Praying in al-Masjid al-Haram, the Prophet's Mosque and Bayt al-Maqdis

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One prayer offered in this mosque of mine is more excellent than a thousand prayers offered in any other mosque, except that the case of al-Masjid al-Haram is different. One prayer offered in al-Masjid al-Haram is more excellent than a hundred prayers offered in this mosque (that is, the Prophet's Mosque)."
Imam Ahmad and Imam al-Bazzar recorded this, and his wording is: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One prayer offered in this mosque of mine is more excellent than a thousand prayers offered anywhere else, except that the case of al-Masjid al-Haram is different; and one prayer offered in al-Masjid al-Haram is a hundred times more excellent than it."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir similar to the narration of Imam al-Bazzar. The narrators of Imam Ahmad and Imam al-Bazzar are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Jubayr bin Mut'im (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One prayer offered in this mosque of mine is more excellent than a thousand prayers offered anywhere else, except that the case of al-Masjid al-Haram is different."
Imam Ahmad, Imam Abu Ya'la, Imam al-Bazzar, and Imam al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir recorded this. The chains of the three are mursal (missing the Companion). Imam al-Tabarani recorded a chain for it whose narrators are the narrators of the Sahih, and it is muttasil (connected).

Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One prayer offered in this mosque of mine is better than a thousand prayers offered anywhere else, except that the case of al-Masjid al-Haram is different."
Imam Ahmad, Imam Abu Ya'la and Imam al-Bazzar recorded this. Its chain contains a narrator, Abd al-Rahman bin Abi al-Zinad, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), or perhaps Sayyidah Aishah Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her), narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One prayer offered in my mosque is better than a thousand prayers offered anywhere else, except that the case of al-Masjid al-Aqsa is different." (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: The hadith narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) is mentioned in the "Sahih", but it does not contain the words: "except that the case of al-Masjid al-Aqsa is different." After this he repeated this narration with the same chain and recorded the words: "except that the case of al-Masjid al-Haram is different." He
recorded this narration with another chain from both Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyidah Aishah Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her), that is, in it he did not express doubt. The narrators of the first narration are the narrators of the Sahih, and the narrators of the second narration are thiqat (trustworthy).
Imam Abu Ya'la recorded this narration from Sayyidah Aishah Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) alone.

Sayyiduna al-Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) relates that he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and greeted the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with peace. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Where do you intend to go?" He said: "O Messenger of Allah! I intend to go in this direction," pointing with his hand towards Bayt al-Maqdis as he said it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Why are you going there? Is it for trade?" The narrator says: I said: "No! Rather, I intend to pray there." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), pointing with his blessed hand towards Makkah, said: "One prayer offered here is better than a thousand prayers in that place." He said this while pointing with his blessed hand towards Syria (al-Sham).
Imam Ahmad recorded this.
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, and he says: (that is, then comes the following narration).

Sayyiduna al-Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) was a Companion who fought at Badr. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed for some time in his house near (the hill of) al-Safa until the number of Muslims reached forty, the last of whom to accept Islam was Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). When they numbered forty, they went out to the polytheists. Sayyiduna al-Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) relates: (One day) I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to take leave of him, as I intended to go to Bayt al-Maqdis. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked me: "Where do you intend to go?" I said: "I intend to go to Bayt al-Maqdis." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Why do you want to go there? Is it for trade?" I said: "No! Rather, I want to pray there." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One prayer offered here is better than a thousand prayers there." The narrators of Imam al-Tabarani are thiqat (trustworthy). Among the narrators of Imam Ahmad is Yahya bin Imran, whom Abu Hatim declared majhul (unknown).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) relates: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "One prayer offered in al-Masjid al-Haram is more excellent than a thousand prayers in any other mosque."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. Its chain contains a narrator, Sahl bin Ubaydah al-Tustari, and I have not found anyone who has written a biography of him; the rest of the narrators of this narration are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One prayer offered in this mosque of mine is more excellent than a thousand prayers anywhere else, except that the case of al-Masjid al-Haram is different. One prayer offered in al-Masjid al-Haram is more excellent than a thousand prayers offered in my mosque."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyidah Aishah Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One prayer offered in al-Masjid al-Haram is more excellent than a hundred prayers offered anywhere else."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat. Its chain contains a narrator, Suwayd bin Abd al-Aziz, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One prayer offered in this mosque of mine is more excellent than a thousand prayers offered anywhere else, except that the case of al-Masjid al-Haram is different."
Imam al-Bazzar recorded this, and Imam al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat. Its chain contains a narrator, Abu Bahr al-Bakrawi, whom Imam Ahmad and Imam Abu Dawud declared thiqah (trustworthy), while a group declared him da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) relates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) bade farewell to a man and asked him: "Where do you intend to go?" He said: "I intend to go to Bayt al-Maqdis." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One prayer offered in this mosque of mine is more excellent than a hundred prayers offered anywhere else, except that the case of al-Masjid al-Haram is different."
Imam Abu Ya'la recorded this, and Imam al-Bazzar recorded something similar, except that he recorded the words: "more excellent than a thousand prayers." The narrators of Imam Abu Ya'la are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) report that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The area between my grave and my pulpit is one of the gardens of Paradise, and one prayer offered in my mosque is more excellent than a thousand prayers offered anywhere else, except that the ruling for al-Masjid al-Haram is different."
(Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: The hadith narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) is mentioned in full in the "Sahih", and the hadith narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was recorded by Imam al-Tirmidhi, but he did not mention the prayer.
Imam al-Bazzar recorded this. Its chain contains a narrator, Salamah bin Wardan, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Jubayr bin Mut'im (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One prayer offered in this mosque of mine is more excellent than prayer offered anywhere else, except that the case of al-Masjid al-Haram is different."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. One of its narrators is Yahya al-Himmani, and there has been much criticism of him.

Ubaydah bin Adam relates: I heard Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) ask Ka'b al-Ahbar: "Where do you think I should pray?" He said: "If you accept my advice, you should pray behind the Rock; that way the whole of al-Quds will be in front of you." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "You have leaned towards Judaism. I will pray where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed." Then he went forward towards the qiblah and prayed. Then he came, spread out his cloak and began gathering the rubbish into his cloak, and the people too began cleaning.
Imam Ahmad recorded this. Its chain contains a narrator, Isa bin Sinan al-Qasmali, whom Ibn Hibban and others declared thiqah (trustworthy), and whom Imam Ahmad and others declared da'if (weak); the rest of its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyidah Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her) relates that she said: "O Messenger of Allah! Tell us the ruling about Bayt al-Maqdis." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is the land of the Gathering and the land of the Resurrection. Go there and pray there, for one prayer offered there is like a thousand prayers." We said: "O Messenger of Allah, what about one who is not able to go there?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever is not able to go there should send olive oil to it as a gift, to be put in its lamps, for whoever sends olive oil to it as a gift will be like one who went there." (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: Imam Abu Dawud recorded a part of this narration, which is narrated from Sayyidah Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her), the freedwoman of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Imam Abu Ya'la recorded it in full from Sayyidah Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her), the honoured wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And Allah knows best. Its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One prayer offered in al-Masjid al-Haram is equal to one hundred thousand prayers, one prayer offered in this mosque of mine is equal to a thousand prayers, and one prayer offered in Bayt al-Maqdis is equal to five hundred prayers."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. Its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy), though some of them have been criticised, and this hadith is hasan (good).

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) relates: We were discussing, while we were with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), (the topic being) which of the two (mosques) is more excellent: the Prophet's Mosque or Bayt al-Maqdis? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One prayer offered in this mosque of mine is more excellent than four prayers offered in that place, and it is an excellent place of prayer. Soon a time will come when a piece of land the size of a man's bow, from where Bayt al-Maqdis can be seen, will be better for him than the whole world."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Dhu al-Asabi' (may Allah be pleased with him) relates: We said: "O Messenger of Allah! If we are tested by remaining (alive) after you, where would you command us to go?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Hold to Bayt al-Maqdis! Perhaps offspring will be born to you there who will go to that mosque morning and evening."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, and Abdullah recorded it in his "Ziyadat" (additions) to (the "Musnad" of) his father. Its chain contains a narrator, Uthman bin Ata', whom Duhaym declared thiqah (trustworthy), while people declared him da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Umayr (may Allah be pleased with him) relates: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Allah Almighty said to Sayyiduna Dawud (peace be upon him): 'Build a house for Me on earth.' Sayyiduna Dawud built a house for himself before building the house he had been commanded to build. So Allah Almighty revealed to him: 'O Dawud! You have built your own house before building My house.' He said: 'O my Lord, so it happened; I thought that I had already given the judgement that whoever owns (something) gives himself preference.' Then he began building the mosque. When its walls were completed, two-thirds of it fell down. He complained about this in the court of Allah Almighty, and Allah Almighty revealed that it is not fitting for you to build a house for Me. He said: 'O my Lord! Why is that?' Allah Almighty said: 'Because of the blood that has been shed by your hands.' He said: 'O my Lord, all of that happened in accordance with Your will and Your love.' The Lord said: 'That is true, but they were My servants, and I am the Most Merciful towards them.' This weighed heavily upon Sayyiduna Dawud, so Allah Almighty revealed to him: 'Do not grieve; I will soon decree that it is built at the hands of your son Sulayman.' When Sayyiduna Dawud passed away, Sayyiduna Sulayman began its construction. When its construction was completed, he offered offerings, had animals slaughtered and gathered the Children of Israel. Allah Almighty revealed to him: 'I have seen your joy at the building of My house; ask of Me and I will give you.' He said: 'I ask You for three things: an ability to judge that accords with Your judgement; a kingdom that no one after me will be given; and that whoever comes to this house with no purpose other than praying here comes out of his sins as he was on the day his mother gave birth to him.'" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "As for the two things, they were given to him, and I hope that the third has also been given to him."
Imam al-Tabarani recorded this in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. Its chain contains a narrator, Muhammad bin Ayyub bin Suwayd al-Ramli, who is accused of fabricating narrations.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One prayer offered in this mosque of mine is more excellent than a thousand prayers offered in any other mosque, except that the case of al-Masjid al-Haram is different; it is more excellent." In the "Sahih"
this narration is reported, but without these words: "it is more excellent" (or: praying there is more excellent).