The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) remained for nine years without performing Hajj. Then in the tenth year, he announced to the people that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was going to perform Hajj. Many people came to Madinah, all of them seeking to follow the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and to do as he did. He set out, and we set out with him, until we came to Dhu'l-Hulayfah. There, Asma' bint 'Umays gave birth to Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr. She sent word to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "What should I do?" He said: "Take a bath, bind your waist with a cloth, and enter ihram." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed in the mosque, then mounted al-Qaswa'. When his she-camel stood upright with him on the plain of al-Bayda', Jabir said: I looked as far as my eyes could see before him, and there were riders and those on foot, and to his right was the like of that, and to his left was the like of that, and behind him was the like of that. And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was in our midst, and upon him the Qur'an was being revealed, and he knew its interpretation. Whatever he did, we did the same. He raised his voice in talbiyah with the oneness of Allah: "Labbayka Allahumma labbayk, labbayka la sharika laka labbayk, inna al-hamda wa al-ni'mata laka wa al-mulk, la sharika lak" (Here I am, O Allah, here I am. Here I am, You have no partner, here I am. Verily, all praise and grace belong to You, and the dominion. You have no partner). And the people raised their voices with the talbiyah they were uttering, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not reject any of it from them, and he adhered to his own talbiyah.

Jabir said: We did not intend anything but Hajj; we did not know of 'Umrah. Until, when we came to the House with him, he touched the Black Stone and did ramal (walking briskly) for three circuits and walked normally for four. Then he went to the Maqam of Ibrahim and recited: {And take you (people) the Maqam (place) of Ibrahim as a place of prayer} [Al-Baqarah: 125]. He made the Maqam between him and the House. My father used to say — and I do not know but that he mentioned it from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) — that he used to recite in the two rak'ahs: {Say: O you disbelievers} and {Say: He is Allah, the One}. Then he returned to the House and touched the Black Stone.

Then he went out through the door to al-Safa. When he drew near to al-Safa, he recited: {Verily, al-Safa and al-Marwah are among the symbols of Allah} [Al-Baqarah: 158]. "We begin with what Allah began with."