The virtue of walking to perform obligatory acts and its application to Hajj
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The second question of Fatwa No. ( 879 )
Q2: I hope you will clarify the evidence that establishes the superiority of walking to prayer, or to religious obligations such as performing the rites of Hajj, from the Book and the Sunnah. Also, there is a Prophetic hadith to the effect that every step taken to perform a virtue or a religious obligation is considered by Allah as a good deed or charity. Does this apply to performing the rites of Hajj?
A2: General texts have been transmitted regarding the virtue of walking to good and striving for it, and specific texts regarding walking to various types of good. Among these is the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Ya-Sin 36:12] This verse is general in recording the steps taken to prayer in the mosques, to the battlefield for jihad in the path of Allah, and to seeking beneficial knowledge and maintaining family ties. It is also general regarding what a person leaves behind after him, such as endowments, books of knowledge, and righteous children, and the like of these things whose benefit remains for others after his death. Among these is also the saying of Allah the Exalted regarding the mujahideen: [At-Tawbah 9:120]
And His saying, the Exalted, regarding the walking for the Friday prayer and what follows it of dhikr and listening to the khutbah:[Al-Jumu'ah 62:9]. And al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih from Anas ibn Malik, and Mujahid clarified that what is meant by the traces is the steps to the mosques, and al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated from the route of Abu Hurayrah, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah 3:26. And al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 647. And Muslim narrated in his Sahih that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 2699a. And it is established in (Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim) in the context of the hadiths of the Farewell Pilgrimage, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) when she performed 'Umrah from at-Tan'eem after her Hajj: Sahih Muslim 1211r. These texts indicate that the doer of good is rewarded for it and for its means, and that the reward varies according to the variation in expenditure and hardship, whether walking on foot or riding on means of transport, as it varies according to other considerations: such as the nobility of the place and time, and the variation in sincerity, presence of heart, and humility. In summary, the means have the ruling of the ends, and the preliminaries have the ruling of the objectives in the genus of good and evil, sin and reward. However, his Hajj by riding, and likewise his 'Umrah by riding, if he is a non-resident, is better than his Hajj or 'Umrah by walking; because that is in accordance with the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: [Al-Ahzab 33:21]. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Q2: I hope you will clarify the evidence that establishes the superiority of walking to prayer, or to religious obligations such as performing the rites of Hajj, from the Book and the Sunnah. Also, there is a Prophetic hadith to the effect that every step taken to perform a virtue or a religious obligation is considered by Allah as a good deed or charity. Does this apply to performing the rites of Hajj?
A2: General texts have been transmitted regarding the virtue of walking to good and striving for it, and specific texts regarding walking to various types of good. Among these is the saying of Allah the Exalted:
Indeed, it is We who bring the dead to life and record what they have put forth and what they left behind, and all things We have enumerated in a clear register.
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نُحْيِي الْمَوْتَى وَنَكْتُبُ مَا قَدَّمُوا وَآثَارَهُمْ وَكُلَّ شَيْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَاهُ فِي إِمَامٍ مُبِينٍIt was not [proper] for the people of Madinah and those surrounding them of the bedouins that they remain behind after [the departure of] the Messenger of Allah or that they prefer themselves over his self. That is because they are not afflicted by thirst or fatigue or hunger in the cause of Allah, nor do they tread on any ground that enrages the disbelievers, nor do they inflict upon an enemy any infliction but that is registered for them as a righteous deed. Indeed, Allah does not allow to be lost the reward of the doers of good.
مَا كَانَ لأَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُمْ مِنَ الأَعْرَابِ أَنْ يَتَخَلَّفُوا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَلاَ يَرْغَبُوا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ لاَ يُصِيبُهُمْ ظَمَأٌ وَلاَ نَصَبٌ وَلاَ مَخْمَصَةٌ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَلاَ يَطَئُونَ مَوْطِئًا يَغِيظُ الْكُفَّارَ وَلاَ يَنَالُونَ مِنْ عَدُوٍّ نَيْلا إِلا كُتِبَ لَهُمْ بِهِ عَمَلٌ صَالِحٌ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُحْسِنِينَAnd His saying, the Exalted, regarding the walking for the Friday prayer and what follows it of dhikr and listening to the khutbah:
O you who have believed, when [the adhan] is called for the prayer on the day of Jumu'ah [Friday], then proceed to the remembrance of Allah and leave trade. That is better for you, if you only knew.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا نُودِيَ لِلصَّلاةِ مِنْ يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ فَاسْعَوْا إِلَى ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَذَرُوا الْبَيْعَ ذَلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَThat the Banu Salimah intended to move from their homes and settle near the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) disliked that they would abandon their homes, so he said: Do you not consider your footprints?
أن بني سلمة أرادوا أن يتحولوا عن منازلهم فينزلوا قريبًا من النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: فكره النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أن يعروا منازلهم فقال: ألا تحتسبون آثاركمWhoever goes to the mosque in the morning or in the evening, Allah will prepare for him a lodging in Paradise every time he goes in the morning or in the evening.
من غدا إلى المسجد أو راح أعد الله له نزلاً في الجنة كلما غدًا أو راح(peace and blessings be upon him) said:
The reward of the prayer offered by a person in congregation is twenty five times greater than that of the prayer offered in one's house or in the market (alone). And this is because if he performs ablution and does it perfectly and then proceeds to the mosque with the sole intention of praying, then for every step he takes towards the mosque, he is upgraded one degree in reward and his one sin is taken off (crossed out) from his accounts (of deeds). When he offers his prayer, the angels keep on asking Allah's Blessings and Allah's forgiveness for him as long as he is (staying) at his Musalla. They say, 'O Allah! Bestow Your blessings upon him, be Merciful and kind to him.' And one is regarded in prayer as long as one is waiting for the prayer.
صلاة الرجل في الجماعة تضعف عن صلاته في بيته وفي سوقه خمسًا وعشرين ضعفًا، وذلك أنه إذا توضأ فأحسن الوضوء ثم خرج إلى المسجد لا يخرجه إلا الصلاة لم يخط خطوة إلا رفع له بها درجة، وحط عنه بها خطيئة، فإذا صلى لم تزل الملائكة تصلي عليه ما دام في مصلاه: اللهم صل عليه، اللهم ارحمه. ولا يزال أحدكم في صلاة ما انتظر الصلاةhe who treads the path in search of knowledge, Allah would make that path easy, leading to Paradise for him
من سلك طريقًا يلتمس فيه علمًا سهل الله له به طريقًا إلى الجنةand (the reward of this Umra) is for you equal to your hardship or your spending
أجرك على قدر نصبك أو نفقتكThere has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern
لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.