621 – It is reported from Khuzaymah ibn Thābit (may Allah be pleased with him) that “whenever the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had finished his talbiyah during ḥajj or ʿumrah, he would ask Allah for His good pleasure and for Paradise, and seek refuge, through His mercy, from the Fire.” Narrated by al-Shāfiʿī with a weak chain of transmission (1).

Grade of the ḥadīth:
The report is weak. The author states: “Narrated by al-Shāfiʿī with a weak chain.” In al-Talkhīṣ it is mentioned: “Al-Shāfiʿī transmitted it from Khuzaymah; in its chain is Ṣāliḥ ibn Muḥammad ibn Zāʾidah al-Laythī, a Medinan narrator who is weak.”

Points derived from the ḥadīth:

1. The legitimacy of reciting the talbiyah for either ḥajj or ʿumrah; this was part of the Prophet’s practice, peace be upon him.
2. The recommendation to supplicate after completing the talbiyah, for the talbiyah is the emblem of the rite and among its most excellent acts; therefore, prayers offered afterwards are more likely to be answered.
3. The talbiyah embodies tawḥīd (monotheism), the foundation of the religion; whatever follows it is an occasion when supplication is especially apt to be accepted, so one should seize that opportunity.
4. The merit of asking Allah for His good pleasure and His mercy—which combines the best of this world and the next—and of seeking protection from the Fire, the greatest of evils and calamities.
5. Among the etiquettes of supplication is that the supplicant begin with praise and glorification of Allah Most High; this is a lawful form of seeking nearness and makes the prayer more deserving of a response.