their own واجب الحج. The proxy performs the rites with the intention for the specific person, and the الحج is valid and accepted.
الشيخ ابن عثيمين added that this is a well-أُسس ruling with no significant disagreement among scholars. He noted that some people mistakenly believe that only a man can perform الحج for a man and a woman for a woman, but this has no basis in the السنة or scholarly consensus. The hadith of the woman from Khath'am is explicit evidence that cross-gender proxy الحج is valid.
A woman from Khath'am said: 'O Messenger of Allah, the obligation of الحج has become due on my father, but he is an old man who cannot sit firmly on the riding animal. Shall I perform الحج on his behalf?' He said: 'Yes.'
A woman from Khath'am said: 'O Messenger of Allah, the obligation of الحج has become due on my father, but he is an old man who cannot sit firmly on the riding animal. Shall I perform الحج on his behalf?' He said: 'Yes.'
A woman from Juhaynah came to النبي and said: 'My mother vowed to perform الحج but she died before performing it. Should I perform الحج on her behalf?' He said: 'Yes, perform الحج on her behalf.'
A woman from Juhaynah came to النبي and said: 'My mother vowed to perform الحج but she died before performing it. Should I perform الحج on her behalf?' He said: 'Yes, perform الحج on her behalf.'
Scholars from different schools of Islamic jurisprudence offer varying perspectives on this matter.
A woman may perform proxy الحج for a man and vice versa. Gender does not affect the validity of proxy الحج.
Al-Hidayah: there is no gender restriction on proxy الحج.
Cross-gender proxy الحج is جائز. The Maliki school does not restrict proxy الحج by gender.
Maliki scholars follow the hadith evidence which shows no gender restriction.
A woman may perform الحج on behalf of a man and a man on behalf of a woman. The hadith of Khath'am is explicit evidence for this.
Al-Majmu' by al-Nawawi: proxy الحج is valid regardless of gender.
Cross-gender proxy الحج is valid by consensus. The hadith evidence explicitly shows a woman performing الحج for her father.
Al-Mughni by ابن قدامة: there is no disagreement on the validity of cross-gender proxy الحج.
This is a scholarly summary, not a personal fatwa. Consult your scholar for personal rulings.
A woman from Khath'am said: 'O Messenger of Allah, the obligation of الحج has become due on my father, but he is an old man who cannot sit firmly on the riding animal. Shall I perform الحج on his behalf?' He said: 'Yes.'
Sahih al-Bukhari #1513 (sahih)A woman from Juhaynah came to النبي and said: 'My mother vowed to perform الحج but she died before performing it. Should I perform الحج on her behalf?' He said: 'Yes, perform الحج on her behalf.'
Sahih al-Bukhari #1852 (sahih)