Yusof al Farisi یوسف الفارسی

Shaykh al Albani:

('Abdullah ibn 'Umar) said:

• "I travel for an hour out of the day and shorten the prayer".

Its chain is sahih (authentic), authenticated by al Hafidh (ibn Hajr) in al Fath (al Bari).

It is also narrated from him:

• "He would reside in Mecca, and when he went to Mina, he shortened the prayer".

Its chain is also sahih.

Supporting this is when the people of Mecca went out with the Prophet ﷺ to Mina during the Farewell Pilgrimage, they also shortened the prayer- as is well known and famous in books of hadith and seerah.

And between Mecca and Mina is one farsakh (about 8 kilometers), as (mentioned) in Mu’jam al Buldan.

Jablah ibn Sahim said: I heard ibn Umar say:

• "If I went out a mile (according to some scholars: about 1680 meters), I would shorten the prayer".

Al Hafidh mentioned it and authenticated it.

This does not contradict what is in al Muwatta' and others with authentic chains from ibn 'Umar, that he shortened the prayer for more than the previously mentioned distance because that was his practice, which does not negate shortening for less than that distance if he traveled to it.

The texts we mentioned explicitly permit shortening the prayer for less than that distance, so they should not be rejected, as the hadith indicates a shorter distance.

He went on to mention:

The concept of travel in the Qur'an and Sunnah is unrestricted by a specific distance, as Allah the Most High says:

‎ وَإِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَنْ تَقْصُرُوا مِنَ الصَّلَاةِ

And when you travel throughout the land, there is no blame upon you for shortening the prayer.

(4:101)

So there is no conflict between the hadith and these narrations because it does not negate shortening for less than the mentioned distance.

Because of that, the scholar ibn al Qayyim said in Zad al Ma’ad:

• "The Prophet ﷺ did not specify a set distance for shortening the prayer and fasting for his Ummah. Rather, he left it open for any travel or journeying, just as he left tayammum (permissible) in any travel. As for what has been reported of limiting it to a day or two days, or three... none of them are authentic".

Shaykh al Islam ibn Taymiyyah said:

• "Every term without a defined limit in language or in Shariah, then it returns to what is commonly known (among the people). So, what is considered 'travel' according to the people, then that is what the Shariah refers to as travel".

Scholars have greatly differed on the distance for shortening the prayer, with about twenty different opinions. What we mentioned from ibn Taymiyyah and ibn al Qayyim are the closest to what's most correct and most suitable for the ease of Islam.

Restricting people to a specific travel distance requiring shortening the prayer, whether a day, three days, or other determinations, necessitates knowing the distances of the paths they travel, which most people cannot ascertain, especially for unexplored routes.

And in the hadith there is another benefit, which is that the starting point for shortening is upon leaving the town, which is the majority view of scholars, as mentioned in Nayl al Awtar:

• “Some Kufi scholars say that if one intends to travel, he can pray two rak’ahs even at home, and some of them said he can shorten once he mounts (on his riding beast, leaving for travel). Ibn al Mundhir favored the first view because they all agree on shortening after leaving the houses- but they differ regarding before that. So one should complete the prayer based on the default, until it is confirmed that shortening (in the house) is permissible".

And he said:

• "And I do not know that the Prophet shortened (his prayers) in travel in any of his travels- except after he left Madina".

What about when one arrives to his destination?

Here the issue is: when is a person who has arrived in a town other than his own considered a traveler, and when is he considered a resident. The difference lies in whether he intends to stay (for a prolonged period) or not.

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“Resolved to stay” means intended to stay, so once someone intends to stay and is not hasty or preoccupied with chasing tasks, this is called “resolved to stay”. Otherwise, he did not resolve to stay.

Let me give you an example: Two men traveled from Damascus and arrived in Jeddah or Mecca. One of them is certainly a resident, and the other is a traveler. How is that?

- One of them stayed in his father’s house or his second wife’s house. This one is a resident.

- As for the other, he is a traveler. So, the matter is clear.

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Let me give you an example: A man traveled from Damascus to Madaya, or to Baqin, or to Zahle, or to any other town for vacation, staying for a week or two. What do we say about him?

No, because he intended to stay and relax there, he is not considered a traveler.

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A man who goes to a place to attend to his business and keeps saying, “I will travel tomorrow or the day after,” and this might take a week or a month, is not considered a resident because he has not resolved to stay- he is indecisive.

In some authentic reports, it is mentioned that some Companions went on a military expedition and reached Khorasan and those areas. Heavy snow fell, trapping them there, and they continued to pray shortened prayers for six months because they were always prepared to travel as soon as the snow cleared.

So, the criterion, Doctor, is whether he has resolved to stay or not. If he has not resolved to stay, it means he remains indecisive.