Ya'la (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I said to Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him): Allah Almighty says: "(that) you shorten the prayer if you fear that (the disbelievers) may put you to trial" [Surah al-Nisa: 101]? He said: I too wondered at what you wonder at, so I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is a charity that Allah has bestowed upon you, so accept it."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5419
Ya'la bin Munabbih (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I asked Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) about the saying of Allah Almighty: "There is no sin upon you if you shorten the prayer, if you fear that those who disbelieve may put you to trial" [Surah al-Nisa: 101]. The people are now safe, so why the shortening? Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I too wondered as you do, so I asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): What is this? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is a charity that Allah has bestowed upon you, so accept it."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5420
Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has guided us that "shortening the prayer while travelling without fear is a charity from Allah"; shortening the prayer is not obligatory, and shortening while travelling without fear may be done if the traveller wishes. Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed both shortened and complete prayers while travelling.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5421
It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray both shortened and complete prayers while travelling, and he would fast and also break his fast.
Ali (al-Daraqutni) said: This chain is sahih (authentic). The Shaykh said: It has supporting reports from the narrations of Dalham bin Salih, al-Mughirah bin Ziyad and Talhah bin Amr, and all of them are da'if (weak).
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5422
Ata (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her): When we travelled to Makkah with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), we used to pray four rak'ahs until we returned.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5423
Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray both shortened and complete prayers while travelling.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5424
Ata narrates from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to shorten the prayer while travelling and sometimes also prayed it in full, and he would fast and sometimes also break his fast.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5425
Ata bin Abi Rabah narrates that Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) used to pray the obligatory prayers as four rak'ahs while travelling.
This is in agreement with the narration of Dalham bin Salih, although Dalham's narration has an additional link in its chain; and its chain has a strong supporting report with a sahih (authentic) chain.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5426
Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) says: I went with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for Umrah in Ramadan. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) broke his fast while I fasted, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) shortened the prayer while I prayed it in full. I said: O Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you (peace and blessings be upon him)! You (peace and blessings be upon him) broke your fast while I fasted, and you (peace and blessings be upon him) shortened the prayer while I prayed it in full! He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Aishah, you did well."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5427
Abd al-Rahman bin al-Aswad narrates from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her): The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed Umrah and I was with him (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) shortened the prayer while I prayed it in full, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) broke his fast while I fasted. When I came to Makkah, I said: "May my parents be sacrificed for you (peace and blessings be upon him)! You (peace and blessings be upon him) shortened the prayer while I prayed it in full, and you (peace and blessings be upon him) broke your fast while I fasted?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Aishah, you did well." And he did not find fault with me.
Ali (al-Daraqutni) said: The first is connected (muttasil), and it is a hasan (good) chain; Abd al-Rahman met Aishah and used to visit her when he was an adolescent.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5428
Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) says: I went out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for Umrah in Ramadan. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) broke his fast while I fasted, and he shortened the prayer while I prayed it in full. I said: O Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you! You broke your fast while I fasted, and you shortened the prayer while I prayed it in full. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Aishah, you did well."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5429
Hisham bin Urwah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from his father (may Allah have mercy on him) that Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) used to pray four rak'ahs while travelling. I said to her: What if you prayed two rak'ahs? She said: O my nephew, it is not hard for me.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5430
Urwah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that when the prayer was made obligatory, it was two rak'ahs each, both when travelling and when resident. Then the prayer of travel was kept at two rak'ahs, and the prayer of the resident was completed to four rak'ahs. He says: I told this to Umar bin Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him), and he said: But Urwah told me that Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) used to pray four rak'ahs while travelling. One day I found Urwah (may Allah have mercy on him) with him. I said: Tell me about Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her)! He narrated it to me just as Umar bin Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) had narrated it.
Umar bin Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Did you not narrate that she used to pray four rak'ahs while travelling? He said: Yes indeed.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5431
Urwah narrates from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her): "At first the prayer was made obligatory as two rak'ahs each; then the prayer of the resident was increased, and the prayer of travel was kept as it was." The narrator says: I said: What is the matter with Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she prays the prayer in full? He said: She interpreted (the matter) as Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) interpreted it.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5432
Abd al-Rahman bin Yazid (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) led us in four rak'ahs at Mina. This was mentioned to Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), and he recited 'Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un' (Indeed, we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return), and said: I prayed two rak'ahs at Mina with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and also two rak'ahs at Mina with Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both). Would that, of the four rak'ahs, my share were two accepted rak'ahs.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5433
Abd al-Rahman bin Yazid says: Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) led four rak'ahs at Mina, and Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I prayed two rak'ahs each at Mina with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both)." In this, Hafs added: (I prayed two) with Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) also at the beginning of his caliphate, then he completed the prayer. Here the narration adds from Abu Mu'awiyah: "Then your ways diverged; I wish that, in place of the four rak'ahs, my share were two accepted rak'ahs." Mu'awiyah bin Qurrah narrates from his elders that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) prayed four rak'ahs, and it was said to him: You used to find fault with Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), and now you yourself pray four rak'ahs? He said: "Disagreement is an evil thing."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5434
Mu'awiyah bin Qurrah narrates from the elders of his tribe that Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) led a four-rak'ah prayer at Mina. When Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) came to know of this, he found fault with him. Then he himself led the Asr prayer as four rak'ahs at his lodging. I said: You find fault with Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) and yet you pray four rak'ahs yourself? He said: I dislike disagreement.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5435
Abd al-Rahman bin Yazid (may Allah have mercy on him) says: We were with Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him). When he entered the mosque of Mina, he asked: How many (rak'ahs) did the Commander of the Believers pray? They said: Four rak'ahs. So Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) also prayed four rak'ahs. We said: But you narrate to us from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray two rak'ahs, and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) too. He said: Yes indeed, and I narrate (the same) to you even now; but Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) is the imam, and I do not want to go against him, and disagreement is an evil thing.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5436
Ayyub narrates from al-Zuhri that Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) used to pray the prayer in full at Mina because of the Bedouins, since they came in large numbers; he led four rak'ahs for this purpose, so that they would know that the prayer is four rak'ahs.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5437
Abd al-Rahman bin Humayd (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from his father that Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) prayed the prayer in full at Mina, then addressed the people and said: O people, the Sunnah is indeed the way of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his two companions; but now many people have come, and I feared that they would take it as the Sunnah.
The Shaykh says: There is a concession in this, and he also considered praying in full to be permissible, as was the view of Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her).
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5438
(a) Abu Layla al-Kindi (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) came with twelve riders from among the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The time of prayer came, and they said: O Abu Abdullah, go forward (and lead). Abu Abdullah said: We do not lead you in prayer, nor do we marry your women, for Allah Almighty guided us through you. So a man from the people led them in four rak'ahs. The narrator says: Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: What have we to do with four? Two rak'ahs would have sufficed us, and we are more in need of the concession. Thus, in the presence of these Companions, Sayyiduna Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) made clear that shortening is a concession.
(b) Al-Miswar bin Makhramah and Abdullah bin al-Aswad bin Abd Yaghuth (may Allah be pleased with them both) both used to pray in full while travelling and also used to fast.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5439
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:صحيح لغيرهٖ
Hadith Takhrij«صحيح لغيرهٖ۔ الطبراني في الكبير 6053»
Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) says: We, the group of Companions, used to travel; some would shorten the prayer and break the fast, and some would pray in full and also fast. The one fasting would not find fault with the one breaking the fast, nor the one breaking the fast with the one fasting, nor the one shortening with the one praying in full, nor the one praying in full with the one shortening.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصلاة / 5440