132. Shortening Prayers (qasr) while travelling in peace-time consists of
praying two rak'ahs at those appointed times when one is normally required to
pray four rak'ahs. The form of qasr during a state of war has not been specified.
Prayers should, therefore, be performed as circumstances permit. People should
pray in congregation if possible, otherwise individually. If it is not possible
to turn towards the qiblah, one may keep the direction in which one happens
to be facing. One may even pray while seated either on the back of an animal
or on a vehicle. If actual bowing and prostrating are not possible, they may
be performed with hand signals. If absolutely necessary, one may even pray while
walking. One may also pray even though one's clothes are soiled with blood.
If, in spite of these relaxations, a man still fails to manage to perform a
Prayer within the prescribed time, he may defer it, following the precedent
set by the Prophet (peace be on him) during the Battle of the Ditch.
There is disagreement as to whether one should also perform the sunnah (recommended)
Prayers, or confine oneself to the obligatory ones. It is established that the
practice of the Prophet (peace be on him) was to keep up the sunnah connected
with the fajr (morning) Prayers, and with the witr in the 'isha' (evening) Prayers.
At the other prescribed times, he performed only the obligatory Prayers. He
did, however, perform the nafl (supererogatory) Prayers whenever he had the
chance to do so, sometimes even while he was mounted. For this reason 'Abd Allah
b. 'Umar expressed the opinion that one ought not to perform the sunnah Prayers
while travelling, except for the sunnah in the fajr Prayers. But a majority
of scholars consider both the performance and the omission of these Prayers
as equally permissible, leaving the matter entirely to the discretion of the
individual. The opinion held by the Hanafi school, however, is that it is preferable
for a traveller actually on the move to omit the sunnah Prayers, but when he
makes an overnight stop and is at his ease (even though in the legal sense he
may still be a traveller), their performance is preferable.
According to some eminent jurists, journeys on which one may resort to qasr
are those characterized as being fi sabil Allah (in the cause of God), such
as military expeditions, Pilgrimage, the quest for knowledge, and so on. This
is the judgement of 'Abd Allah b. 'Umar, 'Abd Allah b. Mas'ud and 'Ata'. On
the other hand, Shafi'i and Ahmad b. Hanbal are of the view that such permission
extends to all journeys undertaken for lawful purposes, though not to those
undertaken for unlawful purposes: indeed, if one travels for illegitimate purposes,
one has no right whatever to benefit from the relaxation of qasr. Hanafi jurists,
however, do not connect qasr with the purpose of the journey; they consider
it lawful on all journeys, regardless of the purposes for which they are undertaken.
They hold that a traveller may be either rewarded or punished by God, depending
on his purpose in travelling. That, however, has nothing to do with the permissibility
of qasr. (See the commentaries on the verse by Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir and Jassas.
See also Ibn Rushd, Biddy at al-Mujtahid, vol. 1, p. 163 - Ed.)
Other eminent jurists have inferred from the words: 'And there is no blame on
you . . . ' that qasr is not obligatory for a traveller: it is merely permitted.
A person may avail himself of it if he chooses, and he may also perform his
Prayers normally if he so wishes. This is the view of Shafi'i, even though he
considers qasr recommended and holds its omission to be tantamount to failure
to adopt the preferable alternative. According to Ahmad b. Hanbal, however,
while qasr is not obligatory, its omission falls under the category of disapproved
acts. In Abu Hanifah's opinion, qasr is obligatory, and according to one report,
Malik is of the same opinion. (See the commentaries on the verse by Qurtubi,
Jassas and Ibn al-'Arabi. See also al-Fiqh 'aid al-Madhdhib al-Arba'ah, vol.
1, p. 471, and n. 1, pp. 471-3 and Ibn Rushd, vol. 1, p. 161 - Ed.) It is established
by the Hadith that the Prophet (peace be on him) always shortened his Prayers
during his journeys. There is no reliable tradition to the effect that the Prophet
(peace be on him) ever prayed four full rak'ahs in these circumstances. Ibn
'Umar states that he accompanied the Prophet (peace be on him) as well as Abu
Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthman on their journeys, and never saw any of them fail to
shorten their Prayers. A number of authentic traditions which have come down
from Ibn 'Abbas and several other Companions corroborate this. When 'Uthman
prayed four rak'ahs in Mina on the occasion of Hajj, some Companions objected
to his not shortening the Prayer. 'Uthman convinced them that he had not made
any mistake in so doing by arguing that he had got married in Makka and he had
heard from the Prophet (peace be on him) that the place a person married in
was in a sense his home. In that respect he was, therefore, not a traveller.
(See the commentaries on the verse by Qurtubi, Jassas and Ibn Kathir, and the
chapters on 'Salat al-Qasr' in the major collections of Hadith - Ed.)
In opposition to these numerous traditions are two from 'A'ishah which indicate
that it is equally valid both to shorten the Prayers and to do them in full.
These traditions, however, have weak links in their transmission and are also
opposed to the authenticated practice of 'A'ishah herself. It is also true that
there are intermediary states between travel and non-travel. During a temporary
stop, it is quite proper for a man to shorten his Prayers on some occasions
and on others to complete them. It depends upon the circumstances. It is probably
in this context that 'A'ishah states that the Prophet (peace be on him) sometimes
shortened his Prayers and sometimes performed them in full.
The Qur'anic expression in the verse 'there shall be no blame' also occurs in
the Qur'anic verse on the ritual of running between Safa and Marwah
see (Surah al-Baqarah 2: 158). The actual words used in both verses apparently mean that
these acts were not blameworthy even though the running, as we know, is part
of the prescribed rites of Pilgrimage and is obligatory: We can appreciate the
significance of both these Qur'anic verses if we remember that the purpose in
each case is to dispel the misunderstanding that the acts concerned might either
entail some sin or jeopardize a man's reward.
Another question in. regard to qasr is: What is the minimum travelling distance
in which Prayers may be shortened? The Zahiri school recognizes no limit at
all: any travelling validates the shortening of Prayers. According to Malik,
however, one may not shorten Prayers if the distance involved is either less
than forty-eight miles (seventy-seven kilometers) or involves travelling for
less than a day and a night. This is also the opinion of Ahmad b. Hanbal and
Ibn 'Abbas and a statement in support of it has also come down from Shafi'i.
The Companion Anas considers it permissible to shorten Prayers if the travelling
distance is fifteen miles. Awza'i, Zuhri and 'Umar consider one day's travelling
to be sufficient; Hasan al-Basri says that the journey should be two days long,
and Abu Yusuf says that it should be more than two days. According to Abu Hanifah,
one may shorten the Prayers on any journey in which one has to travel for three
days either on foot or by camel, i.e. a distance of eighteen farsakh. Ibn 'Umar,
Ibn Mas'ud and 'Uthman agree with this view. (See the commentary on the verse
by Qurtubi and Jassas. See also al-Fiqh 'aid al-Madhahib al-Arba'ah, vol. 1,
pp. 472 ff. and Ibn Rushd, vol. 1, pp. 163 ff. - Ed.)
If one stops over en route to one's destination, how long may one stay in one
place and still be allowed to shorten one's Prayers? On this question, too,
a variety of opinions have been expressed. Ahmad b. Hanbal is of the opinion
that if a man decides to stay for four days, he should perform his Prayers in
full. Malik and Shafi'i are of the opinion that a man may not shorten his Prayers
if he decides to stay at a place for more than four days. Awza'i and Abu Hanifah
are respectively of the opinion that if a person intends to stay at a place
for more than thirteen or fifteen days, he should pray in full. No categorical
injunction has come down from the Prophet (peace be on him) on this matter.
All jurists agree, however, that if a man has been held up somewhere and cannot
proceed because of some constraint, he may shorten his Prayers indefinitely
provided he is in a constant state of readiness to undertake the journey back
to his home as soon as the constraint is removed. Instances are reported of
Companions who continued to shorten their Prayers for two years in this kind
of circumstance. Treating the situation of a prisoner as analogous to this,
Ahmad b. Hanbal holds that he may shorten his Prayers throughout the period
of his imprisonment. (For legal discussions on the questions discussed here
see the commentaries on the verse by Ibn Kathir, Jassas, Qurtubi and Ibn al-'Arabi.
See also Ibn Rushd, vol. 1, pp. 160-5 - Ed.)
133. The Zahiris and Khawarij have interpreted this to signify that the injunction of shortening Prayers is confined to war-time alone and that it is against the Qur'an to shorten Prayers while travelling in peace-time. But it is established by an authentic tradition that when 'Umar mentioned this misgiving to the Prophet (peace be on him), he said: "This is a charitable gift to you from God, so accept His charitable gift.' (Muslim, 'Salat al-Musafirin', 12; Abu Da'ud, 'Salat al-Safar', 1; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 3, pp. 129 and 190 - Ed.) It is more or less established by an overwhelmingly large number of traditions that the Prophet (peace be on him) shortened his Prayers in times of both war and peace. Ibn 'Abbas states categorically that the Prophet (peace be on him) left Madina with the intention of performing Pilgrimage to the Ka'bah, and during this journey he prayed two rak'ahs (instead of four) even though he could have nothing to fear except God. (See Nasa'i, 'Taqsir al-Salah', 1 - Ed.) It is for this reason that I have added the word 'especially' in brackets to the text of the translation:
134. These words have led Abu Yusuf and Hasan b. Ziyad to the view that Prayer in a state of insecurity was confined to the time of the Prophet (peace be on him) alone. There are numerous examples, however, where a Qur'anic injunction was addressed specifically to the Prophet (peace be on him), yet holds good for the succeeding periods. Moreover, it is established that many outstanding Companions also resorted to this form of Prayer, even after the death of the Prophet (peace be on him), and there are no reports of disagreement on this question among the Companions. (For discussion see Jassas, vol. 2, pp. 261-3 and Ibn Rushd, vol. 1, p. 169-Ed.)
135. This injunction regarding Prayer in a state of either fear or insecurity (salat al-khawf) refers to the time when an enemy attack is anticipated, but the fighting has not yet begun. When fighting is taking place the ruling of the Hanafi school is that Prayer may be deferred. Malik and Thawri are of the opinion that if it is not possible to bow and prostrate in Prayer, it is enough to perform these actions by means of signs. Shafi'i argues that should the need arise, one might even fight while still in the state of Prayer. It is an established fact that on four occasions during the Battle of the Ditch the Prophet (peace be on him) missed Prayers during the appointed times, but performed them subsequently in their correct sequence, even though the above-mentioned injunction regarding Prayer in the state of insecurity had already been revealed. (See Jassas, vol. 2, pp. 263 ff. - Ed.)
136. The actual form of congregational Prayer in the state of insecurity
depends, to a large extent, on the actual state of the hostilities. The Prophet
(peace be on him) prayed variously under different conditions. A Muslim commander
may use his discretion and adopt whichever of the following forms of Prayer
seems to him most in keeping with the actual circumstances of the conflict:
(1) That a group of soldiers may pray behind the Prayer-leader, while the rest
take their positions against the enemy. When one rak'ah is completed, the first
group may disperse to be replaced in the Prayer by those who were at battle-stations,
and who now complete the second rak'ah behind the leader. In this way the soldiers
will have prayed one rak'ah each, and the leader two rak'ahs.
(2) That a group of soldiers may pray first and then another group may pray
one rak'ah each behind the leader. Subsequently, each of the two groups comes,
in turn, to complete the Prayer by performing one rak'ah individually. In this
way, each of the two groups will have prayed one rak'ah congregationally and
one rak'ah individually.
(3) That a group may pray two rak'ahs behind the leader, recite tashahhud and
finish the Prayer by reciting the salutation. Then the second group may join
the Prayer behind the leader and complete it with him. Thus the Prayer-leader
will have prayed four rak'ahs and each of the two groups will have prayed two.
(4) That a group may pray one rak'ah behind the leader. When the leader rises
to pray the second rak'ah, those who have been following him may complete the
second rak'ah by themselves, including the recitation of the tashahhud and salutation.
Then the second group joins the Prayer while the leader is in the second rak'ah.
After the leader has finished his second rak'ah and his followers have prayed
their first, the latter may rise and complete their Prayer by performing the
second rak'ah by themselves. In this case, the leader should prolong his standing
in the second rak'ah of the Prayer. The first form has been reported by Ibn
'Abbas, Jabir b. 'Abd Allah and Mujahid. The second form has been reported by
'Abd Allah b. Mas'ud and is the basis of the Hanafi ruling on this matter. The
third form of the Prayer has been adopted by Shafi'i and Malik with slight modification.
The basis of this ruling is a tradition from Sahl b. Abi Hathmah. There are
certain other forms of Prayer in the state of insecurity, details of which can
be found in larger works of Islamic Law.
137. This is to emphasize that the precautions recommended here are among the measures which ought to be adopted with a view to minimizing This tradition reports that the Prophet (peace be on him) led the Prayer of his Companions as prescribed for the state of insecurity. The Companions stood in two rows behind the Prophet (peace be on him). The Companions in the first row completed the first rak'ah with the Prophet (peace be on him), then rose and remained standing until those in the second row had prayed one rak'ah. The latter then rose and stepped forward and the ones standing ahead of them retreated behind them. Then the Prophet (peace be on him) prayed with this group one rak'ah, then sat down until the back raw had prayed one rak'ah. Then the Prophet (peace be on him) recited the salutation (marking the end of the Prayer). See Muslim. 'Salat al-Musafirin' - Ed. losses and ensuring good results. Victory and defeat ultimately depend, however, on the will of God; so even while taking these precautionary measures one should feel sure that God will humiliate those who are trying to extinguish His light.
138. This refers to those unbelievers who adamantly opposed the cause of Islam and the establishment of the Islamic order.
139. It is astonishing that men of faith should not be prepared to endure the same degree of hardship for the sake of the Truth as unbelievers do for the sake of falsehood. This is strange insofar as the latter merely seek the transient benefits of worldly life whereas the faithful seek to please, and secure the proximity of the Lord of the Universe and look forward to everlasting rewards.