The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: “Gabriel came to me and told me to command my Companions and everyone with me to raise their voices with the talbiyah and with the proclamation of consecration (ihlal).”
According to the consensus of the scholars, as related by Abū ʿUmar, a woman fulfils the talbiyah by making it audible to herself.
Mālik stated that a pilgrim in ihrām should not raise his voice in congregational mosques; it suffices that those beside him hear him, except in al-Masjid al-Ḥarām and the mosque of Minā, where he may raise his voice.
The majority recommend raising the voice when caravans meet and when the pilgrim ascends a rise in the terrain.
Abū Ḥāzim said: “The Companions of the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—would not reach al-Rawḥāʾ before their throats became hoarse.”
Mālik did not regard the talbiyah as one of the pillars of Hajj, yet he held that whoever omitted it must offer a compensatory sacrifice, whereas others considered it a pillar of the rite.
Those who deem it obligatory argue that whenever the Prophet’s—peace be upon him—actions are performed to clarify a commanded duty, they are to be understood as obligatory unless evidence shows otherwise, citing his statement, “Take your rites from me.” This is also the proof of those who insist that the exact wording must be recited.
Those who do not consider the precise wording obligatory rely on the report narrated by Jābir: “The Messenger of Allah—peace be upon him—proclaimed the ihrām,” where he mentioned the talbiyah reported by Ibn ʿUmar, and then said, “People would add to it, ‘Here I am, O Possessor of the Ascents,’ and similar phrases; the Prophet heard them and did not object.” It is likewise reported that Ibn ʿUmar, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, Anas, and others would add to the talbiyah.
The scholars recommend that the pilgrim begin the talbiyah immediately after a prayer he performs. Mālik preferred that this follow a supererogatory prayer, based on the mursal report he transmitted from Hishām ibn ʿUrwah, from his father: “The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—would pray two rakʿahs in the mosque of Dhū al-Ḥulayfah; once he was seated firmly on his mount, he would commence the proclamation.”
The reports differ concerning the exact spot within Dhū al-Ḥulayfah from which the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—entered ihrām during his Farewell Pilgrimage. Some held that it was from the mosque of Dhū al-Ḥulayfah, after he had prayed therein.