The Truth About the Reward of Looking at One’s Parents: Hajj Equivalent Myth Debunked

Is the Belief That Looking at Parents Grants Hajj Rewards True? A Comprehensive Analysis

Question: Is it true that looking at one’s parents with love is equivalent to the reward of an accepted Hajj?

Answer: It is widely believed that looking at one’s mother is equivalent to the reward of Hajj, or that looking at one’s parents with love is equivalent to the reward of an accepted Hajj. However, this belief is false. Unfortunately, not only Barelvi scholars but also Deobandi scholars have popularized this false notion in their books and speeches, leading the public to believe it is true.

Such a narration is found in Mishkat (4944), Bayhaqi, and Al-Jami’ Al-Saghir, among others:

((ما من ولد بار ينظر الى والديه نظرة رحمة الا كتب الله له بكل نظرة حجة مبرورة قالوا وان نظر كل يوم مائة مرة؟ قال نعم، الله اكبر وأطيب))

Translation: “Any child who looks at his parents with mercy, Allah writes for him the reward of an accepted Hajj for every look. The companions asked, even if he looks a hundred times a day? He (the Prophet ﷺ) said, yes, Allah is the Greatest and the Purest.”

Sheikh Albani has declared this narration as fabricated in Al-Silsila Al-Da’eefa (6273) and Hidayat Al-Ruwat (4872), meaning it is a false statement. Imam Dhahabi has called it “Munkar” (rejected), and Shu’aib Arna’oot has declared its chain of narration very weak. Therefore, it is not permissible for us to propagate this false statement.

Sheikh Maqbool Ahmed Salafi حفظه الله

(Jeddah Dawah Center – Al-Salamah – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia❫