Allah said,
﴿وَإِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ﴾
(And when you Darabtum in the land,) meaning if you travel in the land. In another
Ayah, Allah said,
﴿أَن سَيَكُونُ مِنكُمْ مَّرْضَى وَءَاخَرُونَ
يَضْرِبُونَ فِى الاٌّرْضِ يَبْتَغُونَ مِن فَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَءَاخَرُونَ﴾
(He knows that there will be some among you sick, others Yadribuna (traveling) through
the land, seeking of Allah's bounty...) ﴿73:20﴾. Allah's statement,
﴿فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَن
تَقْصُرُواْ مِنَ الصَّلوةِ﴾
(there is no sin on you if you shorten the Salah (prayer)) by reducing (the units
of the prayer) from four to two. Allah's statement,
﴿إِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَن يَفْتِنَكُمُ الَّذِينَ
كَفَرُواْ﴾
(if you fear that the disbelievers may put you in trial (attack you)), refers to
the typical type of fear prevalent when this Ayah was revealed. In the beginning
of Islam, and after the Hijrah, Muslims used to experience fear during most of their
travels. Rather, they restricted their movements to large or short military expeditions.
During that era, most areas were areas of combatant enemies of Islam and its people.
But when the prevalent circumstances cease, or a new situation is prevalent, decrees
of this nature may not be understood, as Allah said;
﴿وَلاَ تُكْرِهُواْ فَتَيَـتِكُمْ
عَلَى الْبِغَآءِ إِنْ أَرَدْنَ تَحَصُّناً﴾
(And force not your slave girls to prostitution, if they desire chastity). And His
saying;
﴿وَرَبَائِبُكُمُ اللَّـتِى فِى حُجُورِكُمْ
مِّن نِّسَآئِكُمُ﴾
(And your stepdaughters, under your guardianship, born of your wives whom you have
gone into) Imam Ahmad recorded that Ya`la bin Umayyah said, "I asked `Umar bin Al-Khattab
about the verse:
﴿فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَن
تَقْصُرُواْ مِنَ الصَّلوةِ إِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَن يَفْتِنَكُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ﴾
(there is no sin on you if you shorten the prayer. If you fear that the disbelievers
may put you in trial,) e `Allah granted Muslims safety now' `Umar said to me, `I
wondered about the same thing and asked the Messenger of Allah about it and he said,
«صَدَقَــةٌ تَصَدَّقَ اللهُ بِهَا
عَلَيْكُمْ فَاقْبَلُوا صَدَقَتَه»
(A gift that Allah has bestowed on you, so accept His gift).'' Muslim and the collectors
of Sunan recorded this Hadith. At-Tirmidhi said, "Hasan Sahih''. `Ali bin Al-Madini
said, "This Hadith is Hasan Sahih from the narration of `Umar, and it is not preserved
by any other route besides this one, and its narrators are all known.'' Abu Bakr
Ibn Abi Shaybah recorded that Abu Hanzalah Al-Hadha' said, "I asked Ibn `Umar about
the Qasr prayer and he said, `It consists of two Rak`ahs.' I said, what about Allah's
statement,
﴿إِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَن يَفْتِنَكُمُ الَّذِينَ
كَفَرُواْ﴾
(if you fear that the disbelievers may put you in trial (attack you),) `We are safe
now.' He said, `This is the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah .'''. Al-Bukhari recorded
that Anas said, "We went out with the Messenger of Allah from Al-Madinah to Makkah;
he used to pray two Rak`ahs until we went back to Al-Madinah.'' When he was asked
how long they remained in Makkah, he said, "We remained in Makkah for ten days.''
This was recorded by the Group. Imam Ahmad recorded that Harithah bin Wahb Al-Khuza`i
said, "I prayed behind the Prophet for the Zuhr and `Asr prayers in Mina, when the
people were numerous and very safe, and he prayed two Rak`ahs.'' This was recorded
by the Group, with the exception of Ibn Majah. Al-Bukhari's narration of this Hadith
reads, "The Prophet led us in the prayer at Mina during the peace period by offering
two Rak`ahs. ''
﴿وَإِذَا كُنتَ فِيهِمْ
فَأَقَمْتَ لَهُمُ الصَّلَوةَ فَلْتَقُمْ طَآئِفَةٌ مِّنْهُمْ مَّعَكَ وَلْيَأْخُذُواْ
أَسْلِحَتَهُمْ فَإِذَا سَجَدُواْ فَلْيَكُونُواْ مِن وَرَآئِكُمْ وَلْتَأْتِ طَآئِفَةٌ
أُخْرَى لَمْ يُصَلُّواْ فَلْيُصَلُّواْ مَعَكَ وَلْيَأْخُذُواْ حِذْرَهُمْ وَأَسْلِحَتَهُمْ
وَدَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لَوْ تَغْفُلُونَ عَنْ أَسْلِحَتِكُمْ وَأَمْتِعَتِكُمْ
فَيَمِيلُونَ عَلَيْكُمْ مَّيْلَةً وَحِدَةً وَلاَ جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِن كَانَ بِكُمْ
أَذًى مِّن مَّطَرٍ أَوْ كُنتُم مَّرْضَى أَن تَضَعُواْ أَسْلِحَتَكُمْ وَخُذُواْ حِذْرَكُمْ
إِنَّ اللَّهَ أَعَدَّ لِلْكَـفِرِينَ عَذَاباً مُّهِيناً ﴾
(102. When you (O Messenger Muhammad ) are among them, and lead them in Salah, let
one party of them stand up ﴿in prayer﴾ with you, taking their arms with them; when
they finish their prostrations, let them take their positions in the rear and let
the other party come up which have not yet prayed, and let them pray with you, taking
all the precautions and bearing arms. Those who disbelieve wish, if you were negligent
of your arms and your baggage, to attack you in a single rush, but there is no sin
on you if you put away your arms because of the inconvenience of rain or because
you are ill, but take every precaution for yourselves. Verily, Allah has prepared
a humiliating torment for the disbelievers.)