Q. Having read a Hadith in Al-Bukhari that a pilgrim will be rewarded in proportion to the amount of money he spends and the physical effort he undertakes, my rich friend plans to spend very generously on his pilgrimage and to cover the distance between the different places walking.
Abu Aqeelah
A. While God rewards us richly for doing what He has assigned to us as duties. He also takes into account the trouble we take in order to fulfill these duties. A person, who is in difficult circumstances, trying to save a little every month in order to pay for his journey to offer the pilgrimage, is rewarded for his persistence and determination to perform this duty. An old man who is physically weak and finds the tawaf and sa’ie very tiring, particularly when the area is overcrowded, earns more reward for the extra physical effort he makes. But this does not mean that we should try to tire ourselves out in order to earn more reward. There are plenty of other ways that ensure greater reward.
If we take the case of this rich man, he may decide to fly first class in order to increase his spending on his pilgrimage. But this is wrong. He may get more reward if he flies on a cheaper ticket and gives the difference as sadaqah or charity. Similarly, he gains little by walking from Makkah to Arafat, particularly if he is not used to walking. He could travel in a more comfortable way and, if he wants more reward, he may offer night worship after the pilgrimage is over. What is important to realize is that there is no virtue in deliberately tiring ourselves out. If we have to make a greater effort because of our circumstances, God gives us reward for that, but we do not need to cause ourselves discomfort for that.