Is the Farewell Prayer Before Departure from a Place Sunnah?

✍ Excerpted from: “Ghair Masnoon Nafli Namazain” by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri

❖ The Farewell Prayer When Departing from a Campsite – An Innovation Without Basis​

The notion of offering two rakʿahs of prayer before departing a place of stay or a campsite is not authentically proven from the Sunnah. In fact, this practice is an innovation (bidʿah). Below is a critical examination of the narrations presented in support of this practice.

Evidence #1​

Narrated from Anas ibn Mālik رضي الله عنه:


إن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كان إذا نزل منزلا، لم يرتحل منه حتى يصلي ركعتين، أو يودع المنزل بركعتين
“Whenever the Prophet ﷺ stayed at a place, he would not depart from it until he had prayed two rakʿahs or offered two farewell rakʿahs at that place.”

Reference: Sunan al-Dārimī: 2681

,

Reference: al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ by al-Ṭabarānī: 3441

,

Reference: al-Awsaṭ by Ibn al-Mundhir: 5/245

Status of the Chain: Weak (Ḍaʿīf)​

The narrator ʿUthmān ibn Saʿd al-Ṭāʾī is considered weak by several major hadith scholars:


➊ Imām Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn رحمه الله:


Declared him weak (ḍaʿīf) and also said “ليس بذاك” – “He is not strong.”

Reference: Tārīkh Ibn Maʿīn (al-Dūrī): no. 3599

➋ Imām Ibn Numayr رحمه الله:


Said “ليس بذاك” – Weak.

Reference: al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl by Ibn Abī Ḥātim: 6/153

➌ Imām Abū Zurʿah al-Rāzī رحمه الله:


Declared him feeble (dalīn).

Reference: al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl: 6/153

➍ Imām Ibn Ḥibbān رحمه الله stated:


“He would confuse narrators, narrate what he didn’t understand, and would answer questions without proper knowledge. It is impermissible to use his narrations as proof.”

Reference: Kitāb al-Majrūḥīn: 2/96

➎ Imām al-Nasāʾī, Imām al-Dārimī, and Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Qaṭṭās al-Fāsī also weakened him.


➏ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAdī رحمه الله:


“Though weak, he is ḥasan al-ḥadīth, and his narrations may be written, but not used as independent proof.”

Reference: al-Kāmil fī Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Rijāl: 5/170

➐ Imām al-Bayhaqī رحمه الله:


Declared him not strong (ليس بالقوي).

Reference: al-Sunan al-Kubrā: 1/347

Evidence #2​

Narrated from Saʿīd ibn Jubayr رحمه الله:


“Whenever the Prophet ﷺ halted at a place, he would not depart until he prayed there. During the expedition of Tabūk, he received news that ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl had said: ‘The honorable will expel the dishonorable from Madinah.’ So the Prophet ﷺ broke camp before sunset. When ʿAbdullāh was told to seek forgiveness from the Prophet ﷺ, the verse was revealed:

﴿إِذَا جَاءَكَ الْمُنَافِقُونَ قَالُوا...﴾

”

Reference: Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr: 8/127, with verification by Salāmah

Status of the Chain: Weak due to Irṣāl (Being Mursal)​

• Saʿīd ibn Jubayr is a tābiʿī, and he is narrating directly from the Prophet ﷺ.
• Such mursal narrations are considered weak by the consensus of hadith scholars.

❖ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله said:


“The chain is authentic up to Saʿīd ibn Jubayr. However, the claim that the incident occurred during the expedition of Tabūk is questionable. In fact, it is known that ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy did not participate in Tabūk but withdrew his forces early. Most experts of sīrah and maghāzī agree that this incident happened during the expedition of al-Muraysīʿ (Banū al-Muṣṭaliq).”

Reference: Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr: 8/127

Final Conclusion:​

The idea that one should offer two “farewell rakʿahs” before departing a location (or when leaving Masjid al-Nabawi) has no sound basis in authentic hadith.


This practice is therefore:

• Not legislated by the Prophet ﷺ
• Not practiced by the righteous companions
• Based on weak or fabricated narrations
• And ultimately, an innovation (bidʿah) in the religion