The Prophet ﷺ was asked which deeds are best. He replied, "Faith in Allah alone, then jihad, then an accepted pilgrimage which surpasses all other deeds by as much as the distance between the rising and setting of the sun."
عن النبي ﷺ أنه سئل أي الأعمال أفضل؟ قال: إيمان بالله وحده، ثم الجهاد، ثم حجة برة تفضل سائر العمل كما بين مطلع الشمس إلى مغربها.
Imam Ahmad narrated it (19010), and from him Tabarani in Al-Kabir (20/244), from Muhammad bin Jafar, who said, Shuba narrated to us, from Abu Masud, meaning Jareeri, from Yazid bin Abdullah bin Shikhir, from Maiz, and he related it. Abu Masud Jareeri is Saeed bin Iyas Basri, who became confused in his memory three years before his death, and he is among the narrators found in the six major collections, and Shuba narrated from him, as here, before his confusion set in.Abdullah bin Imam Ahmad also narrated it (19011), from Hudba bin Khalid, who said, Waheeb bin Khalid narrated to us, and said, Jareeri narrated to us, from Hayan bin Umayr, who said, Maiz narrated to us, and he related it similarly. Waheeb bin Khalid is among those who heard from Jareeri before his confusion, except that here Jareeri made his teacher Hayan bin Umayr, so perhaps he heard from both teachers.As for Maiz, his lineage is not given. Ibn Abdul-Barr said, as quoted in Tajil, "I have not been able to determine his lineage."Haythami mentioned this hadith in Majma (3/207) and attributed it to Ahmad and Tabarani, saying, "The narrators of Ahmad are the narrators of Sahih." I say, this is what he said, even though Tabarani narrated it through both routes of the Musnad, except that he inserted between Shuba and Abu Masud Jareeri the name "Abu Musa," which is an error. Then he narrated it through a third route, from another direction, from Hudba bin Khalid with his chain, similarly, and attributed Maiz to Banu Tamim.Regarding his saying, "an accepted Hajj," Nawawi said, "The most correct and well known view is that 'accepted' (mabrur) means that which is not mixed with any sin, taken from birr, meaning obedience. It has also been said that it means that which is accepted, and one sign of its acceptance is that the person returns better than he was before. It has also been said that it means that which contains no ostentation. It has also been said that it means that which is not followed by disobedience, and these last two meanings fall within the earlier ones." Sharh Sahih Muslim (9/118).Abu Abbas Qurtubi said in Al-Mufhim (3/463), regarding the sayings mentioned in the interpretation of an accepted Hajj, "They are all close in meaning, namely that it is the Hajj whose obligations have been fully fulfilled, and which was performed in accordance with what was required of the one obligated, in the most complete manner." End of quote.