Riyad as-Salihin, 1272

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) delivered a Khutbah and said, "O people! Hajj (pilgrimage to the House of Allah) has been made incumbent upon you, so perform Hajj." A man inquired: "O Messenger of Allah, is it prescribed every year?" He (ﷺ) remained silent till the man repeated it thrice. Then he (ﷺ) said, "Had I replied in the affirmative, it would have surely become obligatory, and you would not have been able to fulfill it." Afterwards he said, "Do not ask me so long as I do not impose anything upon you, because those who were before you were destroyed on account of their frequent questioning and their disagreement with their Prophets. So when I order you to do something, do it as far as you can; and when I forbid you from doing anything, eschew it." [Muslim].

وعن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال‏:‏ خطبنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال‏:‏ ‏"‏يا أيها الناس إن الله قد فرض عليكم الحج فحجوا‏"‏ فقال رجل‏:‏ أكل عام يا رسول الله‏؟‏ فسكت، حتى قالها ثلاثًا فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏:‏ ‏"‏لو قلت نعم لوجبت، ولما استطعتم‏"‏ ثم قال‏:‏ ‏"‏ذروني ما تركتكم، فإنما هلك من كان قبلكم بكثرة سؤالهم، واختلافهم على أنبيائهم، فإذا أمرتكم بشيء فأتوا منه ما استطعتم، وإذا نهيتكم عن شيء فدعوه‏"‏‏.‏ ‏(‏‏(‏رواه مسلم‏)‏‏)‏‏.‏

References1 variant

In-Book Reference: Book 10, Hadith 2

Sharh · explanationclick to expand

Guidance from the Hadiths: 1) Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, without which a person’s religion is incomplete. 2) Hajj is obligatory only once in a lifetime. This stems from Allah’s mercy towards His servants, as He does not burden them with anything beyond their capacity and does not put them into hardships. {And He has not placed upon you in the religion any hardship.} 3) Frequent questioning and differing is one of the causes of ruin. 4) A person is required to fulfill the Shariah commands as much as he can. The prohibitions, on the other hand, should be avoided completely. He may not take them lightly.

Related hadiths5