Surah An-Nisaa (4) — Ayah 101

(Ayah 101) ➊ { وَ اِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي الْاَرْضِ … :} The meaning of "qasr" is reduction; this reduction is Sunnah in the number of rak‘ahs, and if the fear is greater, then reduction can also be made in the form and shape of the prayer, for example, performing the prayer while walking on foot. Obviously, in this, full prostration and bowing are not possible, or performing the prayer on a mount by gesturing. See Surah Al-Baqarah (2:239). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Abdullah bin Unais (may Allah be pleased with him) to kill Khalid bin Sufyan, because he was preparing an army to fight the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Abdullah reached there when the time for ‘Asr was near, so he performed the prayer while walking. [ أبو داوٗد، صلاۃ السفر، باب صلاۃ الطالب : ۱۲۴۹ ] Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) declared its chain Hasan in Fath al-Bari, and Ibn Kathir called it Jayyid. [ ہدایۃ المستنیر ] Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "Allah has made four rak‘ahs obligatory in residence, two in travel, and one in fear, through the tongue of your Prophet." [ مسلم، صلاۃ المسافرین ، باب صلاۃ المسافرین و قصرھا : ۶۸۷ ]

In ordinary travel, except for Maghrib and Fajr prayers, performing two rak‘ahs instead of four in other prayers is qasr. The words "there is no sin upon you" prove that in the state of travel, qasr is not obligatory, it is only permitted, and this is the view of most of the Salaf scholars. However, since the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) always performed qasr during travel, therefore, in view of his Sunnah, according to Imam Shafi‘i, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and most of the hadith scholars (may Allah have mercy on them), qasr is preferable.

➋ The apparent meaning of travel is the general travel which is commonly called travel. As for specifying the distance or number of days, neither is it clearly mentioned in any verse of the Qur’an nor in any explicit hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). On this basis, the imams and scholars who have specified a certain amount have generally done so by ijtihad, looking at the journeys of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). However, the strongest evidence for specifying the amount of travel is the hadith of Anas narrated in Sahih Muslim (691), according to which, if one travels three farsakh (nine kos), approximately twenty-one kilometers, then after leaving the city, one can perform qasr.

➌ In any authentic hadith, it is not proven from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he performed the Sunnah prayers before or after the obligatory prayers during travel, except for the Witr of the night and the Sunnah of Fajr, which he always performed during every journey and never left. (Zad al-Ma‘ad: 1/456) Among the Companions, Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, and Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) also acted upon this. [ بخاری، التقصیر، باب من لم یتطوع فی السفر دبر الصلاۃ : ۱۱۰۲ ]

➍ If a traveler prays behind a resident, he will not perform qasr. Musa bin Salamah says: We were with Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) in Makkah, so I said: When we are with you, we pray four rak‘ahs, and when we go to our places of residence, we pray two rak‘ahs. He said: "This is the Sunnah of Abu al-Qasim (peace and blessings be upon him)." [ أحمد : 216/1، ح : ۱۸۶۷ ] A narration with the same meaning is in Sahih Abi ‘Awanah (2/340). [ إرواء الغلیل، تحت الحدیث : ۵۷۱ ]

➎ {اِنْ خِفْتُمْ اَنْ يَّفْتِنَكُمُ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا … :} Since this verse was revealed in the context of jihad, therefore, along with the permission of qasr in prayer, the words "if you fear that the disbelievers may put you to trial" are also used. As for ordinary travel, in which there is no fear of the enemy, this verse is silent regarding the ruling of qasr, which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified through his words and actions. ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked by a man: "What is the reason that people perform qasr in every journey, even though in the Qur’an this ruling is restricted with fear?" So ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I was also surprised by this, and I mentioned it to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so he said: 'It is a charity which Allah has given to you, so accept His charity.'" [ مسلم، صلاۃ المسافرین، باب صلاۃ المسافرین و قصرھا : ۶۸۶ ] Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went from Madinah to Makkah, and at that time, he feared none except the Lord of the worlds, yet he performed only two rak‘ahs of prayer." [ نسائی، تقصیر الصلاۃ فی السفر، بابٌ : ۱۴۳۶ ]

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: "We set out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) from Madinah to Makkah, and he continued to perform two rak‘ahs of prayer until we returned to Madinah." The narrator of the hadith says: I asked: "How long did you stay in Makkah?" He replied: "We stayed for ten days." [ بخاری، التقصیر، باب ما جاء فی التقصیر… : ۱۰۸۱ ]

Once, he stayed in Makkah for nineteen (19) days. [ بخاری، المغازی، باب مقام النبی صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم بمکۃ زمن الفتح : ۴۲۹۸ ] Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed in Tabuk for twenty days and continued to perform qasr. [ أحمد : ۳؍۲۹۵، ح : ۱۴۱۳۹، و صححہ الألبانی فی الإرواء ] The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not explicitly mention the duration for which, if one intends to stay at a place, one can perform qasr. The scholars have different opinions; some said if one intends to stay for nineteen days, one can perform qasr, and if less than that, then qasr. Some have stated this period as fifteen days, some as four days, but the preferred opinion seems to be that as long as one does not intend to reside at a place, one can perform qasr. Thumamah bin Shurahbil says: I went to Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), so we asked: "How is the prayer of a traveler?" He replied: "Two rak‘ahs, except for Maghrib, which is three rak‘ahs." I said: "Tell me, if we are in Dhu al-Majaz?" He said: "What is Dhu al-Majaz?" I said: "A place where we gather and buy and sell, and we stay for twenty nights or fifteen nights." He said: "O man! I stayed in Azerbaijan, I do not know whether they said four months or two months, and I saw them performing two rak‘ahs, and I saw with my own eyes the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performing two rak‘ahs." Then he recited this verse: «{ لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِيْ رَسُوْلِ اللّٰهِ اُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ }» [ الأحزاب : ۲۱ ] [ أحمد : 83/2، ح : ۵۵۵۲، و حسنہ شعیب الأرنؤوط ]

11. 1. In this situation, permission is being given to shorten the prayer (to perform two units) during travel, ان خفتم. "If you fear." This is according to the predominant circumstances. Because at that time, the entire Arab region had become a land of war. There was no direction free from dangers. That is, it is not a condition that there must be fear during travel for the permission to shorten the prayer, just as in other places in the Quran, such restrictions have been mentioned which are incidental, i.e., according to the predominant circumstances (يٰٓاَيُّھَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا لَا تَاْ كُلُوا الرِّبٰٓوا اَضْعَافًا مُّضٰعَفَةً) 3:130 (وَلَا تُكْرِهُوْا فَتَيٰتِكُمْ عَلَي الْبِغَاۗءِ اِنْ اَرَدْنَ تَحَصُّنًا لِّتَبْتَغُوْا عَرَضَ الْحَيٰوةِ الدُّنْيَا) 24:33 "Do not force your slave girls into prostitution if they wish to remain chaste." Since they wished to remain chaste, Allah mentioned it. It does not mean that if they are inclined towards prostitution, then it is permissible for you to have them commit prostitution (وَرَبَاۗىِٕبُكُمُ الّٰتِيْ فِيْ حُجُوْرِكُمْ مِّنْ نِّسَاۗىِٕكُمُ) 4:23. Some of the companions رضوان اللہ علیہم also had this confusion that now there is peace, so we should not shorten the prayer during travel. The Prophet ﷺ said, "This is a charity from Allah to you, so accept His charity." (Musnad Ahmad, Volume 1, p. 25, 36 and Sahih Muslim, Book of Travelers, and other books of hadith)

101. And when you travel through the land, there is no blame upon you for shortening the prayer [138], especially if you fear that the disbelievers may cause you trouble. Surely, the disbelievers are your open enemies.

[138] Although in this verse, along with travel, the fear of the enemy is also mentioned, it is established from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that the prayer of Qasr can be performed in every kind of journey. Nor is it necessary that this journey be only in the way of Allah; rather, Qasr can be performed in every journey. As for the matter of how much distance can be considered a journey, although there are differences in this as well, for us it is sufficient reassurance that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "No woman should travel even for one night without a mahram."
[بخاری، کتاب العمرۃ، باب حج النساء]
That is, such a distance from which a person cannot return home on foot at night is considered a journey, and Sayyiduna Umar ؓ, during his caliphate, considered a distance of 9 miles of that era as a journey in the case of a woman's travel, which according to today's measurement is 25 kilometers. That is, a weak person cannot travel 25 kilometers on foot in one day and return the same distance, totaling 50 kilometers. Therefore, such a distance will be considered a journey. If Qasr is not performed during travel, there is no harm; however, performing Qasr is preferable. Then, during travel, there is also the opportunity to combine two prayers. For such details, please see the following hadiths:
1.
Qasr, Jam‘, and Determination of Journey in Travel:

Sayyidah Aisha ؓ says, "In the beginning, two rak‘ahs were made obligatory for prayer in both travel and residence. Then, the prayer of travel remained as it was, and the prayer of residence was increased. (In Mina...)"
[بخاری، ابواب تقصیرالصلٰوۃ، باب یقصر اذا خرج من موضعہ مسلم، کتاب الصلٰوۃ، باب صلٰوۃ المسافرین]
2. Harith bin Wahb says that in Mina, the Prophet ﷺ led us in two rak‘ahs (Qasr prayer), although he was in complete safety.
[بخاری، ابواب تقصیر الصلٰوۃ، باب الصلٰوۃ بمنیٰ]
3. Ya‘la bin Umayyah says that I said to Sayyiduna Umar ؓ, "Allah Almighty says that if you fear (the disbelievers), then shorten the prayer, and now we are in safety." Sayyiduna Umar ؓ replied, "I was also surprised at this and mentioned it to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, so he ﷺ said, 'This is a charity which Allah has bestowed upon you, so accept His charity.'"
[ترمذی، ابواب القصر]
4. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar ؓ says, "I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that when he was in a hurry during travel, he would delay Maghrib and pray three rak‘ahs, then say salam. After a short while, the iqamah for ‘Isha would be given, and he ﷺ would pray two rak‘ahs, then say salam."
[بخاری، ابواب تقصیرالصلٰوۃ، باب یصلی المغرب ثلاثا فی السفر]
5. Abdullah bin Abbas ؓ says that he (the Prophet ﷺ) combined and prayed seven rak‘ahs (Maghrib and ‘Isha) and eight rak‘ahs (Zuhr and ‘Asr) while residing in Madinah (i.e., without travel). Ayyub Sakhtiyani said to Jabir bin Zayd, "Perhaps this was done on a rainy night?" He replied, "Perhaps."
[بخاری، کتاب مواقیت الصلٰوۃ، باب تاخیر الظہر الی العصر]