The Shari‘ah Ruling on a Traveler Leading Local Residents in Prayer
Source: Fatawa ʿUlama-e-Hadith
❖ Question
If the Imam is a traveler (musafir) and the followers (muqtadi) are locals (muqim), then how should the Imam lead the prayer? For example, in Zuhr prayer, will the Imam perform Qasr (two rakʿahs) or complete four rakʿahs? And if the Imam leads only two rakʿahs, will the local followers also pray just two rakʿahs? Please provide Shar‘i guidance.
❖ Answer
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
In this case:
❀ Since the Imam is a traveler, he will lead two rakʿahs for Zuhr as Qasr.
❀ After completing two rakʿahs, the Imam will end the prayer with salam.
❀ The local followers, however, will not end the prayer. Instead, they will stand up and complete their remaining two rakʿahs individually.
❀ In this way, the Imam will complete his shortened prayer as a traveler, and the residents will complete their full four-rakʿah prayer as required.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
