The etiquette of performing pilgrimage on behalf of others is quite simple; in fact, it is possible to carry out a pilgrimage in someone else’s name. Follow Saed News for more on this topic.
The etiquette for performing pilgrimage (ziyarah) on behalf of others is quite simple. In fact, one can perform a pilgrimage with the intention of doing it for someone else, and in such a case, the spiritual reward (thawab) of the pilgrimage will be granted to both the person performing it and the one it is intended for—without reducing the reward of the performer.
In religious practices, performing pilgrimage on behalf of others has been both permitted and recommended. God's grace and generosity are so vast and limitless that if a person performs a deed with the intention of benefiting themselves and others, the reward will reach all of them without diminishing the doer’s own reward.
Anyone visiting the shrine of an infallible Imam can perform the ziyarah both for themselves and on behalf of others. By the grace of God, all of them will receive the full reward as though each of them had performed the ziyarah individually. This article explains the etiquette of ziyarah on behalf of others.
The reward of ziyarah can be gifted to the soul of any believing person. One may also perform the pilgrimage as a proxy (nā’ib) for them.
Shaykh Tusi, in his book "Tahdhib," says:
The proxy, during the ziyarah, should say:
"As-salāmu ʿalayka yā mawlāya min fulān ibn fulān ataytuka zāʾiran ʿanhu fashfaʿ lahu ʿinda rabbik"
(“Peace be upon you, O my master, from [name] son of [name]. I have come to visit you on his behalf, so intercede for him with your Lord”).
Here, one should insert the name of the person and their father in place of “fulān ibn fulān.”
It is also mentioned that if someone wishes to perform the ziyarah on behalf of all believing brothers and sisters or a specific group, they may do so by intending so verbally or in their heart, and then reciting the ziyarah on their behalf. Afterward, they should perform two units of ziyarat prayer and say:
"Allāhumma innī zurta hādhihi’z-ziyārah wa ṣallaytu hādhihiṣ-ṣalāh wa hātayni’r-rakʿatayni wa jaʿaltu thawābahumā hadiyyatan minnī ilā mawlāya fulān ibn fulān [name of the Imam] ʿan jamīʿ ikhwanī al-muʾminīn wa’l-muʾmināt wa ʿan jamīʿ man awṣānī bi’z-ziyārah wa’d-duʿāʾ lah – Allāhumma taqabbal dhālika minnī wa minhum biraḥmatika yā arḥam ar-rāḥimīn."
(“O God, I performed this ziyarah and these two units of prayer as a gift from myself to my master [name] on behalf of all my believing brothers and sisters and all those who requested me to perform the ziyarah and pray for them. O God, accept it from me and from them, through Your mercy, O Most Merciful of the merciful.”)
If you then return and tell any of those believers that you prayed and offered ziyarah on their behalf and greeted the Imam for them, you are speaking the truth.
Performing ziyarah on behalf of others—whether they are deceased or alive—is a recommended (mustahabb) act, and both the proxy and the person on whose behalf it is performed receive its rewards.
In one hadith, Dawood Sarami said to Imam Hasan al-Askari (a): “I visited your father’s grave and intended the reward for you.” The Imam replied: “From God, there is a great reward for you, and from us, gratitude and praise.”
In another narration, one of the Imams (a) was asked: If someone prays two units, fasts for a day, performs Hajj or Umrah, or visits the Prophet (s) or one of the Imams (a) and dedicates the reward to their parents or a believing brother, will they still receive a reward for themselves?
The Imam replied: “The reward will reach the person on whose behalf it was done, without reducing the reward of the doer.”
One may perform the ziyarat and the accompanying prayer on behalf of both the living and the deceased. It can be done on behalf of many people collectively or separately for each person. According to various narrations, the reward of recommended (mustahabb) actions performed on behalf of others is recorded for both the doer and the one for whom it is done—without any reduction in reward.
God’s mercy is vast and limitless. If someone performs a good deed with the intention of benefitting themselves and others, the reward is granted to all involved, without diminishing the doer’s share.
A person visiting the shrine of a holy infallible can perform the ziyarah both for themselves and on behalf of others. The reward reaches all of them fully, as if each of them had performed the ziyarah themselves.
Sending a simple greeting on someone else’s behalf yields reward and blessings for both the greeter and the intended person. However, performing a full ziyarat and reciting specific supplications at the shrine of an Imam yields greater reward for both the proxy and the one represented.
As is customary, one may begin the ziyarat by saying: “I perform this ziyarat on behalf of my father, mother, those who asked me for prayers, and all those I’ve promised to remember—seeking nearness to Allah.” In doing so, they share in the reward of the ziyarat.
