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Fatwa CenterMultiplication of reward for prayer in Makkah and Madeenah
Question
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu. What are the special virtuous deeds that I can do in Makkah and Madeenah? I will be going for ‘Umrah, Allaah willing. My second question is that I heard that one unit of prayer in Makkah equals 1000 in other places. Is this only for the obligatory prayers, or both both the obligatory and the voluntary prayers?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
The rewards of the prayer performed in Makkah are multiplied to one hundred thousand, and those of the prayer performed in Madeenah are multiplied to one thousand. This applies to the obligatory (Fardh) and voluntary (Nawaafil) prayers alike. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, “One prayer in my mosque (in Madeenah) is better than one thousand prayers elsewhere, except in Al-Masjid Al-Haraam (in Makkah), and one prayer in the Al-Masjid Al-Haraam is better than one hundred thousand prayers elsewhere.” [Al-Albaani graded it Saheeh (sound)]
The prominent scholar Al-Munaawi 
wrote, “According to the view of the scholars of our school of Fiqh (the Shaafi'is), the multiplication of rewards applies to both the obligatory and the voluntary prayers. An-Nawawi wrote, ‘What At-Tahaawi and other scholars held, that that the multiplication of rewards applies to the obligatory prayers only, is contrary to the general indication of the reports in this regard.’” [Faydh Al-Qadeer]
For more benefit, please refer to fatwa 190553.
Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:
“The multiplication of the prayer's rewards in Al-Masjid Al-Haraam means that if a person performs an obligatory prayer there, it is better than performing one hundred thousand obligatory prayers elsewhere, and attending one Friday prayer therein is better than attending one hundred thousand Friday prayers elsewhere. And prayer in Al-Masjid An-Nabawi is better than performing a thousand prayers elsewhere. As for the voluntary prayers, the rewards of the voluntary prayers that are prescribed to be performed at the mosque shall be multiplied as well when performed in these blessed places, such as the Taraaweeh prayers in Ramadan, and the two-Rak‘ah (unit of prayer) prayer of greeting the mosque. As for the voluntary prayers that are recommended to be performed at home, such as the Rawaatib (regular voluntary prayers before or after the obligatory prayers) and the like, it is better to perform them at home.” [Ash-Sharh Al-Mumti’]
As for the rest of the good deeds that the Muslim performs in Makkah or Madeenah, the rewards for such deeds are multiplied, but there is no specific amount of increase in this case. Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:
“Someone may ask whether other good deeds performed in Makkah or Madeenah are multiplied in the same manner or not. You should know that the multiplication of the rewards with a specific amount is determined through divine revelation only. It requires evidence (from the Quran or the Sunnah), and there is no room for Qiyaas (analogy) here. If there is authentic evidence indicating that the rewards of other good deeds performed in Makkah or Madeenah are multiplied as well, we should accept it. However, there is no doubt that the places and times affect the multiplication of the rewards. Scholars underlined that rewards of good deeds are multiplied in the blessed places and times; however, the specific amount of multiplication requires specific evidence.”
Allah knows best.
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