The Permissibility of Shortening the Prayer for the Traveler, Whether the Duration Is Specified or Not
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
I had a session with the director of the Institute of Islamic Studies in one of the regions, and the conversation between us turned to shortening the prayer.So he said: The Shaykh—meaning you—issued a ruling for the university students that they should shorten the prayer if they missed it.
And the director said: This is not permissible! So we do not know how the Shaykh issued such a ruling? The director’s son studies at your university, so he warned his son that he should not shorten the prayer but rather complete it. So, O honorable Shaykh, we do not know: should we shorten the prayer or not?
This—may Allah keep you safe—we issued this ruling after study, and after looking into the evidence, and after looking into the words of the scholars, we found that the closest opinion to the truth is: the opinion of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him); that a man, as long as he is absent from his home and has not taken the second city as his residence, is a traveler. Everyone who stays for a need and returns when it ends is a traveler, whether he specifies the duration or not; because any estimate he makes, such as estimating three days, for example,We said: What is your evidence?! And if he estimates a month or a year, we say: What is your evidence for that? There is no evidence.
So the opinion, for example, that if a traveler intends to reside in this place for this duration, his state of travel ends, has no evidence for it. And whoever finds evidence, let him please present it. And we, if Allah wills, have taken upon ourselves that if the evidence becomes clear to us, we will follow it. And our opinion is not infallible; we make mistakes just as others do;But we must fear Allah as much as we can: and [al-Baqarah: 286] if this is the limit of a person’s effort, he is excused by Allah (if he hits the mark, he has two rewards; if he errs, he has one reward) but if a specific issue, for example, is more probable in the scholar’s view, he is not excused for deviating from what is more probable in his view; because he will be questioned on the Day of Resurrection.
And if a person states an issue and there is evidence contrary to his statement which he is unaware of, he is excused. And if a person states an issue while exercising independent legal reasoning, it is obligatory for him to return to the truth if it becomes clear to him, abandoning his independent legal reasoning.
So if a person comes to us with evidence that if a person stays for a specific duration, the ruling of travel ends for him and his ruling becomes that of a resident, we must accept it.
And whoever finds evidence contrary to our opinion, let him cast our opinion aside.
As for the distance, we also did not find anything specific in it,The Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah says: The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not specify the distance for his Ummah.
And there were no surveyors at that time who say: this is a kilometer, and this is more, and this is less. And the scholars who estimated the distance by cubits, measures, or miles do not have evidence. Then they estimated it—may Allah have mercy on them—by the cubit, the span, the finger, and the hair of the mule (the horse).Its meaning is: That I, if I am here and the companion between whom and me is a cubit away there,We say: is a traveler, and I am not a traveler! Who says this?! So the closest opinion is: That it should be referred to what people call travel, and for which they pack their bags; that is travel, and what is not so is not travel.
And Allah knows best.
And may Allah send prayers and peace and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
And the director said: This is not permissible! So we do not know how the Shaykh issued such a ruling? The director’s son studies at your university, so he warned his son that he should not shorten the prayer but rather complete it. So, O honorable Shaykh, we do not know: should we shorten the prayer or not?
This—may Allah keep you safe—we issued this ruling after study, and after looking into the evidence, and after looking into the words of the scholars, we found that the closest opinion to the truth is: the opinion of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him); that a man, as long as he is absent from his home and has not taken the second city as his residence, is a traveler. Everyone who stays for a need and returns when it ends is a traveler, whether he specifies the duration or not; because any estimate he makes, such as estimating three days, for example,We said: What is your evidence?! And if he estimates a month or a year, we say: What is your evidence for that? There is no evidence.
So the opinion, for example, that if a traveler intends to reside in this place for this duration, his state of travel ends, has no evidence for it. And whoever finds evidence, let him please present it. And we, if Allah wills, have taken upon ourselves that if the evidence becomes clear to us, we will follow it. And our opinion is not infallible; we make mistakes just as others do;But we must fear Allah as much as we can: and
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity
لا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْساً إِلَّا وُسْعَهَاAnd if a person states an issue and there is evidence contrary to his statement which he is unaware of, he is excused. And if a person states an issue while exercising independent legal reasoning, it is obligatory for him to return to the truth if it becomes clear to him, abandoning his independent legal reasoning.
So if a person comes to us with evidence that if a person stays for a specific duration, the ruling of travel ends for him and his ruling becomes that of a resident, we must accept it.
And whoever finds evidence contrary to our opinion, let him cast our opinion aside.
As for the distance, we also did not find anything specific in it,The Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah says: The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not specify the distance for his Ummah.
And there were no surveyors at that time who say: this is a kilometer, and this is more, and this is less. And the scholars who estimated the distance by cubits, measures, or miles do not have evidence. Then they estimated it—may Allah have mercy on them—by the cubit, the span, the finger, and the hair of the mule (the horse).Its meaning is: That I, if I am here and the companion between whom and me is a cubit away there,We say: is a traveler, and I am not a traveler! Who says this?! So the closest opinion is: That it should be referred to what people call travel, and for which they pack their bags; that is travel, and what is not so is not travel.
And Allah knows best.
And may Allah send prayers and peace and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.