Source: Extracted from Hudiyyat al-Muslimīn – Namāz ke Aham Masāʾil maʿ Maqmal Namāz al-Nabawiyyah ﷺ by Shaykh Zubair ʿAlī Zai رحمه الله
From Yaḥyā bin Yazīd al-Hunāʾī:
"I asked Anas bin Mālik (رضي الله عنه) about shortening the prayer (qaṣr). He said: ‘When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ traveled a distance of three miles or three farsakh (nine miles) — Shuʿbah (the narrator) was uncertain whether it was three miles or three farsakh — he would pray two rakʿahs.’"
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1/242, Ḥadīth 691]
① This ḥadīth proves that shortening the prayer at nine miles is Sunnah.
② Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما) held the view that shortening was permissible at even three miles.
[Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 2/443, Ḥadīth 8120 – chain authentic]
③ ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) was also of this opinion.
[Afqah ʿUmar (Urdu) p. 394; Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 2/445, Ḥadīth 8137]
④ According to Ibn Ḥazm, the narrator of the ḥadīth, Anas (رضي الله عنه) himself, also believed in the nine-mile view.
[al-Muḥallā: 5/8, Masʾalah 513]
⑤ The safest approach is to shorten the prayer at a minimum of nine miles, avoiding doubt. This way, all relevant aḥādīth can be acted upon without contradiction.
⑥ The narration in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī stating that ʿAbdullāh bin Masʿūd (رضي الله عنه), ʿAbdullāh bin ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما), and others shortened the prayer at forty-eight (48) miles does not contradict this ḥadīth, because a person who shortens at nine miles will naturally shorten at forty-eight miles as well. That narration does not state that they would not shorten below forty-eight miles.
Ḥadīth Evidence
From Yaḥyā bin Yazīd al-Hunāʾī:
"I asked Anas bin Mālik (رضي الله عنه) about shortening the prayer (qaṣr). He said: ‘When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ traveled a distance of three miles or three farsakh (nine miles) — Shuʿbah (the narrator) was uncertain whether it was three miles or three farsakh — he would pray two rakʿahs.’"
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1/242, Ḥadīth 691]
Benefits and Rulings
① This ḥadīth proves that shortening the prayer at nine miles is Sunnah.
② Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما) held the view that shortening was permissible at even three miles.
[Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 2/443, Ḥadīth 8120 – chain authentic]
③ ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) was also of this opinion.
[Afqah ʿUmar (Urdu) p. 394; Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 2/445, Ḥadīth 8137]
④ According to Ibn Ḥazm, the narrator of the ḥadīth, Anas (رضي الله عنه) himself, also believed in the nine-mile view.
[al-Muḥallā: 5/8, Masʾalah 513]
⑤ The safest approach is to shorten the prayer at a minimum of nine miles, avoiding doubt. This way, all relevant aḥādīth can be acted upon without contradiction.
⑥ The narration in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī stating that ʿAbdullāh bin Masʿūd (رضي الله عنه), ʿAbdullāh bin ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما), and others shortened the prayer at forty-eight (48) miles does not contradict this ḥadīth, because a person who shortens at nine miles will naturally shorten at forty-eight miles as well. That narration does not state that they would not shorten below forty-eight miles.
