Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Asslamoalikum warhmtullahi wabraktuhu,

May Allah bless you and help you in your mission towards islam InshaAllah.Brother i want to ask a question please help me to find the solution.

(1) if a lady is travelling by Air to some country for one month(this period could extend further for about 10 to 15 days) so will she pray the whole raka`as of prayers or she has to Qasr the prayers.

(2) What as if the lady fully covers and wear niqaab etc and during travelling in plane it gets the time of fajar prayer without Adhan and she wants to offer fajr prayer on time what will she do? will she removes her niqaab to offer fajer prayer bcoz there are so many passengers who are men and she strictly follows the veil requirements etc. the lady is travelling for study purpose and eye operation purposes and she can`t cancel her travelling.

(3)what is Jama o Qasr prayers if this is the right term i`m using will she be allowed to add this fajer prayer with Zuhr prayer or or she has to offer her fajer prayer before travelling means with isha prayer. please tell me th best way possible.

Jazakumullahu khair

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Answer:

Qasr prayers

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Q-1: if a lady is travelling by Air to some country for one month(this period could extend further for about 10 to 15 days) so will she pray the whole raka`as of prayers or she has to Qasr the prayers.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verses 101-102:

101 When ye travel through the earth there is no blame on you if ye shorten your prayers.

Dear and Beloved Sister in Islam, to make the observance of the deen easy, the Lord Most Merciful has permitted the believers, men and women, to shorten their prayers when they are on travel as stated in the above Verse of Surah Nisaa.

There are several authentic narrations that the Messenger of Allah (saws) would shorten his prayers whenever he was on a journey. According to authentic tradition the Prophet (saws) did not stay out of Madinah for a period longer than 20 days at any one stretch where he (saws) did indeed shorten his prayers, the eminent scholars and jurists in Islam have differed on exactly how many days one may offer shortened prayers when one is on a journey, depending on which hadith they use as their evidence.

Some of the scholars have said four days, while others have allowed ten, fourteen, nineteen or twenty days, while others have said even said six months and others have said that regardless of the time, as long as one has no intention to settle down in that place, he may shorten his prayers as long as he does not return to his place of residence! Each of the eminent scholars have given their evidence from the Sunnah or tradition of the Messenger of Allah (saws) and of his noble companions, thus regardless of which school or thought one prefers over the other, as long as one has evidence from the Sunnah, it would be deemed acceptable in Shariah.

Aishah says: "One who does not put down his provision is to shorten the salah."

Ibn al-Mundhir states in his Ishraf: "The people of knowledge are in agreement that a traveler may perform ‘qasr’ (shortened) prayers as long as he does not intend to stay (permanently) in a place.’

Q-2: What as if the lady fully covers and wear niqaab etc and during travelling in plane it gets the time of fajar prayer without Adhan and she wants to offer fajr prayer on time what will she do? will she removes her niqaab to offer fajer prayer bcoz there are so many passengers who are men and she strictly follows the veil requirements etc.

Firstly, if one is not praying in congregation, they may recite the ‘adhaan’ themselves before they start their prayer.

Secondly, if the sister is observing the ‘niqaab’, there is absolutely no need to remove her ‘niqaab’ when offering her prayers; in fact one of the conditions of the prayer of the believing woman is that she should cover herself completely as she would if she were in the presence of non-mehrams during her prayers.

Ibn 'Abbas, Ibn 'Umar and 'Aishah report that the Prophet (saws) said, "Allah does not accept the prayer of an adult woman unless she is wearing a ‘jilbaab’ (khimar, hijab, head-cover)."

Related by Bukhari and Muslim.

Thirdly, if a believer is in a flight when the time of prayer becomes due, and has knowledge that they will not land until after the prayer time has elapsed, it would be best to seek the help of the airline steward and request them to assign them a small empty place in the galley for a few minutes to enable them to offer their obligatory prayer. Shariah law permits that one may offer their ‘Sunnah’ or ‘Nafl’ prayer while riding or sitting on a mount (or in a vehicle, or flight, etc.); but if one has the physical ability to stand, they are not to offer their obligatory or ‘Fard’ prayer in a sitting position.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.393 Narrated by Jabir

Allah's Messenger (saws) used to pray (optional, non-obligatory prayer) while riding on his mount (Rahila) wherever it turned, and whenever he wanted to pray the obligatory prayer, he (saws) dismounted and prayed facing the Qibla.

Thus if a believer happens to be in a flight when the time of prayer becomes due, and has knowledge that they will not land until after the prayer time has elapsed, what they should do is recite the ‘adhaan’ and pray the ‘Sunnah’ in their seats in a sitting position; and then seek the help of a steward to assign them a small place in the galley for a few minutes and offer their obligatory prayers there.

Q-3: what is Jama o Qasr prayers

‘Jama’ is to combine, and ‘qasr’ is to shorten; thus the term ‘Jama wal Qasr’ would mean and imply to combine the shortened prayers (when traveling).

Hadrat Mu'adh (r.a.) reports that while the Prophet (saws) was at Tabuk and the sun had passed the meridian, the Prophet (saws) combined the shortened zuhr and 'asr prayers before he started his journey. If he (saws) started his journey before the sun passed its meridian, he would delay the zuhr prayer until the time when he stopped for the 'asr prayer. He (saws) would do likewise for the maghrib prayer. If the sun set before he began his journey, he (saws) would combine the shortened maghrib and his 'isha prayers. If he (saws) began a journey before the sun had set, he (saws) would delay the magrib and then combine them at the time of 'isha.

Related by Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi.

When one is on a journey, it is permissible in Shariah for one to combine their shortened ‘dhuhr’ and ‘asr’ prayers together, and/or their ‘magrib’ and shortened ‘ihsa’ prayers together, if they wish to do so.

The ‘fajr’ or dawn prayers are to be prayed singly by itself, and cannot be combined with either the ‘dhuhr’ or ‘isha’ prayers.

Q-3A: will she be allowed to add this fajer prayer with Zuhr prayer or or she has to offer her fajer prayer before travelling means with isha prayer.

Shariah Law and the established Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) allows the believers who are traveling to combine only their shortened obligatory ‘dhuhr’ and ‘asr’ prayers together, and their ‘magrib’ and shortened ‘isha’ obligatory prayers together, if they wish to do so.

The ‘fajr’ or dawn obligatory prayer cannot be combined with any other prayer, and must be prayed singly on its own.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan