I have considered sending out men to the different regions to check on all those who are well off enough but have not made Hajj, and impose the jizyah (tax imposed on Ahl Al-Kitâb  in the Muslim state) on them; they are not Muslims, they are not Muslims.

It is also reported that he said:

If the people abandoned Hajj, we would fight them for it as we fight them for the prayer and zakâh.

It is also reported that he said:

Whoever dies, being well off enough but having never done Hajj, let him die as a Jew if he wishes or as a Christian.

It is reported that Al-Aswad b. Hilâl – Allâh have mercy on him – said to a freedman of his called Miqlâs:

If you died and had never made Hajj, I would not pray over you.

It is reported that Sa’îd b. Jubayr – Allâh have mercy on him – said:

If a neighbor of mine died without ever making Hajj, while being well off enough to do so, I would not pray over him.

It is reported that Mujâhid b. Rûmî said:

I asked Sa’îd b. Jubayr, ‘Abd Al-Rahmân b. Abî Laylâ and Ibn Ma’qal (‘Abdullah Al-Muzanî) about a man who died, being well off enough, but never having made Hajj. Ibn Abî Laylâ said, “I hope that if his next of kin does Hajj on his behalf…” Sa’îd b. Jubayr said, “The Fire, the Fire.” ‘Abdullah b. Ma’qal said, “He died in a state of disobedience to Allâh.”

Al-Khallâl, Al-Sunnah 5:43-47, articles 1572-1576.

More:

1. Umar on the Virtue of Hajj
2. The Tawbah of Zâdhân
3. Dead Hearts and Empty Supplications
4. The Braying Drunkard
5. Hot Fashion

This is from Sayings of the Salaf - English translations of narrations from the Salaf - the earliest believers, our righteous predecessors, and true scholars of Islam. Selected and translated by Owais Al-Hashimi

Who is this travelling party? They replied, “Pilgrims (on Hajj).” He asked them three times, “And nothing else has brought you forth?” They replied, “Nothing else.” He said, “If the travelers [on Hajj] knew who they were coming to, they would feel the delight of having great virtue after forgiveness [from Allâh]. By He in whose hand is ‘Umar’s soul, never does [the pilgrim’s] camel raise its hoof and place it back down except that Allâh raises [the pilgrim] in rank, forgives one of his sins and writes for him a good deed.”

‘Abd Al-Razzâq Al-San’ânî, Al-Musannaf 5: 4, 5.

More:

1. Abandoning Hajj
2. When to Bath
3. Beautiful Cursed Women
4. Umar and the Black Stone
5. My Favorite Illness

This is from Sayings of the Salaf - English translations of narrations from the Salaf - the earliest believers, our righteous predecessors, and true scholars of Islam. Selected and translated by Owais Al-Hashimi

Al-Bukhârî, Al-Sahîh, Chapter on what has been said about the Black Stone.

Points to note

· The illustrious Companion and Caliph ‘Umar reminded us in this narration of the pure belief that benefit and harm are not caused by created objects and thus should not be sought from them. Only Allâh has control over these things.

· We are reminded that acts of worship are taken from Allâh’s Messenger, and a person is not supposed to make up his own way of worship, he must follow the manner of worship that the Prophet taught and practiced.

· We also learn that once an action is confirmed in the Sunnah, the believer submits and complies and practices it because it is confirmed that Allâh’s Messenger did it, even if we don’t know the wisdom behind it.

· This narration is also an example of how a responsible person tries to clarify and do away with any misunderstandings that people may have about matters of faith. The people had recently left their unbelief and polytheism, so ‘Umar wanted to make it clear that kissing the Black Stone is by no means done as an act of devotion to it, as people used to do with their stone idols.

Adapted from Ibn Hajr, Fath Al-Bârî, and other hadîth commentaries.

More:

1. Ignorance and the Sword
2. Wasted Devotion
3. More towards the end
4. Woe to those who Study
5. Opinionated Enemies of the Sunnah

This is from Sayings of the Salaf - English translations of narrations from the Salaf - the earliest believers, our righteous predecessors, and true scholars of Islam. Selected and translated by Owais Al-Hashimi