Hajj Or Ziyarat? Do the Shi'a value Ziyarat more than Hajj?

Hajj Or Ziyarat? As-salamu alaykum, wa rahmatu Allah. The answer to this question is very simple: Hajj is obligatory, Ziyarah is highly recommended. And so therefore, when an act within the religion of Islam is an act which must be performed, then it it is an obligation upon me which I must fulfill. There are many who think that the Shi'a value Ziyarah of the shrines of Ahl al-Bayt, salawat Allahi wa as-salamu alayhim, above Hajj, and that couldn't be further from the truth. You'll find that many of us will be able to perform Hajj and after performing Hajj will go on Ziyarah.

In my own lifetime, I performed my first Hajj over 15 years ago. And my first Ziyarah of the shrines of Ahl al-Bayt, salawat Allahi wa as-salamu alayhim, was a few years later. I finished the performance of the obligation of Hajj, having had the ability to do so. And then I went on Ziyarah. There isn't a single tradition where you can find an Imam of the Ahl al-Bayt, alayhim as-salam, saying to you that go on Ziyarah ahead of Hajj. Hajji which is wajib, whereas Ziyarah is definitely seen as being higher than a Hajj, which is now mustahhab.

Meaning I have already gone on Hajj once. Now if I go a second time, it becomes a mustahhab Hajj and I can go on Ziyarah, what is higher? That I go on Ziyarah and build my relationship with the second of the Thaqalayin, with the Ahl al-Bayt, salawat Allahi wa as-salamu alayhim. Therefore, for us it is obligatory upon us to perform Hajj. After performing it once, then it is only recommended. And when it comes to recommendations, Ziyarah is more highly recommended.

A person comes to Imam Al-Baqir, alayhi as-salam, and the Imam says to him, how many times have been Hajj? And he said, 19. He said, go one more, and it will equal one Ziyarah of Imam Husayn, alayhi as-salam. He was referring there to the recommended Hajj. Imam Al-Baqir, alayhi as-salam, would never say go on Ziyarah ahead of that Hajj which is wajib.

May Allah, Subhana wa Ta'ala bless us to be able to go on Hajj, and be able to afford Hajj. If we can't, then we can save up. If we can't save up, and Ziyarah is affordable to us, then why not go on Ziyarah? But the obligation of Hajj takes precedence.

Wa as-salamu alaykum, wa rahmatu Allah, wa barakatu.