The virtue of Hajj

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: I was sitting with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the mosque of Mina. A man from the Ansar and a man from the tribe of Thaqif came to him. They both gave the greeting of peace, and then they both said: "O Messenger of Allah! We have come to ask you something." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If you wish, I will tell the two of you what you have come to ask about, and if you wish, I will not tell." They both said: "O Messenger of Allah! Tell us." The man from Thaqif said to the Ansari: "You ask." He said: "O Messenger of Allah! Tell me." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You have come to me to ask about your going out from your house intending the Sacred House, and what reward you will get for it; you want to ask about the two rak'ahs after the circumambulation (tawaf), what reward you will get for them; you want to ask about the rounds between Safa and Marwah, what reward you will get for them; you want to ask about your standing on the evening of Arafah, what reward you will get for it; you want to ask about your stoning of the Jamarat, what reward you will get for it; you want to ask about your sacrifice, what reward you will get for it; you want to ask about having your head shaved, what reward you will get for it; and you want to ask about the Tawaf al-Ifadah of the House after that, what reward you will get for it?" That man said: "By the One who sent you with the truth, it is about this very thing that I have come to ask you." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you went out from your house intending to go to the Sacred House, for every foot that your she-camel put down and every foot it lifted, Allah Almighty recorded a good deed for you in return and erased an evil deed from you. As for the two rak'ahs after the circumambulation, they are like freeing a slave from the descendants of Sayyiduna Isma'il (peace be upon him). As for the Sa'y between Safa and Marwah, it is like freeing seventy slaves. As for your standing on the evening of Arafah, Allah Almighty descends to the lowest heaven and takes pride in you before the angels, and He says: 'My servants have come to Me with dishevelled hair from distant regions; they desire My Paradise.' (Allah Almighty, addressing the servants, says:) 'If your sins were as many as the grains of sand, or as many as the drops of rain, or as much as the foam of the sea, Allah Almighty would forgive them' (the narrator is in doubt; perhaps the words are:) 'I would forgive them. O My servants! Go back in such a state that you have been forgiven, and the one for whom you have interceded has also been forgiven.' (The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:) As for your stoning of the Jamarat, then for every pebble that you threw at it, a destructive major sin (will be forgiven) in return. As for your sacrifice, it will be kept in store with your Lord. As for having your own head shaved, then for every single hair that is shaved you will get a good deed, and in return for it one of your sins will be erased. As for your circumambulation of the House after that, you will circumambulate in a state in which you have no sin. An angel will come, place both his hands between your shoulders and say: 'Now act anew, for you have been forgiven for (the sins of) the past.'"
Imam al-Bazzar recorded this narration.

Imam al-Tabarani recorded a similar narration in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, except that at its beginning the wording is: Two men came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), one of whom was from the Ansar and the other from Thaqif. The Ansari came first. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the man from Thaqif: "O man from the tribe of Thaqif, the Ansari has gone ahead of you." The Ansari said: "O Messenger of Allah! I give him the chance to go first." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O man from the tribe of Thaqif, ask about your need, and if you wish, I will tell you what you have come to ask about." He said: "If you do so, that will be more pleasing to me" (or: more amazing). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You have come to me to ask about your prayer, your bowing, your prostration and your fasting, saying: 'What reward will I get for it?'" He said: "Yes! By the One who sent you with the truth (it is so)." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Pray in the early part of the day and in the last part, and sleep in the middle of it." He said: "What if I also pray in the middle part?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then you are you" (that is, how excellent that would be). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you stand for prayer and go into bowing, place both hands on both knees and keep your fingers spread apart; then raise your head until every limb returns to its joint. When you go into prostration, place your forehead firmly on the ground, and do not peck. And fast the bright nights, that is, the 13th, 14th and 15th (of the month)."
The narrators of Imam al-Bazzar have been declared trustworthy. Imam al-Bazzar says: This narration has been transmitted through various routes, but to our knowledge there is no better chain than this one.

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I was sitting with the Messenger of Allah in the mosque of Mina. A man from the Ansar and a man from the tribe of Thaqif came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). They both greeted him with peace and, addressing him in a fine manner, said: "O Messenger of Allah! We have come to you to ask something." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If the two of you wish, I will tell you both what you have come to ask about, and if you both wish, I will remain silent and you ask me; I will do that." They both said: "O Messenger of Allah! Tell us, so that our faith (the narrator is in doubt, or perhaps the words are:) our certainty may increase." This doubt is from the narrator named Isma'il; he says: I do not know which of the two words it is, faith or certainty. (Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:) The Ansari said to the man from Thaqif: "You ask the Messenger of Allah." The man from Thaqif said: "No! Rather, you ask, for I recognise your right." The Ansari asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), saying: "O Messenger of Allah! Tell me." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You have come to ask me about your going out from your house intending to go to the Sacred House, what reward you will get for it; what reward you will get for your circumambulation (tawaf) of the House; what reward you will get for your offering two rak'ahs after the circumambulation; what reward you will get for your going between Safa and Marwah; what reward you will get for your standing on the evening of Arafah; what reward you will get for your stoning of the Jamarat; what reward you will get for your sacrifice; what reward you will get for having your head shaved; and what reward you will get for your circumambulation of the House after that, that is, the Tawaf al-Ifadah." He said: "By the One who sent you with the truth, it is about this very thing that I have come to ask you." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you go out from your house intending to go to the Sacred House, then for every foot that your she-camel puts down and every foot it lifts, Allah Almighty will record a good deed for you in return, remove one of your evil deeds because of it, and raise your rank. As for your offering two rak'ahs after the circumambulation, it is like freeing a slave from the descendants of Sayyiduna Isma'il (peace be upon him). As for your going between Safa and Marwah after that, it is like freeing seventy slaves. As for your standing on the evening of Arafah, indeed Allah Almighty descends to the lowest heaven and, taking pride in you before the angels, says: 'These are My servants who have come with dishevelled hair from distant regions; they hope for My mercy and My forgiveness. Even if your sins were as many as the grains of sand, or as many as the drops of rain, or like the foam of the sea, I have forgiven them. O My servants! Go back in such a state that you have been forgiven, and the one for whom you have interceded has also been forgiven.' As for your stoning of the Jamarat, every pebble that you throw will become an expiation for a major sin, one that leads to destruction. As for the sacrifice, it will be kept in store with your Lord. As for having your own head shaved, for every hair that you have shaved you will get a good deed in return, and because of it one of your faults will be removed." The people said: "O Messenger of Allah! What if the sins are fewer than that?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "In that case it will be stored up for you among your good deeds. As for your circumambulation of the House after that (the narrator says: that is, the Tawaf al-Ifadah), when you circumambulate, no sin of yours will remain. An angel will come, place his hands between your two shoulders and then say: 'From here on, begin acting anew, for the past sins have been forgiven.'"
The man from Thaqif said: "O Messenger of Allah! Tell me as well." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You have come to ask me about prayer." He said: "By the One who sent you with the truth, it is about this very matter that I have come to ask you." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you stand for prayer, perform ablution (wudu) thoroughly. When you rinse your mouth, sins will come out from your nostrils; when you wash your face, sins will come out from your eyes; when you wash your two arms, sins will come out from your nails; when you wipe your head, sins will come out from your head; and when you wash your feet, sins will come out from your toenails. Then, when you stand for prayer, recite whatever portion of the Qur'an you wish. Then, when you go into bowing, place your two hands firmly on your knees and keep your fingers spread apart, until you bow with composure. Then, when you go into prostration, keep your forehead firmly placed in prostration and prostrate with composure, and do not peck. Pray in the early and the last part of the day." That man said: "O Messenger of Allah! What is your view if I keep praying the whole day?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then you are you" (that is, how excellent that would be).
Imam al-Bazzar recorded this narration; its chain contains a narrator, Isma'il bin Rafi', who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Ubadah bin al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led us in prayer. After that, two men stepped over the people and came to him; one man was from the Ansar and one man was from the tribe of Thaqif. The Ansari got ahead of the man from Thaqif. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the man from Thaqif: "The Ansari has gone ahead of you in asking." The Ansari said: "O Messenger of Allah! Perhaps he is in more of a hurry than I am, so I give him permission." The narrator says: The man from Thaqif asked about prayer, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told him. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the Ansari: "If you wish, I will tell you what you have come to ask about, and if you wish, you ask me and I will tell you." He said: "O Messenger of Allah! Tell me." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You have come to ask me how much reward you will get when you set out intending the Ancient House; what reward you will get for your standing at Arafah; what reward you will get for your stoning of the Jamarat; what reward you will get for having your head shaved; and what reward you will get when you bid farewell to the House." The Ansari said: "By the One who sent you with the truth, it is about this very thing that I have come to ask you." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you set out intending the Ancient House, you will get this reward: for every step that you lift or put down, whether it is your step or the step of your mount, a good deed will be recorded for you and your rank will be raised by one degree. As for your standing at Arafah, Allah Almighty says to the angels: 'O My angels! Why have My servants come?' They submit: 'They have come seeking Your pleasure and Paradise.' Then Allah Almighty says: 'I make Myself and My creation witness that I have forgiven these people, (even if their sins) are as many as the number of days, or as many as the number of raindrops, or as many as the number of grains of sand.' (The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:) As for your stoning of the Jamarat, Allah Almighty says: 'No soul knows what delight of the eyes has been kept hidden for them as a reward for what they used to do.' As for having your own head shaved, every hair of yours that falls to the ground will be a light for you on the Day of Resurrection. As for bidding farewell to the House, you will come out of your sins as you were on the day your mother gave birth to you."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this narration in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains a narrator, Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahim bin Sharus, whom Ibn Abi Hatim mentioned. He did not mention any criticism (jarh) or approval (ta'dil) about him, and the narrators above him have been declared trustworthy.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "If the people of Jam' (Muzdalifah) knew what has been granted to them, they would rejoice at the glad tidings of (Allah's) bounty after forgiveness."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this narration in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain contains a narrator whom I do not know.