Abu Salih al-Hanafi said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Hajj is jihad and Umrah is voluntary."
Al-Shafi'i said in al-Kitab: I said to him (meaning one of the people of the East): Do you consider something like this established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: It is munqati' (its chain is broken).
The Shaykh said: It has been narrated with a connected chain from the hadith of Shu'bah, from Mu'awiyah bin Ishaq, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), but the chain up to Shu'bah is weak. Muhammad bin al-Fadl bin Atiyyah narrated it from Salim al-Aftas, from Ibn Jubayr, from Ibn Abbas as a saying of the Prophet, and this Muhammad is matruk (abandoned).
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الحج / 8750
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:ضعيف
Hadith Takhrij«ضعيف۔ مسند شافعي 805۔ ابن ابي شيبه 1347»
Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Is Umrah obligatory, and is it a duty like the duty of Hajj?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No, but if you perform Umrah, it is better for you."
The Ubaydullah (in this chain) is Ubaydullah bin al-Mughirah, and he alone narrated it from Abu al-Zubayr. This text is known only through al-Hajjaj bin Artat, from Muhammad bin al-Munkadir, from Jabir.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الحج / 8751
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:منكر الاسناد
Hadith Takhrij«منكر الاسناد۔ معجم الصغير للطبراني 2/ 1015»
Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: A man asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): Is Umrah obligatory? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No, but if you perform Umrah, it is better for you."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الحج / 8752
Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked: Is Umrah obligatory, a duty like the duty of Hajj? He said: No, but if you perform Umrah, it is better for you.
This is what is preserved from Jabir, as mawquf (his own saying), not marfu'. It has also been narrated from Jabir as marfu' with the opposite (meaning), and both are da'if (weak).
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الحج / 8753
Abdullah bin Awn (may Allah have mercy on him) would recite this verse, "And complete the Hajj and the Umrah for Allah" [Surah al-Baqarah: 196], and say: It is obligatory.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الحج / 8754