Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported:
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to a woman from the Ansār—Ibn ‘Abbās named her, but I forgot her name—"What prevented you from performing Hajj with us?" She said: We only had two camels, and the father of her son and her son performed Hajj on one camel and left us a camel to carry water on. He said: "Perform ‘Umrah when Ramadan comes, for ‘Umrah in it is equivalent to Hajj."
Reported by Muslim (No. 1255b), Al-Bukhari (No. 1782), An-Nasa’i (No. 2110), Ibn Majah (No. 2994), Ahmad (No. 1921, 2670) and Ad-Darimi (No. 1785).
On returning from the Farewell Hajj, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to a woman from the Ansār who did not perform Hajj: What prevented you from performing Hajj with us?
Her excuse was that they had two camels; one of which her husband and son performed Hajj on, leaving the other to bring them water from the well.
Thereupon, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed her that ‘Umrah performed during the month of Ramadan is similar in reward to that of Hajj.
Lessons
Merit of performing ‘Umrah during the month of Ramadan.
‘Umrah in Ramadan is equivalent to Hajj in terms of reward, not in discharging the obligation of Hajj.
The reward of deeds increases according to the increase in the excellence of the times in which they are performed. This applies to the deeds performed in Ramadan.
Explanation in Arabic
لمَّا رَجَعَ النبيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم من حَجة الوداع، قال لامرأةٍ من الأنصار لم تحج: ما الذي منعك من الحج معنا؟
فاعتذرت بأن لهم بَعيرين، فحج زوجها وابنها على أحدهما، وترك الآخر ليستقوا به الماء من البئر.
فأخبرها النبي عليه الصلاة والسلام أن أداء العمرة في شهر رمضان يماثل أجرُها أجرَ حجة.
فضيلة العمرة في شهر رمضان.
العمرة في رمضان تساوي حجةً في الثواب، لا في إسقاط فرض الحج.
ثواب الأعمال يزيد بزيادة شرف الأوقات، ومن ذلك الأعمال في رمضان.
