Qasr Prayer, Distance Duration
﷽
Qasr namaz, a gift of Allah to travelers. Qasr means to shorten. In Quran Allah says;
وَإِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَن تَقْصُرُوا مِنَ الصَّلَاةِ إِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَن يَفْتِنَكُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا ۚ إِنَّ الْكَافِرِينَ كَانُوا لَكُمْ عَدُوًّا مُّبِينًا اور جب تم لوگ سفر کے لیے نکلو تو کوئی مضائقہ نہیں اگر نماز میں اختصار کر دو (خصوصاً) جبکہ تمہیں اندیشہ ہو کہ کافر تمہیں ستائیں گے کیونکہ وہ کھلم کھلا تمہاری دشمنی پر تلے ہوئے ہیںWhen you go forth journeying in the land, there is no blame on you if you shorten the Prayer, (especially) if you fear that the unbelievers might cause you harm.
This is the main ayah which allows shortening of prayer during travels but after reading it, one may say that it is during the time of wars. Sahaba asked the same question
Yahya b. Umayya said:
I told 'Umar b. al-Khattab that Allah had said:" You may shorten the prayer only if you fear that those who are unbelievers may afflict you" (Qur'an, iv. 101), whereas the people are now safe. He replied: I wondered about it in the same way as you wonder about it, so I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about it and he said: It is an act of charity which Allah has done to you, so accept His charity.
So according to this Hadith, it means one can shorten the prayer during travels even in time of peace. Imam Bukhari with Hadith no. 1089 added a note of Mawla Ali A.S R.A, which will explain it further and the ease that one should avail,
Once 'Ali (bin AbI Tãlib) ,; left (Kufa) and started shortening the Salat (prayers) although the houses (of Kufa) were in sight. On his return he was told, "This is Küfa." (So that he would no longer shorten the Salat). He said, "No, [I will go on shortening the $alat (prayers)] till we enter Kufa. (I couldn't find this text in online version, it can be found in the original book or in Islam 360 with Hadith 1089)
How Many Rakah's in Qasr Prayer?
'A'isha, the wife of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), reported:
The prayer was prescribed as two rak'ahs, two rak'ahs both in journey and at the place of residence. The prayer while travelling remained as it was (originally prescribed), but an addition was made in the prayer (observed) at the place of residence.
Ibn 'Abbas reported:
Allah has prescribed the prayer through the word of your Prophet (ﷺ) as four rak'ahs when resident, two when travelling, and one when danger is present.
Muslim 687/1576 Miskat 1349
In war or in danger only one rakat is to be prayed.
One question arises what about the nawafil/sunnat prayer.
Narrated Ibn `Umar:
I accompanied Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and he never offered more than two rak`at during the journey. Abu Bakr, `Umar and `Uthman used to do the same.
Hafs b. 'Asim said:
I accompanied Ibn 'Umar on the road to Mecca and he led us in two rak'ahs at the noon prayer, then he went forward and we too went along with him to a place where he alighted, and he sat and we sat along with him, and he cast a glance to the side where he said prayer and he saw people standing and asked: What are they doing? I said: They are engaged in glorifying Allah, offering Sunnah prayer. He said: If I had done so I would have perfected my prayer; O my nephew! I accompanied the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on a journey, and he made no addittion to two rak'ahs, till Allah called him. I accompanied Abu Bakr and he made no addition to two rak'ahs till Allah caused him to die. I accompanied 'Umar and he made no addition to two rak'ahs till Allah caused him to die. I accompanied 'Uthman and he made no addition to two rak'ahs, till Allah caused him to die, and Allah has said:" There is a model pattern for you in the Messenger of Allah" (al-Qur'an, xxxiii. 21).
What to do behind an Imam?
What if I pray full alone while traveling?
It was narrated from 'Aishah that:She performed Umrah with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), traveling from Al-Madinah to Makkah. Then, when she came to Makkah, she said: "O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), may my father and mother be ransomed for you, you shortened your prayers and I offered them in full, you did not fast and I fasted. He said: 'Well done, O 'Aishah!' and he did not criticize me."Nasai 1456 (Sahih)
Umm ul momineen prayed full but her Salah was not considered invalid by the Prophet.
Combing prayers
Narrated Ibn `Abbas:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) used to offer the Zuhr and `Asr prayers together on journeys, and also used to offer the Maghrib and `Isha' prayers together. Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet (ﷺ) used to offer the Maghrib and the `Isha' prayers together on journeys.
Bukhari 1107
There are three ways to combine it, for example you have to combine Maghrib and Isha. You can combine in the following way
- At the start of Maghrib time, pray first Maghrib then Isha (Jamaa Taqdeem)
- Before the end time of Isha prayer, first Maghrib then Isha (Jamaa Takheer)
Mu'adh b.Jabal said that on the expedition to Tabuk,* if the sun had passed the meridian before the Prophet moved off he combined the noon and the afternoon prayer, but if he moved off before the sun had passed the meridian he delayed the noon prayer till he halted for the afternoon prayer. He acted similarly regarding the sunset prayer:if the sun set before he moved off he combined the sunset and the evening prayer, but if he moved off before sunset he delayed the sunset prayer till he halted for the evening prayer and then combined them.Miskaat 1344 Tirmidhi 553 (Sahih)
Ibn 'Abbas reported:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) observed the noon and afternoon prayers together in Medina without being in a state of fear or in a state of journey. (Abu Zubair said: I asked Sa'id [one of the narrators] why he did that. He said: I asked Ibn 'Abbas as you have asked me, and he replied that he [the Holy Prophet] wanted that no one among his Ummah should be put to [unnecessary] hardship.)
Prophet made ease for his Ummah but Alhamdulillah the molvi will try his level best to present to you the hardest Deen possible Illa MaShaaAllah.
For How long can you pray Qasr prayer?
Narrated Ibn `Abbas:
The Prophet (ﷺ) once stayed for nineteen days and prayed shortened prayers. So when we travel led (and stayed) for nineteen days, we used to shorten the prayer but if we traveled (and stayed) for a longer period we used to offer the full prayer.
There is a narration of 15 days/ 4 days as well but that is a comment of a Sahabi, they didn't narrate it towards the Prophet it can be found in Jami Tirmidhi 548 (Arabic and Urdu version) and Musanaf ibn Abi Shaybah 8301. Sufyaan Sauri and Ahle Kufaa (Followers of Imam Abu Haneefa R.Alai) started following 15 days but, the narration is sound and clear that planned 19 days is the limit.
You might be thinking why am I saying planned, if the trip is unplanned and you are not sure for how many days will you be staying then you can pray Qasr until or unless it becomes clear. Nafay narrates from Ibn Umar R.A, while on the war in Azarbaijan, we were surrounded by ice and we would think that tomorrow we will leave when the ice will melt but we stayed there for six months and we prayed 2 2 rakats
Biggest Question: After how much distance can we shorten the prayer (Qasr)
Yahya b. Yazid al-Huna'i reported:
I asked Anas b. Malik about shortening of prayer. He said: When the Messenger of' Allah (ﷺ) had covered a distance of three miles or three farsakh (Shu'ba, one of the narrators, had some doubt about it) he observed two rak'ahs.
Hmm 3 Farasikh okay, what is Farsakh.
The Prophet called a journey of one day and one night as travelling. Ibn 'Umar, Ibn 'Abbãs used to shorten the Salat and stop fasting in a journey of four Burud, i.e. sixteen Farsakh (distance of 3 miles equals one Farsakh) Bukhari 1086 (this narration is in the heading, can only be found in Arabic or Urdu version or in English PDF)
....الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا...آج میں نے تمہارے دین کو تمہارے لیے مکمل کر دیا ہے اور اپنی نعمت تم پر تمام کر دی ہے اور تمہارے لیے اسلام کو تمہارے دین کی حیثیت سے قبول کر لیا ہےThis day I have perfected for you your religion, and have bestowed upon you My bounty in full measure, and have been pleased to assign for you Islam as your religion.
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
offered four rak`at of Zuhr prayer with the Prophet (p.b.u.h) at Medina and two rak`at at Dhul-Hulaifa. (i.e. shortened the `Asr prayer).
It is also approximately 18 km, while on map it would appear approx as 10 km, the size of Masjid Nabwi keeps on expanding due to which the distance seems different on map and on website.
So, Prophet S.A.W prayed full prayer in Madina but shortened in Dhul Hulaifa, approx 18 km.
What if I travel daily outside of city 18 km or more?
Then you will daily pray qasr prayer.
Side note: If a daughter is married out of city, after marriage if she comes to visit her parents and the distance and duration is fulfilled, she will pray Qasr prayer as she has migrated from that house to her husband's house.
Wallahu Alam, if you have anymore Ahadith do mention it in the comments below, don't post lecture links. JazakAllah Khair.
سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ أَسْتَغْفِرُكَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْكَ
Glory is to You, O Allah, and praise, I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except You, I seek You forgiveness, and I repent to You Tirmidhi 3433
اللهم ارنا الحق حقاً وارزقنا اتباعه وارنا الباطل باطلا وارزقنا اجتنابه
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