I have been living and working in Saudi Arabia for the last 18 years. I go to Pakistan or some other place during my annual vacation for a month. My question is:1)Do I pray the full prayers in Pakistan, as I have blood relatives there ( the common Bohra practice) or do I shorten the 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:
What is the ruling on
the prayers during travelling?
I have been living and
working in
My question is:
1) Do I
pray the full prayers in
2) Does
the period of stay have any effect. Sometimes I spend a week there and
sometimes a month.
3) Do we
have to go to the Masjid to pray in Paksitan or can we pray at home. Also
should we read the "witr" prayer.
4) We go
to Madina once a year to pray there. How do we offer prayers there. Should we
only pray the farz prayer or can we pray the "sunnah and nawafel "
also. There is some confusion here as some people beleive that since we are
travelling we should only pray the "farz"
(There may be some grammatical and
spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
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Answer:
Prayer while traveling Kasr
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 no one (no idol, no person,
no grave, no prophet, no
imam, no dai, nobody!) 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 Nisa verse 101:
When you go on a journey, there is no harm, if you shorten your salaat, (especially) when you fear that the
disbelievers might harass you, for the
disbelievers are openly bent upon enmity against you.
Dear and Beloved Sister in Islam, to make the
observance of the deen easy, the Lord Most Merciful has permitted the believers
to shorten their prayers when they are on a journey 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 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 of thought one prefers
over the other, as long as one has evidence from the Sunnah, it would be deemed
acceptable in Shariah.
Quoted below from the Fiqh-us-Sunnah are the
various and diverse opinions of some of the eminent scholars based on their
understanding of the practice of the Messenger of Allah (saws) and his noble
companions.
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 2.112
When the traveler is to pray the
complete salah
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 (saws) stayed in Tabuk for
twenty days and during that time he (saws) shortened his salah and he (saws) 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 (saws) 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 (saws) stay in Makkah at the time of its conquest when he said:
"The Messenger of Allah (saws) stayed in Makkah for eighteen days during
the time of the conquest as he (saws) 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 (saws) stay in Tabuk as Jabir ibn 'Abdullah said:
"The Messenger of Allah (saws) 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 [
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 (saws) 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 (saws) 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 (saws) 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 (saws) 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-Mundhir 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."
Now to answer your specific questions:
Q-1: Do I pray the full prayers in
First and foremost, according to Fiqh or Islamic
Jurisprudence the availability of mehram relatives in a place has absolutely no
bearings whatsoever on the permissibility of ‘qasr’ or shortened prayers.
Beloved brother, since you are currently settled in
Saudi Arabia, you would be considered in a state of travel when you visit
Pakistan; thus it is permissible for you to offer your prayers ‘qasr’ or
shortened if you wish to do so.
Q-2: Does the period of stay have any effect.
Sometimes I spend a week there and sometimes a month.
As long as one does not intend to permanently settle down in a place, one would be considered to be in a state of travel; and thus regardless of one’s period of stay, the praying of ‘qasr’ or shortened prayers would be permissible on such a person.
Q-3A: Do we have to go to the
Masjid to pray in Paksitan or can we pray at home.
It is not obligatory for a traveler in Islam to
offer his prayers in congregation; thus if one is in the state of traveling,
one does not have to offer one’s prayers in congregation. But if one does offer one’s prayer in
congregation while in the state of travel, there is absolutely no harm.
Q-3B: Also should we read the
"witr" prayer.
It is reported that Hadrat Ali (r.a.)
said: "The witr prayer is not required like your obligatory prayers, but
the Prophet (saws) would perform the witr prayer and say: 'O you people
[followers] of the Qur'an, perform the witr prayer, for Allah is One and He
loves the witr.'"
The ‘witr’ prayers are not considered obligatory
prayers in Islam, but it was the practice of the Messenger of Allah (saws) and
his noble companions that they would always make ‘witr’ the last prayers of the
night whether they were resident in a place or not.
The ‘witr’ are considered ‘nafl’ or supererogatory
prayers in Islam, thus if one offers them they will earn a huge reward from
Allah Subhanah; and if one is not able to offer them for any reason, there is
absolutely no sin upon the person.
Q-4: We go to Madina once a year
to pray there. How do we offer prayers there. Should we only pray the farz
prayer or can we pray the "sunnah and nawafel " also. There is some
confusion here as some people beleive that since we are travelling we should
only pray the "farz"
There is absolutely no restriction in Islam if one
wishes to offer as many ‘nafl’ or supererogatory prayers as they wish, while in
the state of travel or otherwise.
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 1221 Narrated by Anas ibn Malik
When the Messenger of Allah (saws) was
on a journey and wished to say ‘nafl’ (supererogatory) prayers, he made his
she-camel face the qiblah and uttered the takbir (Allah is Most Great), then
prayed in whatever direction his mount made his face.
It is the established Sunnah of the Messenger of
Allah (saws) that he would offer many ‘nafl’ or supererogatory prayers during
his travels.
Q-4B: There is some confusion here
as some people beleive that since we are travelling we should only pray the
"farz"
Although one is only accountable for offering one’s
obligatory prayers, it is highly meritorious and encouraged in Islam that one
offers as many ‘nafl’ and ‘sunnah’ prayers as one possibly can, regardless of
whether one is in the state of travel or otherwise.
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 2.1
Their Significance, Supererogatory
(Sunnah and Nafl) Prayers
The Sunnah or Nawafil (supererogatory
prayers), have been legislated to make up for any deficiencies left in the
performance of Fard salah (obligatory prayers). In Salah, there are virtues
that are not found in any other form of worship. Abu Hurairah reports that the
Prophet (saws) said: "The first thing that the people will be called to
account for on the Day of Resurrection will be the prayers. Our Lord will say to
the Angels, although He knows better: 'Look into the (Fard) Salah of my servant
to see if he observed it perfectly or been negligent in it. So if he observed it perfectly it will be
recorded to his credit, but if he had been negligent in it in any way, Allah
would say: ‘See if My servant has any supererogatory prayers. Then if he has
any supererogatory prayers, Allah would say: ‘Make up the deficiency in My
servant's obligatory prayer with his supererogatory prayers.' Thereafter all
his actions will be examined in like manner’"
Related by Abu Dawud.
It is an absolutely false and incorrect belief and
practice to restrict a believing traveler from offering ‘nafl’ or
supererogatory prayers, if he wishes to offer them.
If one trusts,
obeys, and follows the guidance
and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being
misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger
(saws), one can be assured of being led astray.
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