Q: My wife, my stepmother and I performed Hajj in 1412 A.H. and we performed its rituals with ease. Since my stepmother was suffering from a cardiac disease, we could not perform Tawaf-ul-Wada` (circumambulation of the Ka`bah on leaving Makkah). Also, it was because we agreed with a taxi driver to take us and there were other pilgrims with us and we did not want to delay them. I asked a shaykh of the Al-Haram (the Sacred Mosque in Makkah) about that and he replied that we have to pay Fidyah (ransom), which is offering a slaughtered animal for each one of us. However, I could not do so due to being unable to afford even our living costs. It is worth mentioning that my stepmother died a year after her Hajj, which she was performing on behalf of her mother. Please advise me of what I should do, considering that I am poor and indebted with about sixty thousand riyals.

A: Tawaf-ul-Wada` is an obligatory part of Hajj and it should be performed after finishing the rituals of Hajj and when you are about to travel to your home. Whoever travels to their home without performing Tawaf-ul-Wada` have to pay a Fidyah, which is slaughtering a ram or offering one-seventh of a Badanah (a camel or a cow or an ox driven by pilgrims to be offered as sacrifice within the sacred precincts of Makkah) or one-seventh of a cow. It should be slaughtered in Makkah and its meat should be distributed among the poor therein. Whoever cannot afford such an animal must observe Sawm (Fast) for ten days, whether they are consecutive or separate. As for the woman who died, (Part No. 10; Page No. 344) if she left an estate, then the price of the sacrificial animal should be taken from that estate and an animal should be slaughtered on her behalf in Makkah. If she did not have an estate, then it is permissible for any of her relatives or others to offer a slaughtered animal or observe Sawm on her behalf. It is even permissible if two people or more share in the price of the slaughtered animal or in the Sawm. Besides, Allah (Glorified be He) will grant them great reward. This is according to the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him): Whoever dies having (some days of obligatory) Sawm, his Waliy should make up for them on his behalf. (Agreed upon by Al-Bukhari and Muslim) The Waliy stated in the Hadith means one's relative.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.