The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Whoever circles the House seven times without engaging in idle talk during it, it is equivalent to freeing a slave."
قال رسول الله ﷺ: من طاف حول البيت أسبوعا لا يلغو فيه كان كعدل رقبة يعتقها.
No references are available.
Tabarani reported it in Kabir (20/360), and from him Abu Naeem in Marifat al-Sahabah (2601/5), and Hakim (3/457), all of them via Ali bin Abdul-Aziz, who said, Abu Naeem told us, who said, Harith bin Saaib told us, who said, Muhammad bin Munkadir told us, from his father, and he related the hadith.Abu Naeem said, Shubah also reported it from Muhammad bin Munkadir in similar fashion. He then reported it through Wahb bin Jareer, from Shubah, from Muhammad bin Munkadir, from his father, with the wording, "Whoever performs tawaf around the House is like one who frees a slave."Munziri mentioned it in Targheeb wal-Tarheeb (1784) and attributed it to Tabarani, saying, "Its narrators are trustworthy." Haythami said the same in Majmu (245/3), and Ibn Hajar said the same in Mukhtasar Targheeb wal-Tarheeb (99-100).Abu Naeem here is Fadl bin Dukayn, one of the senior teachers of Bukhari. Its chain is hasan because of Harith bin Saaib, for his hadith are graded hasan, and he has been corroborated.Munkadir is Ibn Abdullah bin Hudayr Qurashi Taymi. There is disagreement about his companionship. Tabarani and Abu Naeem listed him among the companions, as mentioned above, and Hakim, in Mustadrak (456/3), transmitted with his chain from Musab bin Abdullah that "he met the Prophet ﷺ and heard from him." Ibn Hajar included him in Isabah in the first section, meaning he affirmed his companionship definitively.However, Ibn Abdul-Barr said in Istiab (1578), "He narrated from the Prophet ﷺ. His hadith is considered mursal by them, and his companionship is not firmly established, though he was born during the time of the Prophet."The one who affirms takes precedence over the one who denies. Moreover, Ibn Abdul-Barr himself acknowledged that he was born during the time of the Prophet ﷺ, only claiming that his hadith is mursal, meaning that he had not yet reached an age of discernment. Yet Hakim's report from Musab bin Abdullah, that "he met the Prophet ﷺ and heard from him," is explicit that he had indeed reached discernment. And Allah knows best what is correct.