Authenticity of Fajr to Sunrise Sitting and Two Rak‘ahs Equal to Hajj and ‘Umrah Reward

Source: Fatāwā ‘Ilmiyyah, Volume 3 – Issues Related to Prayer, Page 95

The Ḥadīth Mentioned​

First Ḥadīth:


"مَنْ صَلَّى الْغَدَاةَ فِي جَمَاعَةٍ ، ثُمَّ قَعَدَ يَذْكُرُ اللَّهَ حَتَّى تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ ، ثُمَّ صَلَّى رَكْعَتَيْنِ ، كَانَتْ لَهُ كَأَجْرِ حَجَّةٍ وَعُمْرَةٍ"


Translation:
"Whoever performs the Fajr prayer in congregation, then sits remembering Allah until the sun rises, and then prays two Rak‘ahs, will have the reward of a Hajj and ‘Umrah."
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Targhīb: 464)


Second Ḥadīth:


"مَنْ صَلَّى الصُّبْحَ ، ثُمَّ جَلَسَ فِي مَجْلِسِهِ حَتَّى تُمْكِنَهُ الصَّلاةُ ، كَانَتْ بِمَنْزِلَةِ عُمْرَةٍ وَحَجَّةٍ مُتَقَبَّلَتَيْنِ"


Translation:
"Whoever prays the morning prayer, then remains seated in his place until he prays (after the sun rises), it is equivalent to an accepted Hajj and ‘Umrah."
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Targhīb: 468)

The Question:​

If a person does not remain sitting in the same spot where he prayed Fajr but changes his place, will he still receive this reward?

Answer:​

Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ‘alā Rasūlillāh. Ammā ba‘d:

Analysis of the Authenticity:​

• Shaykh al-Albānī (رحمه الله) graded the first narration in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Targhīb as:
  "رواه الترمذي وقال: حديث حسن غريب" – "Narrated by al-Tirmidhī, who said: ‘Ḥadīth Ḥasan Gharīb’" (Vol. 1, p. 318).
• In Sunan al-Tirmidhī (586), this is narrated from Anas ibn Mālik (رضي الله عنه) through Abū Ḍilāl (Hilāl ibn Abī Hilāl al-Qusmullī).

Opinions of Ḥadīth Scholars on Abū Ḍilāl:

• Ḥāfiẓ al-Haythamī (رحمه الله): "وضعفه الجمهور" – "The majority declared him weak." (Majma‘ al-Zawā’id 10/384)
• Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-‘Asqalānī (رحمه الله): "ضعيف" – "Weak" (Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb: 7349)

Thus, according to the majority of ḥadīth scholars, this narration is weak. All its supporting narrations are also weak and rejected. Declaring it ḥasan li-ghayrih (good due to supporting chains) contradicts proper scholarly methodology.

Examination of Other Supporting Narrations:​

• Reported in al-Targhīb wa al-Tarhīb and Ṣaḥīḥ al-Targhīb via al-Awsat of al-Ṭabarānī (6/279–280, ḥadīth 5598).

The Narrator – Faḍl ibn Muwafaq:

• Imām Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī (رحمه الله) said:
  "كان شيخا صالحا، ضعيف الحديث... وكان يروي أحاديث موضوعة"
  – "He was a righteous man but weak in ḥadīth, and would narrate fabricated ḥadīths."
  (Kitāb al-Jarḥ wa al-Ta‘dīl 7/68)

This makes the narration fabricated (mawḍū‘), despite the narrator being pious. A weak narrator’s fabricated narrations cannot be upgraded to ḥasan li-ghayrih.

Benefit:​

From the words of Imām Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī (رحمه الله), we learn that a narration can be considered fabricated not only when a narrator is a liar (kadhdhāb), but sometimes even a weak narrator’s report may be declared fabricated due to strong contextual evidence—if the scholars explicitly state so.

Other Shawaahid (Supporting Chains) Mentioned by Shaykh al-Albānī in al-Silsilah al-Ṣaḥīḥah (3403):​

1. al-Mu‘jam al-Kabīr of al-Ṭabarānī (8/209, ḥadīth 7741) – contains an unknown narrator, Mūsā ibn ‘Alī (al-Khushani). Attempts to identify him as Mūsā ibn ‘Alī ibn Rabāḥ are unproven and rejected.
   
   • Narrated through ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Ṭarā’ifī, who was known for narrating from unknown narrators.
     (al-Kāmil of Ibn ‘Adī 5/1820–1821)
2. al-Mu‘jam al-Kabīr (8/174, ḥadīth 7649) – contains Aḥwaṣ ibn Ḥakīm.
   
   • Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله): "ضعيف الحفظ... وكان عابداً" – "Weak in memory… and devout." (Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb: 290)
   • Ḥāfiẓ al-Haythamī (رحمه الله): "وضعفه الجمهور" – "The majority declared him weak." (Majma‘ al-Zawā’id 3/42)

These weaknesses make the chain unreliable.

A Sound Example:​

From Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (670) and Sunan Abī Dāwūd (1294):
Jābir ibn Samurah (رضي الله عنه) reported:
"When the Prophet ﷺ prayed Fajr, he would remain in his place of prayer until the sun rose well." (Authentic chain)


Also, from Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (720): Performing two Rak‘ahs after sunrise holds great virtue, but without the claim of being equal to Hajj or ‘Umrah.

Conclusion:​

• All narrations claiming that sitting after Fajr until sunrise and then praying two Rak‘ahs is equal to the reward of a Hajj and ‘Umrah are weak and unreliable.
• Therefore, deriving rulings from them is not valid.
• The question about whether changing places would affect the reward is irrelevant, since the original narrations are unauthentic.

وَالله أعلم
8 April 2010