A woman may perform proxy Hajj on behalf of a man, and a man may perform proxy Hajj on behalf of a woman. Gender does not affect the validity of proxy Hajj according to the majority of scholars. This is based on the hadith where a woman from Khath'am asked about performing Hajj for her father, and the Prophet permitted it without objecting to the cross-gender arrangement.
A woman may perform proxy Hajj on behalf of a man, and a man may perform proxy Hajj on behalf of a woman. There is no gender restriction on proxy Hajj according to the consensus of the four schools. The evidence for this is the hadith of the woman from Khath'am, where a woman asked the Prophet about performing Hajj for her elderly father, and the Prophet permitted it without any objection to the fact that the proxy was female and the person was male.
Sheikh Ibn Baz explicitly stated that gender does not matter in proxy Hajj. A daughter may perform Hajj for her deceased father, a son may perform Hajj 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 obligatory Hajj. The proxy performs the rites with the intention for the specific person, and the Hajj is valid and accepted.
Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen added that this is a well-established ruling with no significant disagreement among scholars. He noted that some people mistakenly believe that only a man can perform Hajj for a man and a woman for a woman, but this has no basis in the Sunnah or scholarly consensus. The hadith of the woman from Khath'am is explicit evidence that cross-gender proxy Hajj is valid.
A woman from Khath'am said: 'O Messenger of Allah, the obligation of Hajj has become due on my father, but he is an old man who cannot sit firmly on the riding animal. Shall I perform Hajj on his behalf?' He said: 'Yes.'
A woman from Khath'am said: 'O Messenger of Allah, the obligation of Hajj has become due on my father, but he is an old man who cannot sit firmly on the riding animal. Shall I perform Hajj on his behalf?' He said: 'Yes.'
A woman from Juhaynah came to the Prophet and said: 'My mother vowed to perform Hajj but she died before performing it. Should I perform Hajj on her behalf?' He said: 'Yes, perform Hajj on her behalf.'
A woman from Juhaynah came to the Prophet and said: 'My mother vowed to perform Hajj but she died before performing it. Should I perform Hajj on her behalf?' He said: 'Yes, perform Hajj on her behalf.'
Scholars from different schools of Islamic jurisprudence offer varying perspectives on this matter.
A woman may perform proxy Hajj for a man and vice versa. Gender does not affect the validity of proxy Hajj.
Al-Hidayah: there is no gender restriction on proxy Hajj.
Cross-gender proxy Hajj is permissible. The Maliki school does not restrict proxy Hajj by gender.
Maliki scholars follow the hadith evidence which shows no gender restriction.
A woman may perform Hajj 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 Hajj is valid regardless of gender.
Cross-gender proxy Hajj is valid by consensus. The hadith evidence explicitly shows a woman performing Hajj for her father.
Al-Mughni by Ibn Qudamah: there is no disagreement on the validity of cross-gender proxy Hajj.
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 Hajj has become due on my father, but he is an old man who cannot sit firmly on the riding animal. Shall I perform Hajj on his behalf?' He said: 'Yes.'
Sahih al-Bukhari #1513 (sahih)A woman from Juhaynah came to the Prophet and said: 'My mother vowed to perform Hajj but she died before performing it. Should I perform Hajj on her behalf?' He said: 'Yes, perform Hajj on her behalf.'
Sahih al-Bukhari #1852 (sahih)