Reading Kalimah forty times on first Friday of Ramadan

Reading Kalimah forty times on first Friday of Ramaḍān

Question

Is the following narration authentic and should it be circulated: If one prays the first kalimah forty times on the first Friday of Ramaḍān, the person will gain the reward of one complete Ḥajj, and the person who will inform others of this will gain the reward of two complete Ḥajj.

بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم

Answer

We have been unable to locate this narration in the ḥadīth collections and it appears to be a fabrication. Therefore, one should not circulate such narrations or regard them as ḥadīths, without ascertaining the source and authenticity.

There are many authentic virtues of the remembrance of Allah and a person should undertake dhikr in abundance in Ramaḍān as well as outside of Ramaḍān. There are also many authentic narrations regarding the virtues of Ramaḍān as well as the virtues of Friday. There are also established narrations wherein certain deeds have been described as being equivalent to Ḥajj and/or ʿUmrah.

قال الحافظ ابن القیم في المنار المنیف (ص ٥۰): والأحاديث الموضوعة عليها ظلمة وركاكة ومجازفات باردة تنادي على وضعها واختلاقها على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم. وقال (ص ٩٩): ومنها ركاكة ألفاظ الحديث وسماجتها بحيث يمجها السمع ويدفعها الطبع ويسمج معناها للفطن. وقال اللكنوي في الأجوبة الفاضلة (ص ۲۹): ومن ههنا نصوا علی أنه لا عبرة للأحادیث المنقولة في الكتب المبسوطة ما لم یظهر سندها أو یعلم اعتماد أرباب الحدیث علیها وإن كان مصنفها فقیها جلیلا یعتمد علیه في نقل الأحكام وحكم الحلال والحرام۔

Allah knows best

Yusuf Shabbir

2 Ramaḍān 1439 / 18 May 2018