First, he asks for an explanation of the ruling and an elucidation of the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding an 'Umrah in Ramadan being equivalent to a Hajj in other times?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : From Muhammad 'Abd al-Ghani Muhammad, an employee at the cement factory in Riyadh. He says, or he sent this message requesting an answer to his inquiries. First, he asks for an explanation of the ruling and an elucidation of the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding an 'Umrah in Ramadan being equivalent to a Hajj in other times?
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This means that if a person performs 'Umrah in the month of Ramadan, this 'Umrah is equal to a Hajj in reward, not in sufficiency. When we say "not in sufficiency," we mean that it does not suffice for the Hajj; it does not drop the obligatory duty, and the person is not considered to have performed a voluntary Hajj. Rather, this 'Umrah is considered equal to a Hajj in reward solely because it took place in this month, not in terms of sufficiency.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The parallel to this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed that whoever says, "There is no god but Allah, alone, without partner, to Him belongs the dominion and to Him belongs the praise, and He is over all things competent," ten times, is like one who freed four slaves from the descendants of Isma'il.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And this is without doubt in terms of reward, not in terms of sufficiency. Therefore, if a person owed the freeing of four slaves and he said this dhikr, it would not suffice for him, nor for even one slave. We should know the difference between sufficiency and equivalence in reward; equivalence in reward does not necessitate sufficiency. Likewise, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: قل هو الله أحد تعدل ثلث القرأن Say: He is Allah, the One, equals a third of the Qur'an And if a person recited it three times in one rak'ah and did not recite al-Fatihah, it would not suffice, even though it equaled the entire Qur'an when recited three times.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This means that if a person performs 'Umrah in the month of Ramadan, this 'Umrah is equal to a Hajj in reward, not in sufficiency. When we say "not in sufficiency," we mean that it does not suffice for the Hajj; it does not drop the obligatory duty, and the person is not considered to have performed a voluntary Hajj. Rather, this 'Umrah is considered equal to a Hajj in reward solely because it took place in this month, not in terms of sufficiency.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The parallel to this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed that whoever says, "There is no god but Allah, alone, without partner, to Him belongs the dominion and to Him belongs the praise, and He is over all things competent," ten times, is like one who freed four slaves from the descendants of Isma'il.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And this is without doubt in terms of reward, not in terms of sufficiency. Therefore, if a person owed the freeing of four slaves and he said this dhikr, it would not suffice for him, nor for even one slave. We should know the difference between sufficiency and equivalence in reward; equivalence in reward does not necessitate sufficiency. Likewise, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: قل هو الله أحد تعدل ثلث القرأن Say: He is Allah, the One, equals a third of the Qur'an And if a person recited it three times in one rak'ah and did not recite al-Fatihah, it would not suffice, even though it equaled the entire Qur'an when recited three times.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.