What is the significance of offering reduced Obligatory prayers.
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:
Dear
Sir,
Assalamualaikum,
What
is the significance of offering reduced Obligatory prayers (Salat Kasr) when
travelling. Please tell the conditions for offering the Kasr prayer i.e. the
length of time that a person is away from his home and the distance from his
home where he should offer his Kasr Prayer. If a person`s work place is far
from his home and he has to travel daily, should he offer his normal prayers or
reduced prayer?
Regards.
Arbab
Masood Ahmad.
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
Qasr shortened 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.
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 (saws) 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 for their opinion.
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.’
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 2.112
Hafs ibn 'Ubaidullah says: "Hadrat Anas
ibn Malik (r.a.) stayed in ash-Sham for two years and he prayed the salah of a
traveler (Qasr).” Hadrat Anas (r.a.)
relates: "The companions of the Prophet (saws) stayed in Ram Hurmuz for
seven months and they shortened their salah." Al-Hassan reports: "I stayed with
'Abdurrahman ibn Samurah (r.a.) for two years in
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 2.110
Topic: The distance one must travel before
shortening one's prayer
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.
There are several reports in the authentic and established
Sunnah that if the Messenger of Allah (saws) traveled a distance of only three
miles, he (saws) would shorten his prayers; while other reports attributed to
the Companions of the Prophet (saws) of the stature of Ibn Abbas (r.a.) and Ibn
Umar (r.a.) are of the opinion that one is to shorten their prayers if their
journey is beyond two or three camel days ride, or approximately 85-90 miles.
Yahya ibn Yazid said: "I asked Anas ibn
Malik (r.a.) about shortening the prayer, and he said: 'The Messenger of Allah (saws)
would pray two rakat (shortened prayer) if he (saws) had traveled a distance of
one ‘farshakh) (or appx three miles)."'
Related by Ahmad, Muslim, Abu Dawud, and
al-Baihaqi.
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (r.a.) said: "If the
Prophet (r.a.) traveled a distance of one ‘farsakh’ (appx three miles), he
(saws) would shorten his prayer."
Related by Sa'id ibn Mansur, and by al-Hafiz
ibn Hajar.
Because the modes and forms of travel has evolved since
the time of the Prophet (saws), the vast majority of the scholars today are of
the opinion that one may shorten their prayers anytime one falls within the
linguistic definition of the term ‘travel’ or ‘journey’, or where one intends
to travel beyond the city or town one normally resides in. And Allah Alone Knows Best.
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
Wister