Those who used to shorten the prayer

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: According to the words of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the two rak'ahs of travel are complete; there is no shortfall in them.

Sa'id bin Shufayy said: I said to Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both): When we travel, we have with us enough servants and others who take care of our needs; so how should we pray? He said: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went on a journey, he would pray two rak'ahs until he returned. I asked the same question again, and he gave the same answer. I asked again, and a man said to me: Do you not understand what he is saying? Do you not hear what he is telling you?

Abu Hanzalah said: I asked Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) about the prayer on a journey. He said: Praying two rak'ahs on a journey is the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

Sayyiduna Ya'la bin Umayyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I asked Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him): Allah Almighty says: "There is no blame on you if you shorten the prayer, if you fear that those who disbelieve will harm you" [Al-Nisa: 101]. I said: Now it is a time of safety, so is the prayer to be shortened or not? Sayyiduna Umar said: I was puzzled by the same thing that has puzzled you, so I asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about it, and he said: "It is a charity that Allah has bestowed upon you, so accept His charity."

Ibn Abi Layla said: Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) set out on a military expedition in a group of thirteen men from the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he was the oldest of them all. When the time of prayer came, they all said: O Abu Abdullah! You lead the prayer. He said: I do not have the right to lead the prayer; you are Arabs and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is from among you. So let one of you step forward and lead the prayer. At this one of them stepped forward and prayed four rak'ahs with them. When we had finished the prayer, Sayyiduna Salman said: Why should we pray four rak'ahs? Two rak'ahs, half of the four, are sufficient for us.

Al-Rabi' bin Nadlah said: We set out on a journey, twelve or thirteen men; all of them except me had been in the company of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). When the time of prayer came, they all began pushing one another forward to lead the prayer. A young man among them stepped forward and prayed four rak'ahs. When he had finished leading the prayer, Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Why should we pray four rak'ahs? Two rak'ahs, half of the four, are sufficient for us; we are more in need of lightening. At this they all said: O Abu Abdullah! You lead us in prayer. He said: You, the Children of Isma'il, are the imams, and we are the ministers.

Ibrahim said: A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: I am a merchant, and I keep travelling back and forth to Bahrain; how should I pray? He ordered him to pray two rak'ahs.

Abu Ishaq said: We were in Sijistan, and I asked Salamah bin Suhayb about the prayer. He said: Pray two rak'ahs at a time until you return to your family. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) also used to say the same.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: We prayed two rak'ahs with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) between Makkah and Madinah, in a state of safety, without any fear.

Sayyiduna Abu Juhayfah al-Suwa'i (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I prayed two rak'ahs of Zuhr with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at Mina. Then he continued to pray two rak'ahs until he returned to Madinah.

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Originally the prayer was prescribed as two rak'ahs; then more was added to it, and it was made four rak'ahs for the resident.

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: The two rak'ahs on a journey are complete; there is no shortfall in them.

Ali bin Rabi'ah said: Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) set out on a journey, and he kept praying two rak'ahs at a time until he returned.

Abu Harb bin Abi al-Aswad said: Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) set out from Basrah and prayed four rak'ahs, and then said: When we pass this hut, we will pray two rak'ahs.

Abd al-Rahman bin Harmalah said: A man asked Sa'id bin al-Musayyib: May I pray the full prayer and fast on a journey? He said: No. The man said: I have the strength for it. He said: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was stronger than you; during travel he would shorten the prayer and not fast. And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The best of you is the one who shortens the prayer while travelling and does not fast."

Abu al-Safar said: I met Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mughaffal (may Allah be pleased with him) in al-Mada'in and said to him: I am the imam of my people and I want to return to my home; how many rak'ahs should I lead? He said: Four. Later I met him in al-Rayy and said: I want to return to my home; how many rak'ahs do you order me to pray? He said: Two.

Ibn Tawus said: My father used to shorten the prayer from the time he left his house until he returned.

Mujahid said: A man came to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and said: A friend of mine and I were both on a journey; I used to pray the full prayer and he used to shorten it. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: It was you who was shortening, and your friend who was praying the full prayer.

Abu Nadrah said: Sayyiduna Imran bin Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by our gathering. A young man stood up and said to him: Tell us how the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray during Hajj, jihad and Umrah. He came and stood near us and said: He has asked me about a matter that I want you also to hear. I took part in jihad with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); he would pray two rak'ahs until he returned to Madinah. I performed Hajj with him; he would pray two rak'ahs until he came back to Madinah. I stayed in Makkah with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the year of the Conquest of Makkah; he stayed there eighteen nights. During that time he would lead two rak'ahs of prayer, and then, after saying the salam, he would say to the people of Makkah: "Complete your four rak'ahs, for we are travellers." I performed three Umrahs with him; he prayed only two rak'ahs. I performed Hajj and jihad with Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him); he would pray only two rak'ahs until he came back to Madinah. I performed several Hajjs with Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him); he would pray only two rak'ahs until he came back to Madinah. I performed Hajj for seven years during the rule of Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him); he too would pray only two rak'ahs. Then he prayed four rak'ahs at Mina.

Sayyiduna Abu Juhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed two rak'ahs of Zuhr in Makkah, in the manner of a traveller's prayer.

Abd al-Rahman bin Yazid said: Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) prayed four rak'ahs at Mina, and Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I prayed two rak'ahs at Mina with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). I prayed two rak'ahs at Mina with Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). I prayed two rak'ahs at Mina with Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). Now your paths have diverged. My wish is that of the four, two rak'ahs of mine be accepted.

Sayyiduna Harithah bin Wahb al-Khuza'i (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I prayed two rak'ahs with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at Mina, even though the people were in the greatest safety and in the greatest numbers they had ever been.

Dawud bin Abi Asim al-Thaqafi said: I asked Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) about the prayer at Mina. He said: Have you heard of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and believed in him? He used to pray two rak'ahs at Mina.

Urwah said: Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, Sayyiduna Umar, and Sayyiduna Uthman in the early days of his rule (may Allah be pleased with them) used to lead two rak'ahs of prayer at Mina.

Hanzalah said: I asked al-Qasim, Salim and Tawus about the prayer at Mina. They said: The prayer is to be shortened there.

Al-Hasan said: The traveller will pray two rak'ahs until he returns home; however, if he goes to a city, he will pray the same prayer as the people of that city.

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: At first two rak'ahs were prescribed. Then more was added to the prayer of the resident, and the prayer of travel was left as it was. Al-Zuhri said: I said to Urwah: Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) says this, and yet she prays the full prayer on a journey; what is the reason for that? He said: She follows the same interpretation that Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) followed. I did not ask him what interpretation Sayyiduna Uthman had made.