the Prophet’s command, and in following his sunnah and the practice of his Companions. Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “We would raise our voices in it with great intensity.” (1) No stone, clod of earth, or tree hears the voice of one reciting the talbiyah without bearing witness for him on the Day of Resurrection, saying: “I bear witness that this person performed Hajj while reciting the talbiyah.” (2) Regrettably, many pilgrims raise their voices in the talbiyah only rarely.

If someone were to ask: Did the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) not say to his Companions when they proclaimed Allah’s greatness during a journey with him, “O people, be gentle with yourselves”—that is, do not overburden yourselves—“for you are not calling upon one who is deaf or absent. Indeed, the One whom you call upon is closer to each of you than the neck of his riding animal”? (3)

We say: The talbiyah, however, has a special status, because it is among the rites of Hajj, and so it is recited aloud. Or it may be said that the Prophet’s instruction for them to be gentle with themselves was because they had been raising their voices excessively, in a manner that caused them hardship.

His statement, “The woman recites it quietly,” means that she recites it softly, because a woman is commanded to lower her voice in gatherings of men. Therefore, she should not raise her voice in this, just as