48 – He begins at Safa, ascending it until he can see the Kaʿbah.1
49 – Facing the Kaʿbah, he affirms Allah’s oneness and magnifies Him, saying three times, “Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.” Then he proclaims:
“There is no god but Allah alone, without partner. His is the dominion and His is the praise; He gives life and causes death, and He is powerful over all things.
There is no god but Allah alone, without partner. He fulfilled His promise, supported His servant, and single-handedly routed the confederates.”2
He repeats this declaration three times, making supplication in between.3
50 – He then descends to perform the sa‘y between Safa and Marwah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Perform sa‘y, for Allah has prescribed sa‘y for you.”4
51 – He walks to the marker set on both the right and the left—known today as the Green Marker—then runs briskly from it to the next marker. In the Prophet’s ﷺ time this was a stony valley strewn with small pebbles, and he ﷺ said, “No one should cross the valley of al-Abtah except at a run.”5
(1) Nowadays the Kaaba can be seen from only a few spots on al-Safa; one may glimpse it through the columns that support the second floor of the mosque. Whoever manages to do so has followed the sunnah; if not, he should do his best and there is no blame.
(2) Al-Adhkar adds the phrase: “la ilaha illa Allah wa la na‘budu illa iyyah…” (there is no god but Allah and we worship none but Him …). I have not found this addition in any version of the hadith recorded by Muslim or the other compilers; it appears only in the long narration of Jabir, contrary to what the commentator’s note—“related by Muslim and …”—might imply.
(3) In other words, between the repetitions of the formula of tawhid one may supplicate for whatever brings good in this world and the next; the best is to use invocations transmitted from the Prophet or the early righteous generations.
(4) The hadith is authentic, contrary to the view of those who considered it otherwise; it is cited in Irwa al-Ghalil, no. 1072.
(5) Related by al-Nasai and others, and also documented in al-Hajj al-Kabir.