Allah says in the Qur'an: "And when you go forth in the land there is no sin upon
you, if you shorten your prayer when you fear the disbelievers may attack you."
This concession is not limited to situations of danger.
Ya'la ibn Umaiyyah said: "I said to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab: 'Explain to me why the
people shorten the salah when Allah says, 'And when you go forth...[the preceding
verse] and those days are gone now!' 'Umar said: 'I wondered about that too and
I mentioned that to the Prophet and he said: "This is a charity that Allah, the
Exalted, has bestowed upon you, so accept His charity.'" This is related by the
group.
At-Tabari records that Abu Munib al-Jarshi mentioned this verse to Ibn 'Umar and
said: "We are safe now and are not in fear, should we, then, shorten the salah'?"
He answered him: "You have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern
(of conduct)."
The issue was also referred to 'Aishah and she said: "The salah was made fard in
Makkah in sets of two rak'at. When the Prophet sallallahu alehi wasallam came to
Medinah, two rak'at were added to each salah except the maghrib salah because it
is the witr of the daytime, and the dawn prayer due to its lengthy Qur'anic recital.
But if one travels, he performs the original prayer [i.e., only two rak'at]." This
is related by Ahmad, alBaihaqi, Ibn Hibban, and Ibn Khuzaimah. Its narrators are
trustworthy.
Ibn al-Qayyim says: "The Prophet would pray only two rak'at for those prayers which
consisted of four, whenever he traveled until he returned to Medinah. And it is
not confirmed that he ever prayed four rak'at [while traveling], and none of the
imams differ on this point, although they do differ about the ruling of shortening
the salah."
'Umar, 'Ali, Ibn Mas'ud, ibn 'Abbas, ibn 'Umar, Jabir and the Hanafi scholars say
that it is fard. The Maliki school holds that it is sunnah mu'akadah (the stressed
one); it is even more emphasized than the congregational salah. If the traveler
cannot find another traveler to lead him in the salah, he may pray by himself as
it is disliked that he should follow one who is a resident [i.e., and pray four
rak'at] according to the Maliki school. The Hanbali school holds that it is preferred
for the person to shorten the prayer rather than to pray the complete salah. The
Shaf'i school has a similar opinion, if the person has traveled a sufficient distance.
The conclusion from the Qur'anic verse is that any traveling, be it long or short,
which falls within the linguistic definition of the word "travel" would suffice
to shorten one's salah, to combine them and to break the fast. There is nothing
in the sunnah which confines this general term to any particular meaning. Ibn al-Munzhir
and others have mentioned more than twenty reports on this point. Here we shall
mention some of the more important reports.
Ahmad, Muslim, Abu Dawud, and al-Baihaqi record that Yahya ibn Yazid said: "I asked
Anas ibn Malik about shortening the prayer, and he said: 'The Messenger of Allah
would pray two rak'at if he had traveled a distance of three miles or farsakh."'
Ibn Hajar writes in Fath al-Bari: "This is the most authentic hadith which states
and clarifies [that question]." The conflict between mile and farsakh is made clear
in Abu Sa'id al-Khudri's statement: "If the Prophet traveled a distance of one farsakh,
he would shorten his prayer." This was related by Sa'id ibn Mansur in his Sunan
and by al-Hafiz ibn Hajar in at-Talkhis, and he implicitly accepted it by not making
any further comments about it. It is well-known that a farsakh equals three miles
and, therefore, Abu Sa'id's hadith removes the confusion which arises from Anas'
hadith when he says that the shortest distance, due to which the Prophet shortened
his prayer, was three miles. One farsakh is equivalent to 5,541 meters while one
mile equals 1,748 meters. The shortest distance which has been mentioned with respect
to the shortening of salah is one mile. This was recorded by Ibn abi Shaibah, with
a sahih chain, on the authority of Ibn 'Umar. Ibn Hazm follows this report, and
argues that if the distance is less than one mile, one is not to shorten the salah,
the Messenger of Allah went to the graveyard of al-Baqi' to bury the dead and (similarly)
he went off to answer the call of nature and did not shorten his salah.
Concerning what some jurists say, namely, that the journey must be at least two
days long or as some say three days, Imam Abu al-Qasim alKharqi's refutation of
their opinion is sufficient for us. In al-Mughni he says: 'I do not find any proof
for what those scholars say. The statements of the (sahabah) companions are contradictory,
and they are not a (conclusive) proof if they differ. Something has been related
from Ibn 'Umar and Ibn 'Abbas which differs from what these scholars use as proof.
Even if that were not the case, their statements do not constitute a proof when
a statement or action of the Prophet himself exists. Even if their statements were
accepted, we would not be able to follow the distance they mentioned due to the
following two reasons. One, they differ from the sunnah that has been related from
the Prophet and from the clear meaning of the Qur'an, as the clear meaning of the
verse allows one to shorten one's salah if one makes any journey upon the earth.
Allah says: "If you journey on the earth, there is no blame upon you if you shorten
your prayer." The condition of there being fear has been deleted as can be seen
in the hadith we recorded from Ya'la ibn Umayyah, and what remains is the clear
meaning of the verse which covers every type of journey. The Prophet said: "The
traveler may wipe over his socks for a period of three days." This shows the length
of time that one may wipe over the socks and it cannot be used as a proof for the
question we are discussing here. One could argue that traveling is less than a three-day
journey on the basis of the hadith: "It is not allowed for any woman who believes
in Allah and the last day to travel a journey of one day, save in the presence of
a male relative." Two, the question of the distance to be traveled is one that may
only be answered by some sort of revelation from Allah, the Exalted [the Qur' an
or Sunnah]; it is not the type of issue which one may address on the basis of personal
reasoning, nor is there any way to derive an analogy. The proofs which exist support
the opinion that shortening the salah is permissible for every traveler, unless
there is some consensus to the contrary."
Similar to that is the traveling by planes, trains, and so forth, or a trip that
is in obedience to Allah, the Exalted, or otherwise. If there is someone whose occupation
requires him to always be traveling, for instance, a pilot, a ship captain, truck
driver, and so on, then he is permitted to shorten his salah or break his fast as
he is truly traveling.
The majority of the scholars are of the opinion that it is permissible to shorten
one's salah when one leaves one's residence and is outside of one's city, and that
is a condition, and he is not to resume his regular salah until he reaches the first
houses of his city.
Ibn al-Munzhir says: "I do not know of the Prophet shortening his salah during any
of his travels until after he had left Medinah."
Anas relates: "I prayed four rak'at at Zhul-Halifah." This is related by the group.
Some of the early scholars say that if one makes the intention to travel, he may
shorten his salah even if he is in his house.
A traveler may shorten his salah as long as he is on a journey. Likewise if he stays
in some place for business or some other affair, then he may shorten his salah as
long as he is there, even for years. If the person intends to stay in a place for
a certain amount of time then, according to Ibn al-Qayyim, he remains a traveler,
regardless of whether he plans to stay there for a long or short time, as long as
he does not plan to stay [i.e., reside and not return] in the place that he has
traveled to. The scholars differ on this point. Summing up and giving his own opinion,
Ibn al-Qayyim says: "The Messenger of Allah stayed in Tabuk for twenty days and
during that time he shortened his salah and he did not say that one may not shorten
his salah if he stays longer than that, although there is agreement that he did
stay there for that period of time."
In Sahih al-Bukhari, it is recorded that Ibn 'Abbas said: "The Prophet stayed, during
some of his journeys, for nineteen day and he prayed only two rak'at. If we stayed
in a place for nineteen days, we would not pray the complete salah. However, if
we stayed longer than that, we would perform the whole salah." Ahmad states that
ibn 'Abbas was referring to the Prophet's stay in Makkah at the time of its conquest
when he said: "The Messenger of Allah stayed in Makkah for eighteen days during
the time of the conquest as he had to go to Hunain and was not planning to stay
there." This is his interpretation of Ibn 'Abbas' statement. Others say that Ibn
'Abbas was referring to the Prophet's stay in Tabuk as Jabir ibn 'Abdullah said:
"The Messenger of Allah stayed in Tabuk for twenty days and performed qasr salah."
Imam Ahmad related this in his Musnad. Al-Miswar ibn Makhramah reports: "We stayed
with Sa'd in some of the cities of ash-Sham [Syria] for forty days, and Sa'd would
perform qasr while we would offer the whole salah." Naf'i relates: "Ibn 'Umar was
in Azerbaijan for six months, as there was snow blocking the pass, and he would
pray two rak'at." Hafs ibn 'Ubaidullah says: "Anas ibn Malik stayed in ash-Sham
for two years and he prayed the salah of a traveler." Anas relates: "The companions
of the Prophet stayed in Ram Hurmuz for seven months and they shortened their salah."
Al-Hassan reports: "I stayed with 'Abdurrahman ibn Samurah for two years in Kabul,
and he shortened his salah but he did not combine the salah." Ibrahim says: "We
resided in Rai for a year or more and in Sijistan for two years . . . [and we prayed
qasr]. This is the guidance of the Prophet and his companions, and this is the correct
position.
Concerning other opinions which people follow Imam Ahmad say: "If a person intends
to stay for four days, he has to offer the whole salah and he may offer qasr if
his intention is for less than that. This is based on an interpretation of the reports
from the Prophet and his companions [i.e., they never intended to stay for longer
than that and would always say: 'We will leave tomorrow,' and so on]. This interpretation
is obviously suspect. The Prophet conquered Makkah and stayed there to establish
Islam, eradicate polytheism, and to guide the Arabs. It definitely goes, without
saying, that such an objective does take more than a day or two to complete. Similarly,
his stay in Tabuk was in preparation for the impending war and he knew that this
might take longer than just four days. In the same way, Ibn 'Umar's stay in Azerbaijan
for six months, and his praying qasr during the entire time was with the knowledge
that it takes more than two or three days for such snow to melt and the pass to
become traversable. The same is the case with Anas' stay of two years in ash-Sham
and his praying qasr and the companions' stay in Ram Hurmuz for seven months while
shortening their prayers. It is well known that activities like theirs, such as
jihad and guarding, took more than four days." The followers of Ahmad maintain:
"If one is staying in a place for the purpose of jihad or due to imprisonment or
sickness, then one may shorten one's salah regardless of whether the person thinks
that such a situation may last for a short time or a long time." This is correct
but there is no proof that such conditions have been stipulated in the Qur'an, Sunnah,
ijma' (consensus), or practice of the Prophet's companions. They argued that such
conditions are based on what is needed for the person to fulfill his need while
remaining a traveler, and that is what is less than four days. His response to them
was: 'From where do you derive those conditions, while the Prophet sallallahu alehi
wasallam stayed for more than four days, shortening his salah, in Makkah and Tabuk,
and he did not mention to anyone anything about it and he never told them that he
never intended to stay for more than four days, even though he knew that the people
would [strictly] follow his actions concerning the salah. They surely followed him
in his shortening of the salah, and he did not object to their praying qasr if they
were to stay for more than four nights. This should be made clear as it is very
important. Similarly, the companions (as-sahabah) followed him in that and he did
not say anything [in objection] to those who prayed with him."
Malik and ash-Shaf'i say: "If one intends to stay for more than four days, he should
perform the whole salah, and if he intends to stay for less than that, he is to
offer qasr."
Abu Hanifah holds: "If one intends to stay for fifteen days, he should do the qasr.
If he intends to stay for less than that, he should not shorten the salah." This
is also the opinion of al-Laith ibn Sa'd, and it has also been related from three
companions: 'Umar, ibn 'Umar, and Ibn 'Abbas.
Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab is of the opinion that: "If you stay for four days, you pray
four rak'at." A statement similar to that of Abu Hanifah's has also been related
from him. 'Ali ibn Abi Talib says that if one stays for ten days, he is to perform
the whole salah, and the same has been related from Ibn ' Abbas .
Al-Hassan says: "One who does not get to his destination or (city of residence)
may shorten salah."
'Aishah says: "One who does not put down his provision is to shorten the salah."
The four imams agree that if one has some need to take care of and always has the
intention of leaving the next day, then he may shorten his salah for as long as
he is in that state. However, according to one statement of ash-Shaf'i, he may do
so only for seventeen or eighteen days and he is not to shorten his salah after
that time. Ibn al-Munzhir states in his Ishraf: "The people of knowledge are in
agreement that a traveler may perform qasr as long as he does not intend to stay
in a place, even though he stays there for years."
The majority of the scholars are of the opinion that it is not disliked to perform
nawafil during the state in which one is shortening his salah. On this point, there
is no difference between regular sunnah prayers and other nawafl.
Al-Bukhari and Muslim record that the Prophet made the ghusl in the house of Umm
Hani on the day of the conquest of Makkah and then he prayed eight rak'at.
Ibn 'Umar reports that the Prophet prayed while riding in whatever direction he
was facing and nodding his head [i.e., for the movements of the salah].
Al-Hassan relates: "The companions of the Prophet while on a journey performed supererogatory
prayers before and after the fard salah."
Ibn 'Umar and others are of the opinion that there are no nawafl, before or after
the fard salah, except for during the middle of the night. He saw some people praying
after the salah and said: "If I were to pray, I would have performed the whole salah
[as obviously that would have taken preference]. O nephew, I accompanied the Messenger
of Allah [on joumeys] and he never prayed more than two rak'at until Allah took
his soul. And I accompanied Abu Bakr and he did not pray more than two rak'at."
He also mentioned the name of 'Umar and 'Uthman, then he recited the verse: "Ye
have indeed in the messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct)." This is
related by al-Bukhari.
Ibn Qudamah combines what al-Hassan and what Ibn 'Umar say by concluding that al-Hassan's
report points to the fact that there is no harm in praying nawafil while traveling,
whereas Ibn 'Umar's report points to the fact that there is no harm in not praying
such nawafil.
There is no harm in traveling on a Friday if it is not during the time of the salah.
'Umar heard a man say: "If today was not Friday, I would have left." 'Umar said:
"Leave. Friday does not keep one from traveling."
Abu 'Ubaidah traveled on Friday and he did not wait for the salah.
Az-Zuhri wanted to travel before noon on Friday and the people mentioned something
to him, and he said: "The Prophet traveled on Friday."
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