The Prophet Muhammad's Hajj

In the year 10 AH the prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) performed Hajjat al-Wida(final Hajj) for the first and only time. In the wake of his realization that this was his final pilgrimage, he devised a model for the ceremony that future generations could follow, which was later documented in the Hadith literature. It is widely believed that he died in Madinah less than three months after the conclusion of the pilgrimage, marking the culmination of his life's work in many respects.

How Many Times Did Prophet Perform Hajj 

There is widespread agreement among Islamic scholars and Historians that the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) performed only one Hajj after his migration, and that this was the first. There are several perspectives on Hajj that can be considered prior to migration:

Twice Before Migration

According to Jabir ibn Abdullah, the Prophet performed Hajj twice before migrating.  

The Prophet performed Hajj three times. He performed Hajj twice before his emigration, and he performed one Hajj after he emigrated, and these were accompanied by Umrah. During his lifetime, the Prophet performed Hajj three times. He performed Hajj twice before emigration and two more times after emigration, each time with the assistance of Umrah. (Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 815)

Three Times

According to Abdullah ibn Abbas I, the Prophet performed Hajj three times after receiving the prophetic announcement and before emigrating to Mecca and Medina.

Each Year

According to renowned scholar Ali ibn al-Athir V, the prophet performed Hajj on an annual basis before migrating to Mecca. Imam ibn Hajar al-Asqalani V expresses his support for this point of view in the following way:

The Prophet ﷺ performed Hajj every year prior to the migration, never missing the Hajj once whilst in Makkah. Even during Jahiliyyah, the Quraysh never failed to perform the pilgrimage. Only those who weren’t present in Makkah or were sick missed it. Therefore, if those from the pre-Islamic era never missed the Hajj and saw it as their distinction over others, how can we accept that the Prophet ﷺ ever missed the Hajj? Especially when it is proven from the Hadith of Jubayr ibn Mut’im I that during the era of Jahiliyyah he witnessed the Prophet ﷺ standing (performing Wuquf) at Arafat.