The Prophet's ﷺ Guidance in Hajj

The section of Zad al-Ma'ad on the Prophet's ﷺ guidance in Hajj is among the most detailed accounts of the prophetic pilgrimage in classical Islamic scholarship. Ibn al-Qayyim draws on the foundational hadith of Jabir ibn Abdullah, recorded in Sahih Muslim, which is the most comprehensive single narration of the Prophet's ﷺ Farewell Pilgrimage — covering every rite and station in sequence — and supplements it with other authentic narrations to provide a complete picture.

The Prophet ﷺ set out for Hajj on the 25th of Dhul-Qa'dah in the 10th year of Hijra, entering the state of ihram at the Miqat (the designated station for assuming the pilgrim's state) of Dhul-Hulayfah, approximately nine kilometers from Medina. He bathed, applied scent, and put on the two unstitched white cloths of ihram — a garment that symbolizes the equality of all pilgrims before Allah and anticipates the shroud of death. His talbiyah — 'Labbayk Allahumma labbayk, labbayka la sharika laka labbayk, inna al-hamd wal-ni'mata laka wal-mulk, la sharika lak' (Here I am, O Allah, here I am; here I am, You have no partner, here I am; indeed, all praise and blessing belong to You and all sovereignty — You have no partner) — was recited continuously throughout the journey.

Upon arriving in Mecca, the Prophet ﷺ performed tawaf al-qudum (the arrival circumambulation) — seven circuits around the Kaaba, beginning and ending at the Black Stone (al-Hajar al-Aswad), which he touched or pointed to at the beginning of each circuit while saying 'Bismillah, Allahu Akbar'. The first three circuits he performed at a brisk pace (raml), the last four at a walking pace. This practice of raml dates from the Madinan period when the Prophet ﷺ commanded the Companions to demonstrate their physical strength to the Quraysh by moving briskly.

The sa'i — seven circuits between the hills of Safa and Marwa — commemorates the actions of Hajar (Hagar), the mother of Ismail, who ran between these two hills in desperate search of water for her infant. The Prophet ﷺ began at Safa, ascending it and facing the Kaaba while making supplication, then walked (at a rapid pace between the two green markers) to Marwa, ascending it and making supplication — repeating this seven times, ending at Marwa.

The spiritual apex of Hajj is the wuquf at Arafat — the standing on the plain of Arafat on the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah. The Prophet ﷺ described it: 'Hajj is Arafat.' The pilgrims stand or sit in the open plain from midday until sunset, engaged in continuous dhikr, supplication, and recitation of the Quran, in a collective expression of human dependence on Allah that has no parallel in any other religious practice. The Prophet ﷺ said of this day: 'There is no day on which Allah frees more people from the Fire than the Day of Arafat.' (Muslim.)

The Prophet ﷺ instructed: 'Take your rites from me' — establishing that every detail of the Hajj as he performed it is a binding part of the pilgrimage. Ibn al-Qayyim's meticulous documentation of each rite serves precisely this purpose: to preserve the prophetic template of the pilgrimage in all its particularity, so that every Muslim who performs Hajj participates in the same sacred rites in the same sacred places in the same manner as the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions.