Going out to al-Safa and al-Marwah, performing sa'i between them and remembrance upon them

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah al-Sulami (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came out of the mosque heading towards Safa, I heard him (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Nabda'u bima bada'a Allahu bihi" (We will begin with what Allah began with). And he (peace and blessings be upon him) began with Safa.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood upon Safa, he would say the takbir three times and say: "La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-hamd, wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in qadir" (There is no god worthy of worship except Allah, alone, without partner; to Him belongs the dominion and to Him belongs all praise, and He has power over all things). He would say this three times and supplicate, and on Marwah too he would do the same three times.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came down from Safa, he would walk, until when his feet reached the middle of the valley, he would run (sa'y), until he came out of it.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went out through the door towards Safa, until when he drew near Safa, he (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse: "Indeed, Safa and Marwah are among the symbols of Allah." [Surah Al-Baqarah: 158] "I will begin with what Allah began with." He (peace and blessings be upon him) began with Safa and climbed it, until when he saw the House of Allah, he said the takbir and the tahlil and said: "La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-hamd, yuhyi wa yumit, wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in qadir, la ilaha illallahu wahdah, anjaza wa'dah, wa nasara 'abdah, wa hazama al-ahzaba wahdah" (There is no god but Allah, alone, without partner; to Him belongs the dominion and to Him belongs praise; He gives life and causes death, and He has full power over all things. There is no god but Allah, alone; He fulfilled His promise, helped His servant, and alone defeated all the confederates). Then he supplicated in between, and did this three times. Then he went towards Marwah, until when his (peace and blessings be upon him) feet reached the valley, he (peace and blessings be upon him) ran (sa'y), until when he began to climb, he walked and came to Marwah, and on Marwah he did just as he had done on Safa, until the end of the circuits was at Marwah.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), in the account of the Conquest of Makkah, said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered, began with the Black Stone and kissed it, then performed seven circuits and prayed two rak'ahs behind the Station; then he climbed Safa until he could see the House of Allah, and he praised Allah and supplicated.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came forward until he touched the Black Stone (istilam) and performed tawaf of the House of Allah. When he had finished his tawaf, he climbed Safa until he saw the House of Allah, raised his hands, praised Allah and supplicated with whatever he wished.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the first tawaf of the House of Allah, he would do three circuits with quick steps and four at a slow pace, and when he performed the sa'y between Safa and Marwah, he would run in the valley. Ubaydullah said: I asked Nafi' (may Allah have mercy on him): Did Abdullah walk when he reached the Yemeni Corner? He said: No, unless there was a crowd at the corner, for he would not leave it until he had touched it.

Likewise (through another chain).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: The sa'y (running) is from the house of Banu Abbad to the lane of Banu Abi Husayn.

Wahb bin al-Ajda' said that he heard Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) addressing the people in Makkah. He said: When one of you comes to perform Hajj, let him do seven circuits of the House of Allah and pray two rak'ahs at the Station, then let him begin with Safa, face the qiblah and say seven takbirs, and between every two takbirs praise and extol Allah, send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and supplicate for himself; and let him do the same on Marwah.

Whenever Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) performed the circuits of Safa and Marwah, he would begin with Safa and climb it until the House of Allah came into view, and he would say three takbirs and say: "La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-hamd, wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in qadir" (There is no god but Allah, alone, without partner; to Him belongs the dominion and to Him belongs all praise, and He has full power over all things). He would do this seven times, making twenty-one takbirs and seven tahlils. Then he would supplicate in between and ask of Allah. Then he would come down until, when he reached the middle of the valley, he would run, until he came up out of it; then he would walk on to Marwah and climb it, and do just as he had done on Safa. He would do this seven times until he had finished his sa'y.

Nafi' (may Allah have mercy on him) said that he heard Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) supplicating on Safa, saying: "Allahumma innaka qulta: 'Ud'uni astajib lakum' [Surah Ghafir: 60], wa innaka la tukhlifu al-mi'ad [Surah Al Imran: 194], wa inni as'aluka kama hadaytani lil-Islami an la tanzi'ahu minni hatta tatawaffani wa ana muslim" (O Allah! You have said: 'Call upon Me; I will respond to you' [Surah Ghafir: 60], and 'You do not break the promise' [Surah Al Imran: 194]; and I ask You, just as You have guided me to Islam, not to take this Islam away from me until I die upon Islam).

Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to say on Safa: O Allah! Keep us safe through Your religion and through obedience to You and to Your Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and keep us far from Your limits. O Allah! Make us such that we love You, Your angels, Your prophets and messengers, and Your righteous servants. O Allah! Make us beloved to You, to Your angels, Your messengers, Your prophets and Your righteous servants. O Allah! Make good easy for us and keep us away from evil, forgive us in this world and the Hereafter, and make us leaders of the pious.

Ibn Jurayj (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I said to Nafi' (may Allah have mercy on him): "Is there any saying that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to hold to?" He said: "Do not ask about that; it is not obligatory." But I did not leave him until he told me. He said: "He used to stand for a very long time, so much so that, were it not for our shyness before him, we would have sat down. He would say the takbir 'Allahu akbar' (Allah is the Greatest) three times, then say: 'La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-hamd, wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in qadir' (There is no god but Allah, alone, without partner; to Him belongs the dominion and to Him belongs praise, and He has full power over all things). Then he would make a long supplication, sometimes raising his voice and sometimes lowering it, to the extent that among what he asked, he would ask Him to settle his debt. Then he would say the takbir three times, then say: 'La ilaha illallah' (There is no god but Allah) to the end. Then he would supplicate at length in the same way, until he had repeated this seven times. He did this on Safa and Marwah in every Hajj and Umrah."

Likewise (through another chain).

Nafi' (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) would come to Safa and say: "Allahumma ahyini 'ala sunnati nabiyyika (peace and blessings be upon him), wa tawaffani 'ala millatihi, wa a'idhni min mudillat al-fitan" (O Allah! Keep me alive upon the Sunnah of Your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), cause me to die upon his way (religion), and protect me from misleading trials).

Alqamah and al-Aswad both said that Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) stood at the edge of Safa, and a man said: O Abu Abd al-Rahman! Here? He said: By the One besides whom there is no god, this is the standing place of the one upon whom Surah al-Baqarah was revealed.

Masruq said: I came to greet Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) with salam, and I accompanied Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) until he began the tawaf. He did three circuits with ramal and four walking, then he prayed two rak'ahs behind the Station, then went to the Black Stone and kissed it, then set out towards Safa, stood on the edge of Safa and recited the talbiyah. I said: I have been forbidden from the talbiyah. He said: I command you to do it; the talbiyah was an answered response, the one made by Ibrahim. When he came down into the valley, he ran (sa'y) and said: "Allahumma ighfir warham wa anta al-a'azzu al-akram" (O Allah! Forgive and have mercy, and You are the Most Mighty, the Most Generous).
This is the most authentic of the narrations from Ibn Mas'ud on this matter.

Abu Ishaq said: I heard Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) saying between Safa and Marwah: "Rabbi ighfir warham, wa anta al-a'azzu al-akram" (My Lord! Forgive me and have mercy, and You are the Most Mighty, the Most Generous).

Ibn Abi Najih narrated from his father: A man who saw Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) told me that he would stand in a basin at the foot of Safa and would not climb up onto it.