Praise to Allah

Hadiths indicate the merit of praying in the Holy House of Allah in Makkah, in the mosque of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and in the mosque in Jerusalem.

According to Abu Hurairah (pbuh), the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, « One prayer in my mosque is worth more than 1000 prayers elsewhere except the Holy Mosque. » (reported by Bukhari, 1133 and Muslim, 1394).

According to Jabir ibn Abd Allah the Messenger of Allah (blessings and salutations be upon him) said, « A prayer in my mosque is worth more than 1000 prayers elsewhere except for the sacred mosque. and a prayer in it is worth more than 100,000 prayers elsewhere. » (reported by Ibn Madja, 1406 and Ahmad, 14847 and authenticated by al-Busayri in az-Zawaid alongside the Sunan of Ibn Madja).

As for the prayer in the al-Aqsa Mosque, the correct opinion about it is that the prayer there is worth a quarter of the merit of the one performed in the mosque of Madinah.

Abu Dharr (pbuh) said, « We remembered in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (sa) the question of which of the Prophet’s (pbuh) mosque and the mosque in Jerusalem was better. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, « A prayer in my mosque is forty times more meritorious than a prayer in Jerusalem. (reported by al-Hakim, 4/509 and authenticated by him, by adh-Dhahabi and by al-Albani in as-Silsala as-Sahiha at the end of the discussion of hadith no. 2902).

As for the famous hadith which states that the prayer there is worth 500 prayers, it is weak.

As for the periodicity of visits to the Holy House of Allah, there is a hadith that says: « Surely Allah says: A faithful servant to whom I have given good health and abundant sustenance and who remains five years without visiting me is a frustrated one. » (reported by Ibn Hibban, 960 and Abu Ya’la, 1/289 and al-Bayhaqi, 5/262 and deemed authentic by al-Albani in as-Silsila as-Sahiha, 1662).

The more often one visits the Sacred House of Allah, the better, in accordance with the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him): « Make the pilgrimage and the Ummah follow one another, for they keep away poverty and sins. » (reported by at-Tirmidhi, 810).

As for the allusion you make in your question about visiting the Ka’bah 7 times in one’s lifetime and the mosque in Jerusalem once, ask the one who taught it to you to point out the source and argument for it by virtue of Allah’s words.   « Say, show your proof. Indeed, it is no longer permissible to declare a practice obligatory or meritorious without a valid argument.

May Allah help you and us to do what He likes and agrees with.

May Allah bless our Prophet Muhammad.

Source : Islamqa.info